The New Deal Put His Repayment Ahead Of His Proceeds

Dorian's first settlement draft offered the company $90,000.

In return, he wanted the lawsuit dismissed, a neutral departure statement, and a consulting role that paid $8,000 a month.

Leena read it with the same face she used to read delivery receipts.

"That's an opening offer," she said.

"The company paid $186,400."

"We know."

The bank records supplied with the offer confirmed that North Draw had received both payments. Dorian's lawyer still called them fees. Paul had completed his review and found no support for the services billed.

The independent directors sent back terms through company counsel. Full repayment. Documented legal costs. No consulting contract. A final end to Dorian's claims about the note and board changes.

I approved Cedar Interval's separate release only after Leena checked every line.

Dorian called it punishment in a message to the board.

One director answered, Please identify any charge you believe is not supported by the attached ledger.

He sent no corrected ledger.

At the final deal meeting, Mara spread the staffing plan beside the revised purchase agreement.

"Same valuation," she said. "$18,000,000 for the whole business. We purchase sixty percent of every holder's shares at closing. No special cash-out for management."

The share price was $2.25 after conversion.

Cedar Interval would sell 2,592,000 shares for $5,832,000 and keep a 21.6 percent stake in the company. I checked those figures twice.

My family had taken a real risk when we wired the loan. The return was large enough to make my hands cold.

I asked Leena to explain the tax reserve again.

She did, without acting as though money had made me foolish or wise.

Rill Harbor would also put $3,000,000 into the company under its purchase commitments, with no extra shares issued for that contribution. Part would replace the bridge loan. Part would fund drive repairs, staffing, and cash reserves.

The bridge repayment belonged to Cedar Interval's account. It was listed apart from the share price and could not be counted twice.

"Who controls operating cuts?" I asked.

Mara pointed to the budget terms.

"The board approves them. Safety limits stay with qualified station staff."

"And night coverage?"

"The approved plan includes all three positions."

Trent sat beside me and drew a small check mark next to the training line.

The shareholder meeting took place after the required notice period. Dorian attended by phone. Cedar Interval voted its majority for three independent directors, including the two already serving. His term on the board ended at that meeting.

The minutes recorded his objection. They also recorded the count.

After the sale, the board would expand to five seats: those three independent directors, one buyer representative, and me. The shareholder agreement bound the voting parties to that structure. Changing it would require the independent directors' approval as well as the required shareholder votes.

I had wanted an independent board even while I held control. I wanted it just as much when the buyer would hold control.

Two days before closing, the settlement came back signed.

Dorian agreed that $234,400 would be withheld from his sale proceeds: $186,400 to repay the company and $48,000 for the legal costs listed in the agreement. No admission of wrongdoing was required. The audit report stayed intact.

His suit would be dismissed permanently when the funds cleared. Company claims covered by the payment would end too. The deal documents would disclose the audit and settlement to the buyer.

"He wanted the audit destroyed," Leena told me.

"Was that in the draft?"

"It was in a phone proposal. We declined. Records stay."

My employment agreement was the final item I read.

Ground-station scheduling director. Salary, $174,000. Written authority over pass approval and planner training. Any future removal from that role required a recorded board review, though the board could still make a lawful employment decision.

I did not ask for a job nobody could ever change. I asked for my work to have a name and my decisions to have a record.

Beth brought in a corrected personnel notice. It withdrew the separation demand and stated that my earlier removal had not followed the required company process.

I asked for a copy in my file.

"Already there," she said.

Before she left, I asked whether anyone else had signed a broad release that week.

"No," she said. "I held the other packets when you questioned yours."

Company counsel reviewed them before they went any further. The two night planners received written confirmation that their jobs remained in the approved budget. One brought me a fresh pencil for the wall chart. I used it to mark the next training shift.

On closing morning, Leena arrived before the coffee finished brewing. She set a sealed packet beside my keyboard.

"Everything is signed except the final funding release," she said.

Inside the packet lay the instruction that would send Dorian's repayment to the company before his own money could leave escrow.