PART 10 — The Price Grant Put on Doing the Right Thing
Grant wanted me to withdraw the business complaint and stop sharing records with investigators. Mara said the court review could end through a proper settlement, but I could not agree to conceal records or interfere with the inquiry into Noah’s lunch. She sent back a proposal without that condition. Grant had two days before Starline’s lender moved ahead with its remedies.
The next morning, I took Noah to school and watched him join his friends at the entrance. He had begun carrying a new blue case for his pens. Before the yacht trip, he often handed it to me as soon as we reached the car. Now he kept it with him until he was inside. I was proud of how carefully he handled it and sorry he had to.
At my office, Peter walked me through what a sale might accomplish. The yacht’s likely price would cover most of Starline’s secured debt. Any remaining proceeds could be negotiated toward repaying Harbor Point, though the amount was uncertain. More important, stopping company payments and restructuring old supplier balances could let the shop operate without another large loan.
I asked what would happen if Grant stepped down. Peter said Ruth knew the office, and the lead technician knew the service work, but neither should be expected to take over ownership without support. I could hire an experienced general manager while the company stabilized. It would be expensive, and I would have to devote time to a business I had not planned to run.
For years, I had seen my shares as a connection to Dad. Taking responsibility for them now would mean attending meetings, making payroll decisions, and answering staff questions I could not settle with a memory of him. I called Ruth to ask whether she would stay through a transition if one occurred. She said she would, provided the accounts were open and the employees were treated fairly.
Grant’s lawyer returned with a revised offer late that afternoon. Starline would list the yacht immediately. Grant would step away from financial control while an independent manager reviewed the business. The parties would negotiate repayment after the sale and the accountant’s final report. There was no request that I alter my account of Noah’s reaction. Mara said it was a basis for agreement.
We met the following day. Grant signed the temporary arrangements, though he did not speak to me beyond answering questions about the company. Celia had not attended. As we left, he said, “Dad would never have put a stranger in my office.” I told him Dad would have wanted someone who could show Ruth the books. Grant studied the floor, then walked away.
The business did not recover simply because papers were signed. Suppliers wanted overdue balances, the staff wanted to know whether their jobs were secure, and two customers called me directly after hearing rumors. I worked with the new manager, Elena Ortiz, to send a plain account of what Harbor Point could offer. She had run service operations at a larger marina and asked questions Grant had avoided.
Elena found work waiting in the shop, along with parts orders that had been delayed while cash went to Starline. She met each employee and reviewed the schedule before proposing changes. Ruth took her through the accounts. I sat in on their first planning meeting, then spent the evening updating my own clients after losing half a day to Harbor Point.
At home, Noah asked whether helping the workshop meant I would own Uncle Grant’s boat. I told him Starline was selling the yacht to pay its lender. “Good,” he said. He did not ask where it would go. Later, when we made dinner, he checked a sauce label and handed it to me to check too. We had both become slower about trusting food someone else prepared.
Celia’s lawyer requested an interview with me through the prosecutor. Mara helped me respond. I would provide information to investigators, but I would not meet Celia’s defense team without counsel. I understood she had a right to challenge the evidence. I also knew Noah had already told his account to trained people and should not be drawn into a family effort to soften it.
The independent accountant’s final report arrived the next week. It found $146,000 in Starline payments unsupported by documented business services. Some of the difference involved real dockage and client events. I appreciated that care. Grant had made enough poor decisions without anyone needing to exaggerate them. Mara sent his lawyer a repayment proposal based on the report.
Grant called that night. He said he accepted the figure but could not pay it all at once. I told him the lawyers could work out a schedule after the boat sold. There was a pause. Then he said he had told Celia to use a different dressing when he learned she had brought cashew cream aboard. She told him she had put it away.
I asked why he had called Noah a liar. Grant said he thought admitting there might be cashew in the food would end the bank deal. He said he had seen the blue case fall and moved it because he wanted me to stop reaching under the table and listen to him. I could hear him struggling to make the act sound smaller. He had watched Noah struggle for breath and chosen the loan.
END PART 10
