CHAPTER 1REFUSAL
“The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I am going to press on.”
—Barack Obama
“I'm sorry, Felix, but tomorrow will be your last day as the CEO of our company.”
“But Peter…”
“My apologies—I have to jump on another call. See you tomorrow.” With that, Peter ended the call, leaving a baffled Felix to wonder what on earth had just happened.
Felix set the phone down and slumped into a chair at the conference room table. The room was characterized by a minimalist design style: six designer office chairs upholstered with white leather surrounded a rectangular, bright white, enamel conference table. On the wall, a two‐square‐meter photograph of a calm ocean wave conveyed a sense of mindfulness. Felix liked this minimalist design style; it conveyed to him both luxury and simplicity. Similar high‐end styles could only be found in the startup's other conference rooms and in the two founders’ offices.
Peter Sting, who had just informed Felix that his time as CEO was up, was the founding partner of Sting Investment Partners. The famous American venture capital firm had invested twenty million into the company that Felix and his co‐founder Mark had founded six years ago.
Slowly, Felix put his iPhone back into the pocket of his black G‐Star jeans. He felt cold sweat creeping down his back underneath his white, collared shirt. Paralyzed, he whispered to himself, “This can't be true. This can't be ...
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