Chapter 5 - Cross Meridian Freezes the Negotiation
The next morning, Nathaniel recused himself from direct decisions
involving Hartwell’s proposal.
He had to.
Cross Meridian had governance rules.
My marriage to him created an obvious conflict.
An independent committee reviewed whether negotiations with Charles’s
firm should continue.
That disappointed my father.
He had apparently imagined Nathaniel could simply command billions of
dollars according to family emotion.
Ironically, Charles understood power less well than he thought.
The committee paused negotiations.
Not because he spilled wine on me.
Because the newly disclosed collateral questions created diligence
concerns.
Charles called me.
“You cost my firm the mandate.”
“No.”
“You brought Nathaniel into this.”
“He was already my husband.”
“You hid that.”
I almost dropped the phone.
“I told Mom we got married.”
“You said you married someone in finance.”
“His name was in the announcement I emailed.”
Charles went silent.
He had not read it.
That silence hurt more than I expected.
Then he said:
“You knew what Cross Meridian meant to us.”
“No. I knew you wanted their business.”
“You could have helped.”
There it was.
Even my marriage became an asset he believed I should have deployed for
the family.
I said:
May you like
“I am not your client pipeline.”
Then I hung up.
