Ryan had expected a brutal negotiation. He had rolled up his sleeves and prepared five bottles from his private liquor collection, only for the entire discussion to end in under 20 minutes.
After Howard left smiling with three contracts in hand, Ryan slammed the door shut.
"Have you lost your mind, Gavin? Three contracts worth tens of millions each, and you just handed them over?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, Nathan was our friend from childhood. You and I have both looked after the Brooks family for years. But these three contracts are worth almost $200 million combined. We had better partners available, and you gave everything to the Brooks family. How will you explain this to the board?"
Gavin's voice was weary. "This has dragged on long enough. It needed to end. A partner
