Chapter 17 - MONDAY MORNINGThree weeks after the incident, Chase and Aaron sat across from one another again.
This time the meeting was smaller.
No investment pitch.
No large committee.
Just Chase, Aaron, Dana and two attorneys.
The financial transaction was close to completion.
Aaron had not voted.
But because he remained managing partner, final documentation still required his signature in a limited administrative capacity.
Chase entered first.
He looked different.
Not poorer.
Not broken.
Just less polished around the edges.
No watch.
No pocket square.
He sat down.
Aaron arrived exactly on time.
For several minutes, the attorneys discussed covenants.
Reporting obligations.
Governance rights.
Nothing personal.
Then the attorneys stepped out to revise language.
Dana took a call in the hallway.
Aaron and Chase were alone.
Chase looked at him.
“You won.”
Aaron frowned.
“What?”
“You got what you wanted.”
“What did I want?”
“My expenses controlled. My board watching every move. My company diluted.”
Aaron leaned back.
“Your company received forty-eight million dollars.”
“At terms worse than before.”
“Because diligence found more risk than before.”
“Because you went digging.”
Aaron nodded.
“Yes.”
Chase blinked.
“You admit it.”
“I told you that on day one.”
“So how is this not revenge?”
“Because when we found a healthy business underneath the problems, my partners invested.”
Chase had no answer.
Aaron continued.
“If I wanted revenge, I would have tried to kill the deal.”
“You could've.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Three hundred and twelve people work there.”
Chase looked away.
Aaron knew the exact headcount.
Of course he did.
“My problem is with you,” Aaron said. “Not them.”
Chase gave a hollow laugh.
“You think you're some moral hero?”
“No.”
“You've never lost your temper?”
“I have.”
“Never hit anyone?”
Aaron paused.
“As a younger man? Yes.”
Chase looked surprised.
Aaron continued.
“And when I was wrong, being angry didn't make me less responsible.”
Silence.
Chase looked toward the conference-room glass.
“Your kid broke my window.”
Aaron almost smiled.
“You still need that sentence.”
“What?”
“You've repeated it every time we talk.”
“Because it's true.”
“So is ‘I slapped an eight-year-old.’”
Chase's face hardened.
Aaron waited.
“Say it.”
“Why?”
“Not for me.”
Chase stood.
“This is ridiculous.”
Aaron remained seated.
“You asked what I wanted.”
“And?”
“I want you to be able to state what you did without adding what Milo did first.”
Chase laughed.
“Psychology lesson?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“A useful test.”
Chase paced to the window.
“You know what people like you don't understand?”
Aaron said nothing.
“You can afford dignity.”
Aaron's eyebrows rose.
Chase turned.
“You've probably never had anyone look at you like you don't belong.”
“You'd be surprised.”
“No. People respect money.”
“They respect what they think money can do to them.”
“Same outcome.”
“No.”
That word again.
Chase almost smiled bitterly.
Aaron continued.
“You thought I didn't have money Friday.”
“Yes.”
“And you treated me differently because of it.”
“You don't know that.”
“I watched you.”
Chase looked away.
Aaron's voice softened slightly.
“If I'd actually been broke, would Milo have deserved less protection?”
“No.”
The answer came quietly.
Aaron noticed.
It was the first clean no Chase had given him.
Before he could say more, the attorneys returned.
The moment closed.
Documents were signed.
The investment moved forward.
At the end, Aaron slid his pen onto the table.
“Business is complete.”
Chase nodded.
Aaron stood.
Chase remained seated.
Then he said, “How is Milo?”
Aaron stopped.
“Better.”
“Does he still…”
Chase didn't finish.
“Still what?”
“Remember it?”
Aaron stared at him.
“He's eight, Chase. Of course he remembers.”
Chase looked down.
Aaron left.
In the hallway, Dana caught up.
“That was interesting.”
“You heard?”
“Glass walls.”
Aaron sighed.
“He asked about Milo.”
“Progress?”
“Maybe curiosity.”
Dana handed him a phone.
“Board chair wants you to see this.”
It was an internal report.
Employee satisfaction survey.
The first taken since governance changes.
One anonymous response had been highlighted.
For the first time, people are saying no to Chase without assuming they'll be fired.
Aaron read it twice.
May you like
The investment wasn't the ending.
It was the first test of whether consequences could become change.
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