Chapter 3 - The Fall of a Paper King
The boardrooms of Sterling Tech were usually filled with the sound of Jasper’s voice,
boasting about growth and future acquisitions,
but today the room was silent.
Jasper sat at the head of the table,
his tie crooked and his eyes bloodshot from a night spent trying to call Hailey’s phone,
which had been disconnected.
His mother and Priscilla sat in the corner of the room,
looking nervous,
clutching their designer handbags as if they could protect them from the coming storm.
"Where are the investors?"
Gillian hissed,
looking at her watch,
"They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago to sign the final funding rounds."
Jasper didn't answer,
his gaze fixed on the double doors at the end of the room.
When the doors finally swung open,
it wasn't the group of venture capitalists Jasper expected.
Instead,
a single man walked in,
accompanied by a team of lawyers who looked like they were made of stone and cold steel.
The man was Finnley Robertson,
a titan of industry whose face was rarely seen in public,
but whose name was feared in every financial capital on the planet.
Jasper stood up,
his legs feeling like jelly,
his mouth dry as he tried to form a greeting.
"Mr. Robertson,"
he managed to whisper,
"I... I didn't know you were involved in this round."
Finnley didn't sit down,
he simply stood at the opposite end of the table,
looking at Jasper with a level of disgust that would have withered a lesser man.
"I wasn't involved in the round,
Jasper,"
Finnley said,
his voice like a low rumble of thunder.
"I was the round."
"Every shell company,
every shadow investor,
and every penny of credit your company has used for the last two years came from me."
"I wanted to see if the man my daughter chose was worth the investment."
Jasper’s heart stopped,
the realization hitting him like a physical blow.
"Hailey... she told you?"
"My daughter didn't have to tell me anything until yesterday,"
Finnley replied,
stepping closer.
"But when she called me from a city bus,
bleeding and in pain because you were too busy taking your mother to lunch to care for your own son,"
"the investment became a liability."
He tossed a thick folder onto the table,
the sound echoing through the room like a gavel.
"I’ve called in every loan,"
"I’ve frozen every asset tied to the Robertson name,"
"and I’ve initiated a hostile takeover of Sterling Tech for the price of one dollar."
Priscilla gasped,
standing up to object,
but a look from one of Finnley’s lawyers silenced her instantly.
"You can't do this!"
Jasper cried,
"I built this company!"
"You built a house of cards on my land with my glue,"
Finnley said,
turning toward the door.
"And today,
it’s raining."
"You have one hour to clear your personal belongings from this building."
"And Jasper,"
Finnley added,
pausing at the threshold,
"Hailey is waiting for you in the lobby."
"She has some papers for you to sign."
Jasper stumbled out of the boardroom,
his world collapsing around him,
finding Hailey standing in the center of the lobby.
She was dressed in a tailored navy suit,
holding Toby in a high-tech carrier,
looking more powerful and radiant than she ever had in the two years they were married.
She didn't look fragile,
May you like
she didn't look like she needed a seat on the bus,
she looked like the woman who was about to take everything he had left.
