Chapter 6 - The Cost of Not Signing
By Monday morning, Ethan’s company had stopped pretending Tuesday's financing was optional.
His chief financial officer called Claire.
Ethan had not asked him to.
The company employed sixty-three people.
Two construction loans were approaching maturity.
One large client had withheld payment during a dispute.
Without replacement financing, the company could miss payroll within three weeks.
Claire listened.
Then she asked the question nobody had wanted her to ask.
“Why was my guarantee necessary?”
The CFO paused.
Because Ethan had already exhausted most of his available business collateral.
Claire felt cold.
“How long has he known?”
“About the seriousness of it?”
“Yes.”
“Since June.”
Four months.
Ethan had spent four months telling Claire business was merely slow.
During those same months, he had become unusually attentive to her inherited properties.
He suggested consolidating accountants.
He pushed for joint financial planning before the baby arrived.
He repeatedly told her that married people shouldn't maintain “artificial walls” around money.
Claire had interpreted it as anxiety about becoming parents.
Now the conversations sounded different.
Rachel watched her put down the phone.
“What are you going to do?”
Claire looked toward the nursery Rachel had hastily prepared in her guest room.
“For once?”
She opened her laptop.
“I'm going to stop making decisions based on keeping Ethan calm.”
That afternoon she revoked the limited business authorization she had previously given him to communicate with managers of two inherited rental properties.
Then she told Caroline to review every financial document Ethan had asked her to sign during the previous year.
Ethan called almost immediately.
Not about their marriage.
May you like
About the authorization.
That told Claire where his panic lived.
