Chapter 14
“My current legal team wasn't there.”
“You hope.”
Nolan stared at her.
She raised an eyebrow.
He sighed.
“Fine.”
They hired an independent forensic firm.
Not one Pierce North had ever used.
The investigation lasted seven weeks.
What they found was worse than Bellweather.
Bellweather had not been an exception.
It had been a model.
Elliot Vance had created a strategy.
Acquire regional manufacturers with valuable brands.
Publicly promise continuity.
Privately prepare consolidation before closing.
Once the acquisition was complete, shift enough costs onto the original facility to make it appear inefficient.
Then close it.
Outsource production.
Keep the brand.
Sell the closure to investors as unavoidable.
Nolan had been young.
Aggressive.
Brilliant.
And useful.
Elliot gave him numbers.
Nolan made decisions.
Investors rewarded him.
The cycle continued.
Eleven companies.
Four states.
More than two thousand workers.
Mara stared at the final report.
Nolan stood beside the window in their home.
Neither had spoken for several minutes.
Finally he said:
“I did this.”
Mara looked up.
“Elliot did this.”
“I signed the approvals.”
“You were deceived.”
“I didn't ask enough questions.”
“No.”
He turned.
Mara did not soften the truth.
“You didn't.”
Nolan nodded.
“You saw numbers you wanted to believe.”
“Yes.”
“You benefited from believing them.”
“Yes.”
“You became rich.”
“Yes.”
She closed the report.
“But there is a difference between responsibility and intent.”
Nolan looked at her.
“You don't have to protect me.”
“I'm not.”
She stood.
“If I were protecting you, I'd tell you none of this was your fault.”
She walked toward him.
“Some of it was.”
He absorbed that.
“You built a system where men like Elliot knew exactly what information you wanted.”
Nolan said nothing.
“So they gave it to you.”
“Yes.”
“You don't fix that by standing here hating yourself.”
“What do I do?”
Mara handed him the report.
“You make it expensive to ever happen again.”
The Pierce North board meeting began at 9:00 Monday morning.
At 9:07, Nolan placed the independent report in front of every director.
At 9:09, three attorneys advised him to stop talking.
At 9:11, Nolan fired one of them.
At 9:13, nobody interrupted him again.
Mara sat against the wall.
She had no official role at Pierce North.
That was intentional.
Nolan stood at the head of the table.
“For nine years, this company described Bellweather Furniture as a successful acquisition.”
Nobody moved.
“It wasn't.”
A director named Charles Benton adjusted his glasses.