Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO BE BOUGHT|
Grant sent flowers to my office on Thursday.
White roses.
My favorite.
The card carried a message written in his familiar handwriting.
We can still fix this. Let's meet before things go too far.
I threw the card away.
The flowers stayed in the reception area because the staff liked them. I refused to let Grant's attempt at manipulation ruin everyone else's day.
At three, he arrived in person.
The receptionist called me.
“Claire, your husband is here.”
“Tell him I don't have an appointment.”
“He says it's urgent.”
I looked at the documents on my desk.
“Then he can make an appointment.”
A minute later, Grant appeared in the doorway.
He looked thinner. His tie was loose, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes.
“You can't keep avoiding me.”
I stood.
“You can't keep walking into places where you aren't invited.”
He shut the door.
“Please. Just listen.”
I didn't sit.
He placed a document on my desk.
“It's a settlement proposal.”
I glanced at it.
The proposal offered me a generous cash payment in exchange for withdrawing the court application, transferring my voting rights, and agreeing not to pursue further claims connected to Harbor Point.
I read it carefully.
Then I looked up.
“You want me to sign away control of the company.”
“I want us to move forward.”
“You want me to stop asking questions.”
“Claire, you can have the house, the investments, whatever you want.”
I almost laughed.
“You're offering me my own assets in exchange for silence.”
“Don't be ridiculous.”
“Then explain why the settlement requires me to waive claims related to unauthorized transfers.”
He looked away.
I pushed the proposal back.
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“You're making a mistake.”
“That's what you keep saying.”
“You could walk away with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”
“I already have a life.”
“You won't have the company.”
“Then the company will survive without you.”
He leaned forward.
“You think the board will keep you? They don't want a scandal.”
“Then they can explain that to the employees whose money you tried to move.”
His face flushed.
“You're enjoying this.”
“No, Grant. I'm exhausted.”
For a moment, he seemed to soften.
“Claire, we were happy once.”
I looked at him.
“We were. That's why this hurts.”
He glanced down.
“I never wanted it to end this way.”
“But you wanted the money. You wanted Savannah. You wanted the company without sharing control. You wanted me to keep believing you.”
He said nothing.
I walked toward the door and opened it.
“Our conversation is over.”
He didn't move.
“October eighteenth,” he said. “You don't know what's going to happen that day.”
I held his gaze.
“Neither do you.”
He finally picked up the settlement proposal and left.
That evening, Daniel called with an update.
The forensic team had recovered deleted emails from Grant's company account.
One of them had been sent to Peter Lang two weeks before the suspicious transfer.
The subject line read:
If Claire asks, use the original explanation.
May you like
And attached to it was a document with my signature.
Except the signature was dated three days before I had even seen the agreement.
