Chapter 55: One more problem

Damian thought the hardest part would be negotiating the price.

He was wrong.

The hardest part was waiting.

For the next few days, everything moved slowly.

The lawyer reviewed the company’s contracts.

Maya continued examining the software.

Marcus went deeper into the financial records.

Michael provided whatever documents they requested.

And Damian waited.

He hated waiting.

But he’d learned enough by now to know that rushing wasn’t the same thing as making progress.

So he waited.

Thursday afternoon, Marcus called.

"I found something."

Damian immediately sat up.

"What?"

"Not necessarily bad."

"That usually means it’s bad."

Marcus laughed.

"Depends on how you look at it."

Damian opened his notebook.

"Go ahead."

"There’s an expense category that doesn’t make sense."

"What kind?"

"Consulting."

Damian frowned.

"How much?"

Marcus gave him the figure.

Damian stared at his notebook.

"That much?"

"Every year."

"Who are they paying?"

"That’s what I wanted to find out."

Damian leaned back.

"Any names?"

"Yes."

"Send them to me."

"I already did."

Damian checked his laptop.

A document was waiting.

He opened it.

One name appeared repeatedly.

Northstar Advisory Group.

Damian frowned.

He didn’t recognize it.

"What exactly do they do?"

"That’s the problem."

Marcus paused.

"The invoices don’t give much detail."

Damian stared at the screen.

"Consulting for what?"

"Management."

"That’s vague."

"Very."

Damian rubbed his forehead.

"How long have they been paying them?"

"Almost four years."

Four years.

That was too long to ignore.

"Is the owner connected to them?"

"I don’t know."

"Can you find out?"

"I’m already checking."

Damian nodded.

"Keep me updated."

The call ended.

Damian sat quietly.

One more problem.

Exactly what he didn’t need.

He called Michael.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Who is Northstar Advisory Group?"

There was silence.

Damian noticed it immediately.

Not long.

But enough.

"You know them."

Michael sighed.

"Yes."

"Who are they?"

"A consulting firm."

"What do they do?"

"Business consulting."

Damian stared at the wall.

"That’s not an answer."

Michael sighed again.

"They helped us when the company was struggling."

"Four years ago?"

"Yes."

"And you’re still paying them?"

"They’ve been involved with certain operations."

"Which operations?"

"Management."

Damian frowned.

"That sounds exactly like what Marcus said."

Michael was quiet.

"Damian..."

"I need to know what I’m buying."

"I understand."

"Then tell me."

Michael finally spoke.

"Northstar has a minority financial interest in the company."

Damian froze.

"What?"

"They provided funding several years ago."

"How much?"

Michael told him.

Damian’s expression changed.

"And I assume that wasn’t in the initial documents."

"It was."

"Buried?"

"No."

"Then why didn’t I see it?"

"I don’t know."

Damian leaned forward.

"Does Northstar own part of the company?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

Michael gave him the percentage.

Damian immediately opened the ownership documents.

He searched through them.

There it was.

A minority stake.

Small.

But enough to matter.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I assumed you’d see it during due diligence."

Damian laughed once.

Not because it was funny.

"Michael."

"I know."

"You’re asking me to pay two million dollars for a company while leaving out the fact that another party owns part of it."

"I didn’t leave it out."

"You didn’t mention it."

"I understand the difference."

"Good."

Silence.

Damian looked at the documents again.

"Do they have any control?"

"No."

"Board seat?"

"Yes."

Damian stopped.

"That matters."

"I know."

"Veto rights?"

"On certain major decisions."

Damian closed his eyes.

There it was.

The thing he’d been missing.

The company wasn’t completely Michael’s to sell.

Not really.

The next morning, Damian met his lawyer.

Her name was Rachel Morgan.

She had been reviewing the company’s legal structure.

Damian slid the Northstar documents across the table.

"You saw this?"

Rachel nodded.

"Yes."

"And?"

She looked at him.

"It changes the transaction."

"How much?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"The shareholder agreement."

She opened a folder.

"Northstar has certain protective rights."

"Meaning?"

"If you acquire Michael’s shares, you don’t automatically gain unrestricted control."

Damian frowned.

"Can they block me from buying?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what can they do?"

Rachel explained.

Certain major decisions would require shareholder approval.

Changes to ownership.

Major borrowing.

Certain asset sales.

Potential restructuring.

Damian listened carefully.

"So I’d own the company..."

"Potentially."

"But I wouldn’t have complete freedom."

