Until the Contract Ends

1

If there was one thing Nadia hated, it would be waiting. That feeling of not being present while time went by. She sat in the corridor outside her father's office. Anxiously tapping her feet on the floors, watching each hand of the clock go by. Her father had been in that room for 43 minutes. He hadn't said a word since they arrived. That was unlike him. Conrad Whitmore could talk his way through anything. Board meetings, lawsuits, political scandals, and even funerals.

It was like a skill no one taught him. He'd built an empire on the simple belief that there was always a way out.

But today, when Nadia looked at him and asked what was wrong, he simply looked at hr and said "wait here"

So she waited. Her phone vibrated in her hand

Mali: are you coming to lunch?

Nadia stared at the message

She typed a response

Can't make it. Something came up

She deleted it and typed again

Dad's not okay

Deleted that too

She locked her phone

Whatever was happening, she didn't know how to put into words.

The door finally opened.

Nadia looked up

Her father's lawyer stepped out first. Mr. Bennett was usually irritatingly composed, but today, his tie was crooked, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

His demeanor scared her more than anything

"Mr. Bennett?"

He looked away. His jaw tightened

"Your father will explain"

"Explain what?" Nadia asked. Before Mr. Bennett could answer her, she heard her father's voice

"Send her in"

Nadia's stomach dropped. She pushed the door open. Her father sat behind his enormous mahogany desk. His usually immaculate silver hair was disheveled, and several documents were scattered across the desk.

"Dad?"

Conrad looked at her and for a brief moment, he had nothing to say.

Then he gestured toward the chair opposite him. "Sit," he said.

Nadia remained standing.

"I don't like it when you do that."

"Do what?" he asked

"Talk to me like I'm one of your employees"

His expression softened a bit, but his distress was still very visible.

"Sit down Nadia"

She did this time. Her eyes immediately fell on the papers in front of him. Numbers, bank statements, monthly reports dating back to the previous year, legal documents. A letter with a red stamp across the top. She frowned.

"What's going on?"

Conrad folded his arms

"The company is having finance issues."

Nadia blinked

"What kind of issues?"

"Temporary ones"

"Dad?"

He looked away. She leaned forward

"How bad?"

"Bad enough that we have to sell the company"

Nadia stared at him. For several seconds she believed her ears were deceiving her.

"You're joking, right? These dates go all the way back to June last year. This is September. Why are we just beginning to panic?"

"I genuinely thought I'd find a way. I wasn't expecting things to get this bad. I've tried it all Nadia. New stocks, pitching sales to top rated investors, the expansion last month was my last shot, and even that failed too"

"The London branch?"

"That went downhill quite a while back. We lost it all. The investors are getting scared and pulling out of the company. It's just a matter of time before the press covers this"

Nadia felt her pulse rise.

"How much"

Conrad didn't answer

"How much do we owe?"

He pushed a document toward her. Nadia looked down. Her eyes moved across the page. Then stopped. Her breath caught. She looked up slowly.

"Twelve million?"

"Yes"

"Is this part of the debt or this is the whole thing?"

"That's everything"

She laughed, and not quietly. Conrad was puzzled. He thought maybe the joke flew over his head.

"You're telling me Whitmore Co owes 12 million dollars and we're sitting here like it's the greatest tragedy that has ever befallen mankind?"

"We have assets Nadia"

"Then sell them"

"We can't"

"Why?"

"Because they're already collateral"

Suddenly the room felt smaller.

"Then let me handle it"

"How do you intend on doing that"

"Give me the company. I'll save it by myself. With Mr. Bennett of course"

"I've been running this company since before I met your mother. I've checked everything. There are no loopholes."

"Who said I'm looking for loopholes? Dad I studied business at HEC. That's like the best business school in Europe. Let me prove myself. I can do this"

There weren't many options to pick from. It was either he sold it all, and lost the company he built himself from scratch, or he gambled on his daughter.

"You don't leave me much of a choice now do you?"

Nadia stood from her chair and gave Conrad a hug.

"You won't be disappointed, I swear" she said while smiling like she just won a million dollars in the lottery."

Nadia walked out of that office beaming. Something she didn't think was possible when she walked in.