Chapter 13 - THE COMPANY HAD TO SURVIVE WITHOUT THE MARRIAGE
Claire did not want Mercer Homeworks.
Not forever.
Matthew did.
That became the central business question in the divorce.
An independent valuation placed the company below the number Matthew expected and above the number Claire feared.
MRC’s failed development had damaged cash but not destroyed the underlying remodeling operation.
Claire had three realistic options.
Sell her interest to Matthew.
Buy Matthew out.
Sell the company externally.
She rejected revenge pricing.
The employees mattered.
So did her original investment.
Matthew proposed buying Claire’s forty-nine percent over seven years.
Claire’s attorney disliked the risk.
If Matthew controlled the company and later failed, Claire could become an unsecured former spouse waiting for payments.
They negotiated security.
Personal guarantees.
Collateral.
Reporting requirements.
Matthew complained.
Claire almost laughed.
“You mean paperwork?”
He understood.
Eventually a structure emerged.
Matthew would acquire Claire’s shares gradually with financing supported partly by the company, subject to lender approval and independent oversight.
Until closing, large transfers required outside CFO approval.
MRC Development would be dissolved after remaining obligations were resolved.
No land deal.
No speculative subdivision.
Mercer Homeworks would return to remodeling.
Matthew called that humiliating.
Jenna called it staying alive.
The criminal case remained separate.
Claire refused to make the company settlement dependent on prosecutors doing what she wanted.
She gave her evidence.
Rachel gave hers.
The automobile remote-start records were preserved.
The electrician testified about the disconnected wall control.
The rest belonged to the legal process.
Diane asked Claire once:
“If Matthew accepts what happened, will you ask them to go easier?”
Claire answered:
“I’ll tell the truth if anyone asks me.”
“But he’s your husband.”
“Not for much longer.”
“He’s still family.”
Claire looked at her.
“Family is why I kept explaining things long after I should have left.”
Diane cried.
Claire did not soften the sentence.
She also did not enjoy saying it.
That was what boundaries actually felt like most of the time.
Sad.
May you like
Necessary.
Unimpressive.
