Chapter 5 - The Company Nobody Knew He Owned
Brooke grabbed the folder.
Ethan did not stop her.
She read the first page.
Then the second.
“No.”
Marcus waited.
Brooke looked at Ethan.
“You bought our debt?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“You can’t.”
“I already did.”
“Your father knows Sterling Biotech has lenders.”
“Correct.”
Brooke flipped pages faster.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Her voice dropped.
Marcus answered for him.
Brooke stared.
“Why?”
Ethan looked toward the ballroom.
“Because your father spent three years borrowing against a company that stopped making money.”
“You targeted us.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You want revenge.”
“If I wanted revenge, I would have announced it before dessert.”
Brooke went quiet.
That was true.
Ethan continued.
“I came here to understand management culture before I decided who stays.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“You were testing us.”
“I was observing.”
“With the wheelchair.”
“You can walk?”
He did not answer.
Brooke stepped back.
“You lied.”
“No. You assumed.”
“You let me think—”
“That I was powerless?”
She went silent.
Marcus looked at Ethan.
“We still need your final approval on executive retention.”
Brooke stared.
“Retention?”
Marcus nodded.
“My father?”
“Everyone.”
Then she looked toward Isabella’s service hallway.
“This is because of that waitress?”
Ethan’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Then what?”
Brooke lowered her voice.
“She is staff.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And people who think staff are beneath them usually think shareholders are tools and employees are disposable.”
Brooke shook her head.
“You’re making a billion-dollar decision based on manners?”
Ethan almost smiled.
“No.”
He tapped the folder.
“The numbers already told me your company is sick.”
May you like
Then he looked toward the ballroom.
“Tonight told me why.”
