At 7:43 on New Year’s Eve, a restaurant hostess humiliated me by refusing to honor my reservation while seating people who arrived after me. I was worth nearly six billion dollars, yet the person who changed that night wasn’t a manager or someone who recognized my name. It was a seven-year-old girl who pointed at an empty chair and said, “He can sit with us.”

Richard’s face darkened instantly. He pulled me away from the paramedics, stepping into the shadow of a massive stone pillar near the plaza.

"Listen to me, Ethan," Richard hissed under his breath. "The building is compromised. The board meeting is officially adjourned, but we are holding the vote right now, right here on this curb. You've brought chaos to this firm. Look at you! You look like a homeless man, standing next to low-level staff while our stock takes a hit on the overnight futures!"

"That 'low-level staff' just saved a man's life down there while you were pushing old ladies out of the way to get into the elevator, Richard," I said, stepping closer to him, my voice dangerously low.

"I don't care about the maintenance staff!" Richard barked. "I care about Mercer Global! I have five proxy votes in my pocket right now. With Julian's backing, we have fifty-one percent. You're finished, Ethan. As of midnight, you're out!"

"Are you sure about that, Richard?"

A sharp, confident female voice rang out from behind us.

We both turned. Walking across the slushy plaza, flanked by two corporate lawyers carrying leather folders, was Eleanor Vance—the chief managing director of Vance Holdings, our largest institutional investor and a woman who controlled twenty-two percent of our total corporate voting stock.

Richard froze. "Eleanor? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Aspen!"

"I took a private jet back when I heard you were trying to stage a midnight coup against the man who built this company," Eleanor said, stepping into the light of the emergency flares. She adjusted her fur coat and looked at Richard with pure disdain. "I just spoke with the offshore pension fund managers. Ethan didn't just buy back their shares, Richard. He partnered with Vance Holdings to create a unified voting block."

Richard turned pale. "That's... that's impossible. The charter—"

"The charter states that a seventy-percent supermajority is required to remove a founding CEO," Eleanor interrupted coldly. "With my shares and Ethan's, you barely have thirty percent. In fact..." She reached into her folder and pulled out a crisp white document. "...we have just executed a special shareholder action. Effective at midnight, Richard Vane is officially removed from the board of directors for breach of fiduciary duty and gross misconduct."

Richard gasped, staggering back as if he had been physically struck. "You can't do this! I am the chairman!"

"Not anymore," I said, stepping forward and looking Richard dead in the eye. "Happy New Year, Richard. Hand over your security badge."

The surrounding board members immediately backed away from Richard, cutting him off like a sinking ship. Defeated, trembling with rage, Richard unclipped his gold-plated executive badge, threw it onto the snow at my feet, and stormed off down the street toward a waiting black sedan.

I looked around the plaza. The fire department had officially declared the small electrical fire contained. The crowd was beginning to cheer and clap as paramedics signaled that everyone was safe.

In the distance, the giant digital clock on the side of the Wrigley Building began its countdown.

10... 9... 8...

I walked away from Eleanor, away from the reporters, and away from the board members who were suddenly trying to swarm me with congratulations. I walked straight up to Maya, who was standing near an ambulance, wrapped in a bright yellow emergency blanket.

7... 6... 5...

She looked up at me as I approached, a soft, breathless smile touching her lips.

4... 3... 2...

"Looks like you kept your company, Mr. Mercer," she said softly.

"I don't care about the company tonight," I answered, stepping close enough to feel the warmth of her breath in the cold winter air. "I care about what happens next."

1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fireworks erupted over Lake Michigan, booming across the night sky in bursts of brilliant gold, crimson, and green. The crowd roared with joy, couples kissing and cheering under the falling snow.

I reached out and gently took Maya's hand in mine.