Tit For Tat Chapter 12
The next day, Cole Capital froze two consultant payments for Harbor Dock that had already been approved.
The contract was clear.
Those payments were not tied to any engagement, nor did they come with a condition that I avoid Noah.
Adrian was trying to force me back to the table by choking my cash flow.
But he’d forgotten one thing: for the past three years, I had handled countless project crises for Cole Capital.
I knew which of their payment processes wouldn’t survive an independent audit, and I knew exactly which board members despised management letting personal drama interfere with fiduciary duty.
At ten in the morning, Hart Real Estate’s lawyers issued a notice of breach.
At noon, the project company formally invoked the audit clause.
By afternoon, two independent directors at Cole Capital had called me personally to verify the situation.
That evening, Adrian came to my office.
He sat on the sofa, his face as cold as if he’d just walked in from a blizzard.
“Evelyn, do you really have to drag this to the arbitration committee?”
I slid the payment schedule and acceptance documents across my desk.
“Cole Capital breached the contract first.”
He stared at me.
“If you suspend negotiations with Bennett, the money will be in your account tomorrow morning.”
I pressed the record button on my phone.
“Please say that again.”
Adrian’s gaze dropped to the flashing red light. He finally realized what he’d just admitted.
He shut his eyes briefly.
“You never used to be this guarded with me.”
“I used to be helping you,” I said. “Now I have to protect my company.”
That seemed to sting.
He was silent for a long moment, about to speak again when my office door was suddenly thrown open.