Chapter 4 - The Zoom Call
Caleb’s legs felt like wet cardboard as he walked down the carpeted hallway toward the corner executive suite. Every colleague he passed was staring at their monitors, whispering furiously. On three separate screens, he saw the Bloomberg article open. On another, a Twitter thread was going viral under the hashtag #JusticeForSarah.
When Caleb stepped into Richard Holt’s office, he saw that the large teleconference monitor on the wall was lit up. On the screen was a Zoom call featuring four high-ranking members of Vanguard Technologies' executive board, including their Chief Legal Officer.
"Sit down, Caleb," Holt said, not looking up from his desk.
Caleb sank into the leather chair, his suit suddenly feeling tight and suffocating. "Mr. Holt, look, whatever you’re seeing online, it’s a family misunderstanding—"
"Shut up," Holt commanded instantly. He turned to face the Zoom monitor. "Gentlemen, this is Caleb Sterling."
The Chief Legal Officer of Vanguard Technologies, a stern man named Arthur Vance, adjusted his glasses on the camera.
"Mr. Sterling," Arthur said, his voice coming through the crisp office speakers. "At eight o'clock this morning, Vanguard Technologies officially finalized the acquisition of AetherIA. Ms. Sarah Sterling is now our principal technical shareholder and controls a three-percent voting block on our parent board."
Caleb swallowed hard. "Okay... but what does that have to do with Apex Capital?"
"Apex Capital manages sixty million dollars of Vanguard’s institutional investment portfolio," Richard Holt interrupted sharply. "Or rather, you did manage it, until twenty minutes ago."
Caleb blinked. "What?"
"Ms. Sterling’s legal counsel reached out to our executive committee at 8:05 AM," Arthur Vance explained from the Zoom screen. "She informed us that an employee at Apex Capital—specifically you, her brother—has been actively engaging in a public, malicious defamation campaign against her, utilizing corporate-adjacent social media channels while misrepresenting her financial standing to cause reputational harm."
"I was just joking!" Caleb burst out, sweat breaking out across his forehead. "It was just a TikTok video! It was a family joke!"
"A family joke?" Holt repeated, his voice dangerously low. "You posted a video of your mother assaulting the founder of a three-hundred-million-dollar company, tagged it with derogatory slurs, and boasted about her being 'broke' while wearing an Apex Capital lanyard in your profile picture!"
"I didn't know she had three hundred million dollars!" Caleb screamed, instantly regretting the words the second they left his mouth.
The executives on the Zoom screen looked at each other in disgust.
"Vanguard Technologies has issued an immediate freeze on all portfolio management agreements with Apex Capital pending your termination," Arthur Vance said coldly. "If Caleb Sterling is on your payroll by noon, Apex will be permanently blacklisted from managing any funds associated with our tech conglomerates."
"He won't be," Holt said immediately. He looked at Caleb with utter contempt. "Caleb, you are terminated effective immediately for gross misconduct, violation of our ethics policy, and bringing severe reputational damage to this firm. Pack your desk. You have ten minutes before security escorts you out of the building."
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"Mr. Holt, please!" Caleb pleaded, rising from his chair, his voice cracking. "I have a lease on the BMW! I have rent on my downtown apartment! My mother relies on my credit!"
"You should have thought about that before you poured coffee on a woman who earns more in an hour than you make in a decade," Holt snapped. "Get out."
