PART 7 — The Records Dad Taught Ruth to Keep
Ruth placed the box on Mara’s reception desk and gave the lawyer who accompanied her an inventory. She had kept copies of company records because Dad had taught her to retain financial documents even when someone wanted a desk cleared. Grant’s instruction to delete the email folder had prompted her to check what else might disappear. She had preserved the originals where they belonged.
Her lawyer asked that the records be reviewed before they were shared. Grant protested, but Mara pointed out that I was an owner and that the documents concerned company spending. We continued the meeting after the break. Grant no longer referred to the Starline lease as proof that every payment was proper. He said his accountant would provide a fuller explanation.
The records gave Peter enough to trace how the arrangement had developed. Before Starline bought the yacht, Harbor Point had paid Celia’s company for “hospitality planning.” Some invoices covered real client dinners, but others had no supporting event or guest list. Later payments helped Starline make deposits and meet financing costs. Peter found no evidence that the workshop’s owners had approved the arrangement.
I asked Grant why he had used the company to pay for a yacht held in Celia’s name. He rubbed the edge of the folder with his thumb. “It brought in clients,” he said. Peter asked him to identify the contracts generated by the boat. Grant named two customers. Ruth’s records showed both had signed service agreements before Starline purchased it.
Grant’s lawyer urged him to stop answering until they reviewed the box. The meeting ended without a resolution. Mara sent a formal proposal that afternoon: Grant would step back from financial decisions during an independent review, Starline payments would stop, and the company would examine a sale of the yacht. Grant had five business days to respond.
Driving home, I passed the marina exit and kept going. Noah was at Tessa’s, baking bread with her because she had cleared every ingredient with me and showed him the labels herself. When I arrived, he presented me with a warm roll. He had pressed a small anchor shape into the top. “This one’s safe,” he said, and I believed him.
We ate at Tessa’s kitchen table. Noah asked why I looked sad when the meeting had gone well. I told him I had learned Grant had spent company money without telling me. “Grandpa’s company?” he asked. I nodded. Noah tore his roll in half and studied the steam. “Grandpa would tell him to put the money back,” he said.
Dad might have done exactly that. He also would have made Grant sit down and work through every bill, even if he had to sell the boat first. Remembering him helped me see the company as more than a prize Grant and I were fighting over. Twelve employees depended on it. Customers had left boats in its care. The accounts needed fixing whether or not Grant wanted my help.
The investigation into Noah’s reaction moved separately. The officer told me Celia had changed part of her account. She now said she had used cashew cream while preparing food in the galley but believed she had kept it away from Noah’s sandwich. The officer could not discuss every piece of evidence, and I did not ask her to. She said the case remained open.
I remembered Celia standing in front of the galley cupboard while I checked lunch. She had smiled and shown me a sealed box of cookies, drawing my eyes to the one item she knew was safe. I had wanted our visit to go well. That desire had made her reassurance feel easier to accept than another inspection of the ingredients.
Grant rejected Mara’s proposal on Friday. His written response called the review unnecessary and insisted the yacht was essential to future revenue. He offered to buy my shares instead. The proposed price was far below what Dad’s last valuation had shown, even allowing for the company’s debt. Mara advised me to seek court oversight if he continued withholding records.
I did not want a lawsuit to be the only way forward. I called Grant once, with Mara present and his lawyer on the line. I told him the offer to sell the boat and protect the shop remained open. He asked if I would withdraw my police statement in return. I said the two matters had no connection I would bargain over.
“You always think you’re better than me,” he said. His voice carried the old resentment I knew from arguments over Dad’s praise. I looked at Noah’s anchor roll, now wrapped on the counter for breakfast. “I want the company’s accounts put right,” I said. Grant ended the call. His lawyer stayed on long enough to say he would discuss the proposal with his client.
That evening, Peter sent Mara a new finding from the records. Grant had pledged expected Harbor Point payments to Starline as security for part of the yacht financing. If Starline missed its next payment, the lender could pursue the boat quickly. The payment was due in eleven days, and Starline did not have enough cash in its account.
END PART 7
