Chapter 8 - THE BANK CALL
The lender did not accept Jason’s signature automatically.
Regional Commerce Bank called Claire directly.
Senior credit officer Maya Collins said:
“We were told you were unavailable.”
“I’m available.”
“We were told there may be a personal legal issue.”
“There is.”
“Does it affect your ability to certify the financial statements?”
Claire paused.
“Yes.”
Maya waited.
Claire continued:
“Because I found an unresolved related-party issue.”
That sentence stopped the certification.
Not the child accusation.
Not family drama.
Accounting.
The bank extended the deadline five business days.
The bank did more than extend the deadline.
It temporarily reduced availability under the revolver by:
$2.5 million
until the related-party review finished.
Not a shutdown.
Not a default.
A cushion.
Robert called it unnecessary.
Maya Collins replied:
“We lend against information. When information changes, availability changes.”
That sentence irritated him.
Claire understood it immediately.
The company adjusted.
Delayed one bulk purchase.
Negotiated longer terms with two suppliers.
Used $900,000 of cash reserves.
No payroll missed.
No customer order canceled.
The business survived the review.
That mattered later when Jason argued Claire had endangered 160 employees.
The review had costs.
But the company was not one signature away from death.
Urgency had been exaggerated inside the family because urgency made resistance easier to shame.
Then requested:
related-party schedules,
vendor-credit reconciliations,
board minutes,
and management representation.
Robert was furious.
“You just put our credit line under review.”
Claire answered:
“No. The undisclosed transactions did.”
“We could have fixed this internally.”
“After signing?”
Robert said nothing.
The company was not insolvent.
The bank did not freeze funds.
Payroll continued.
Operations continued.
But the lender increased scrutiny.
That created costs.
Legal fees.
Audit fees.
Management time.
Jason accused Claire of damaging the company.
Claire answered:
May you like
“If the numbers are clean, review will prove it.”
He did not like that.
