Chapter 7 - THE DEAL THAT COULD SAVE THEM
Ava wanted Northstar rejected immediately.
Naomi refused.
“Read it.”
“I have.”
“No. You read the control sections.”
“That’s what matters.”
“No. Solvency matters too.”
Ava hated her.
Which meant Naomi was probably right.
They spent six hours on the numbers.
Bennett Urban had forty-one million dollars in floating-rate debt.
Two buildings needed facade work.
One boiler system required replacement before winter.
Cash reserves covered four months.
Without capital, the company would need to sell assets.
Fast.
Northstar offered sixty million dollars.
Enough to stabilize everything.
Ryan had negotiated a good price.
That hurt.
He had also negotiated himself eight million dollars.
That hurt differently.
Ava looked at Naomi.
“If I block the deal because he abused me, people lose jobs.”
“Maybe.”
“So he wins.”
“No.”
Naomi turned the term sheet.
“You need another plan.”
There it was.
Revenge was easy.
Leadership was harder.
Ava asked the CFO for alternatives.
Sell one luxury development that had never fit the company.
Refinance three stable buildings.
Cut expansion.
Reduce executive compensation.
It could work.
Barely.
It would also require Ryan’s retention package to disappear.
Good.
Then the CFO said:
“There’s a problem.”
“What?”
“The sale requires board approval.”
“And?”
“Ryan has already negotiated a right of first refusal on that property.”
Ava stared.
“To Northstar?”
“Yes.”
Ryan had anticipated her alternative.
He had blocked the exit before she found it.
Then Naomi smiled.
“What?”
“Rights of first refusal usually have conditions.”
They found one.
Northstar’s right applied only while Ryan remained chief operating officer.
If he was suspended for cause, the clause terminated.
Ava looked up.
Now the abuse case and the corporate case connected in a way Ryan had not intended.
May you like
But suspending him required proof.
And Ryan knew exactly how much doubt he had created.
