Page 58 of One Month's Notice

“Go on.” Michael nodded.

Nat took a deep breath. “We have just been informed about a court ruling regarding the company we’re about to sign a significant investment deal with.” Her voice steadily gained strength as she turned to look at the board members in turn. “Spinigma is being prosecuted for a number of serious charges. Associating with them would irreparably damage our reputation and potentially destroy the company.”

Murmurs broke out around the table as the gravity of her words sank in. The representatives from Spinigma glanced at each other as they scrambled for their phones to verify the information.

“This has to be a joke,” Clara said, snatching the piece of paper. Nat watched as she scanned the words, her face contorting from shock to anger as each one sank in. “I don’t believe a word of it. For some reason, you’ve been desperate to stop this deal from going through. I don’t know what that’s all about, but this time you’ve gone too far. We’ll be lucky if Spinigma even wants to do business with us after this outrage.” She cast a look towards the company delegates as a show of apology.

“It’s not me who’s gone too far, Clara.” Nat emphasised her name with a deliberate undercurrent of insinuation. They may not have got to the bottom of Clara’s connections, but seeing the colour drain from her cheeks told her everything she needed to know.

“Are you absolutely certain?” Colin asked, his eyebrows knitted together in concern.

“Absolutely.” Nat gestured toward the announcement. “It’s being made public right now. We can’t go through with this deal.”

“Look, we’re not sure what’s going on.” Steve was the first one from Spinigma to speak. He was visibly shaken and clawed the paperwork back into his folder. “We need to get back to the office to figure this out. We’ll be in touch as soon as we can.”

Without another word, Steve, Karen, Malik, and Poppy gathered their belongings and left, their abrupt departure leaving the rest of the room reeling in shock.

Nat turned to Michael. “Can we talk?” she whispered, watching as the tightness in his jaw began to relax. He nodded, and they stepped aside into a quiet corner of the room. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she held his gaze.

“Do you understand now? I know you are angry at me for going behind your back, but I couldn’t sit by and let this happen.”

“You should have told me what was going on.” Michael ran a hand through his hair, a mix of frustration and relief in his eyes.

“I couldn’t. My brother could have lost the court case. He could have lost everything. I had no choice but to try to persuade you to make the right investment decision. When that didn’t work out…” Nat’s voice trailed off.

“That was too close for comfort. We were about to sign the deal.” He hesitated, then sighed. “You were right. We would have lost everything. I would have lost everything.”

“But you didn’t. And there is still a way back from this.” Nat reached into her bag and passed him the other proposal. “That wasn’t the only deal on the table.”

A shiver ran down Nat’s spine as Michael placed his hand on her arm and squeezed gently.

“Thank you. For not giving up on the company. For not giving up on me.”

“You can make it up to me with a drink tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Lexi’s launch party for the music cafe?” Nat tried to hide the flash of disappointment that crossed her face.

“Of course! Drinks are on me all night.” Michael’s reassurance that he hadn’t entirely forgotten eased Nat’s mind. “I suppose I had better salvage what is left of this meeting.”

She nodded, smiling to herself as he took his seat back at the table.

“Given recent developments,” he began, “I think we should revisit the alternative proposal.”

There was a collective shuffle of papers as the board members reached for the second set of documents placed before them earlier that day. Nat watched the rest of the afternoon play out before her. She relaxed into her seat, enjoying seeing the passion back in Michael as he talked through the details of the new investment deal and the potential for the company. Even Clara’s continued attempts to patronise and belittle Nat did nothing to flatten the swell of pride she felt at what she had achieved. She thought about the evening ahead—tonight would be a double celebration. After what felt like months of chaos and uncertainty, she had a newfound sense of empowerment and control over her life. For once, she was excited for what would come next.

Chapter twenty-five

Friday 27th May, evening

Nat raised her glass of champagne and clinked it against Lexi’s, the liquid fizzing against the rim. The music cafe buzzed around them—a hive of laughter and conversation lit by the warm glow of the lights suspended from the ceiling.

“This is incredible.” Nat looked around. “You must be so proud of what you’ve achieved.”

“Thank you.” Lexi beamed at her, her eyes sparkling. “I can’t believe my dreams have finally come true.”

The party was well underway, with smartly dressed guests mingling and chatting as they listened to a young woman on the stage. She was strumming an acoustic guitar and singing a cover of a modern country song.

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