Chapter 14 - Michael loses his job
Michael worked as vice president of development at Whitmore Urban Partners.
My company.
That fact made every family conflict more complicated.
I founded the firm twenty-seven years earlier.
By the wedding, I owned 54%.
Two minority partners owned the rest.
Michael was an employee and small shareholder.
I could not simply fire him because he shoved his mother.
Our employment lawyer reviewed:
Conduct.
Public-reputation risk.
Company policy.
Whether the wedding was a private event.
Whether his role required fiduciary trust.
Then another issue emerged.
Michael had submitted reimbursement requests for “business development dinners” that overlapped wedding-vendor meetings.
About $16,800 over two years.
Not enormous.
Some legitimate.
Some personal.
The company placed him on paid administrative leave pending review.
My partners insisted I recuse myself from the decision.
Good.
I hated it.
Also good.
The final employment decision came from the other directors.
May you like
Michael was terminated for expense-policy violations and undisclosed conflicts, not because his father was angry.
That distinction saved the company from becoming my weapon.
