Adrian
The call from Whitmore Industries came through at nine the next morning, and I knew before I even answered that something had gone wrong. Marcus Whitmore had never once called me directly during six months of acquisition negotiations. Every previous conversation had run through his legal team and mine, careful and procedural, the way these things usually went.
"Adrian," he said, and something in his tone was already different, more guarded than the easy familiarity we'd built over half a year of dinners and negotiations. "I wanted to speak with you personally before my team drafts anything formal."
"I'm listening."
"We've received some information that's given the board pause about moving forward with the acquisition timeline as planned. Concerns about leadership stability at Bl
