Part 5: A Fair Price

The independent accountant delivered her report the following week. She adjusted the inventory figures, included my documented loan, and described several possible outcomes for the new book contract. She did not announce one perfect price. She presented a range and explained which assumptions produced it.

Graham's attorney sent a revised offer for my shares. It was substantially higher than the first proposal, but it still contained a condition requiring me to waive several claims before the company provided the full refinancing documents. Priya advised me not to agree to the waiver without understanding its consequences.

I asked for the documents. Graham's attorney supplied the board notice, the proposed financing terms, and the minutes of the meeting at which the refinancing had been discussed. The minutes showed that the board had approved further negotiations, not a final agreement. They also showed that Vivian had disclosed her relationship with Graham before participating in the valuation discussion.

That disclosure did not automatically make her work unreliable. It did mean the board needed to handle potential conflicts carefully. The independent accountant reviewed her assumptions alongside the records from the company's finance team.

One afternoon Vivian asked to speak with me at a cafe near the shop. I agreed because I wanted to hear what she had to say, not because I owed her reassurance.

“I didn't write the employment agreement,” she said. “I did prepare the first valuation. I should have asked for the loan note and the updated inventory.”

“Why didn't you?”

“I trusted the summary I was given. I also wanted the transition to happen quickly.”

“Quickly for whom?”

She looked at her coffee. “For Graham and me. That wasn't a good enough reason.”

I appreciated the admission. It did not resolve our disagreement, but it gave us a fact we could use. She agreed to correct the valuation record and provide the accountant with the underlying worksheets.

When I returned to Hannah's apartment, my father's attorney had sent a copy of the trust's latest report. The trustee had authorized a temporary contribution toward the roof repair while reserving the question of final responsibility under the agreements. Alder had paid its share of the immediate work. Marisol reported that the first stage was complete and the paper had remained dry through the next rain.

I called her to thank her for documenting the problem. She said the workers deserved credit for moving the stock before it was damaged.

“They knew where everything was,” she said. “They always do.”

At the next board meeting, I proposed a regular review of maintenance reports with a representative from production. Graham supported it. Vivian suggested that the reports include a record of who was responsible for each action and when it was completed. The board adopted the procedure.

After the meeting, Graham asked if I would accept the revised offer. I said I would consider it when the waiver was addressed and my accountant had reviewed the final numbers.

“You don't have to make this difficult,” he said.

“I don't have to make it easy to misunderstand either.”

He started to answer, then stopped. For the first time since the dinner, he asked what I actually wanted.

I thought about the old press, Marisol's careful records, and the years I had spent believing my work would be acknowledged without my having to ask.

“I want a fair choice,” I said. “Not a deadline designed to make me stop asking questions.”