Chapter 7 - The Reynolds Engineering Company Faces Sudden Ruin
On Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM, Walter Reynolds walked into his corner office at Reynolds Engineering headquarters in Bethesda.
He had slept less than three hours, his mind tortured by the disgrace unfolding within his family.
He poured himself a coffee and sat down behind his heavy mahogany desk, intending to call his corporate lawyer to handle Naomi.
Before he could dial the phone, his executive secretary burst into the office without knocking, her face pale with terror.
“Mr. Reynolds! You need to look at the regional news feed right now!” she gasped out, turning on the wall-mounted television.
The news banner across the bottom of the screen read: BREAKING: BRITISH INFRASTRUCTURE GIANT ACQUIRES VANCE CAPITAL HOLDINGS.
Walter frowned, adjusting his glasses as the news anchor began speaking.
“In a landmark international deal, Vance Infrastructure of London has finalized the acquisition of several major East Coast commercial properties.”
“The company’s CEO, Penelope Vance, announced this morning that her firm is pulling all financial backing from local subcontractors.”
Walter’s coffee cup slipped from his fingers, crashing onto his desk and spilling hot liquid across his executive calendars.
“Vance... Vance Capital?” Walter stammered, his eyes bulging behind his glasses.
“Penelope’s maiden name was Vance!”
His secretary pulled up a corporate filing document on her tablet, handing it over to Walter with a trembling hand.
“Mr. Reynolds... Penelope’s father wasn't a schoolteacher like you thought,” she whispered nervously.
“Her family owns Vance Global Infrastructure—the primary financial guarantor for eighty percent of our company’s commercial projects.”
“She just cancelled our three fifty-million-dollar construction bonds in Northern Virginia.”
Walter fell back into his leather chair, his chest heaving as his heart pounded violently against his ribs.
For twelve years, Walter had treated me like a simple, middle-class girl who was lucky to marry into his prestigious family.
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He had never bothered to ask about my family’s international business assets, assuming that because I didn't brag, I had nothing.
Now, with a single signature from London, I had stripped his engineering company of its entire operating line of credit.
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