Chapter 6 - Dominic Wanted to End the Deal Immediately
Dominic's first instinct was simple.
Terminate negotiations.
Black-list Hale Development from every Vale project.
Call every lender.
Burn the bridge.
Professionally, not literally.
I refused to support that without review.
He looked at me as though I had lost my mind.
“They covered up what their son did.”
“Maybe.”
“Elena.”
“You taught me that a three-hundred-million-dollar agreement doesn't get terminated based on anger.”
“This is different.”
“Why?”
His expression hardened.
“Because they hurt you.”
There it was.
I almost smiled.
“That is exactly why you should not make the decision alone.”
He turned away.
I knew what he wanted.
To fix it.
Dominic's love language was solving.
Mine had become refusing to be solved.
We argued for forty minutes.
Eventually Daniel Ross, his general counsel, said the thing both of us needed.
“Vale should use independent review because Dominic has a personal conflict.”
Dominic looked offended.
I said:
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“You enjoy that too much.”
“A little.”
Vale’s investment committee appointed two independent directors to assess whether Hale's representations had been false or materially incomplete.
Dominic recused himself from the final recommendation.
That mattered.
Not because he stopped caring.
Because power used correctly sometimes means not touching the lever.
My own case remained separate.
Rachel negotiated paid medical leave for me.
Then I resigned from Monarch.
Not because Dominic asked.
He did.
Repeatedly.
I resigned because returning to Dennis's floor felt impossible.
I also did something Dominic did not expect.
I stayed in hospitality.
Three weeks later, I began consulting for a small restaurant group on staff safety and service standards.
“That's still restaurants,” Dominic said at breakfast.
“Yes.”
“You have a master's degree.”
“Yes.”
“You could do almost anything.”
“I know.”
“So why this?”
I looked at him.
“Because the problem wasn't carrying plates.”
He stopped arguing.
Progress.
Meanwhile, Preston issued a public apology through counsel.
It was terrible.
A misguided prank escalated beyond my intention.
No mention of holding me down.
No mention of clippers.
No mention of staff warnings.
I declined to respond publicly.
Then his friend Owen negotiated first.
His statement to police described something Preston had said before the clippers ever turned on.
Dennis won't do anything. Dad owns half this place.
Arthur Hale did not own half.
May you like
Preston only believed consequences had limits.
That belief had not come from nowhere.
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