"Correct."

Damian leaned back.

"How much of a problem is that?"

Rachel shrugged.

"It’s a problem if you don’t know what you’re agreeing to."

That answer was enough.

Damian nodded.

"Then I need to talk to them."

"Yes."

"Northstar."

"Yes."

"Can you arrange it?"

"I can try."

That afternoon, Damian sat alone in his apartment.

He opened the ownership documents again.

Northstar Advisory Group.

The name bothered him.

Not because of anything specific.

It was simply another piece of the puzzle he hadn’t known existed.

He searched through the documents.

There was a registered address.

A few names.

Nothing particularly useful.

He opened another file.

Then another.

Eventually, he found something.

A director’s name.

Victor Hale.

Damian stared at it.

He didn’t recognize the name.

Not yet.

But he wrote it down.

Meanwhile, Emily had a problem of her own.

She was sitting with Adrian at a restaurant.

Again.

She looked at the table.

Then at him.

"You know this is getting excessive, right?"

Adrian smiled.

"You agreed to spend time with me."

"I know."

"So?"

"So I didn’t agree to do this every other day."

He laughed.

"Fair."

Emily sighed.

"I have other things to do."

"I know."

"Then why keep asking?"

"Because you keep saying yes."

Emily stared at him.

That shut her up for a moment.

He wasn’t wrong.

She had said yes.

Because of the money.

Because of her mother.

Because she’d convinced herself that she could keep the arrangement simple.

But it wasn’t simple anymore.

Adrian leaned back.

"You can stop whenever you want."

Emily looked at him.

"Can I?"

"Yes."

"You wouldn’t ask for the money back?"

"Of course not."

"I mean immediately."

Adrian shook his head.

"No."

Emily studied him.

"You really mean that?"

"Yes."

She nodded slowly.

That made things slightly easier.

Then Adrian added,

"But I’d still be disappointed."

Emily rolled her eyes.

"Of course you would."

He smiled.

"I’m allowed."

She laughed despite herself.

For a moment, they were simply friends again.

And that was exactly why Emily needed to be careful.

Because normal was easier than she expected.

Her phone buzzed.

Damian.

Damian:Hey love, what are you doing?

Emily glanced at Adrian.

She typed:

Emily:Out.

She stopped.

Then added:

Emily:Handling some stuff.

Damian replied:

Damian:Okay. You eating properly?

Emily smiled.

Emily:Yes dad 😂

Damian:Good.

She laughed.

Adrian watched her.

"You really like him."

Emily looked at him.

"Yeah."

There was no hesitation.

No uncertainty.

Just a simple answer.

Adrian nodded.

"I know."

Emily looked back at her phone.

"Then don’t make this harder than it needs to be."

Adrian’s expression became serious.

"I won’t."

She hoped he meant it.

That evening, Damian received an email.

Rachel had managed to arrange the meeting.

Northstar had agreed to speak with him.

Not next week.

Not later.

Tomorrow.

Damian looked at the message.

He smiled slightly.

"Finally."

He opened his notebook.

The acquisition had started with a cheap-looking company.

Then came the debt.

Then the infrastructure.

Then Meridian.

Now Northstar.

Every answer had created another question.

But he wasn’t frustrated anymore.

This was what due diligence was supposed to look like.

You kept digging until there were no surprises left.

Or at least no surprises you could reasonably uncover.

He wrote one final line:

Tomorrow — Northstar.

Then underlined it.

His phone buzzed.

Emily.

Emily:Goodnight love ❤️

Damian smiled.

Damian:Goodnight babe. Sleep well.

He put the phone down.

Then paused.

Something about her had felt different lately.

Not enough to confront her.

Not enough to accuse her of anything.

Just enough to notice.

He opened their conversation.

Looked at the recent messages.

Then closed it.

He trusted her.

That mattered.

Whatever was bothering her, she’d tell him when she was ready.

At least, that’s what he believed.

Across the city, Emily placed her phone on the bedside table.

She stared at it.

Then at the ceiling.

She knew she couldn’t keep lying forever.

She just didn’t know how to tell him without changing everything.

And tomorrow, she had another dinner with Adrian.

She didn’t want to go.

But she had already agreed.

Emily closed her eyes.

"Just a little longer."

The next morning, Damian stood outside the offices of Northstar Advisory Group.

He looked up at the building.

It was more modern than he expected.

Glass walls.

Private offices.

A polished reception area.

This didn’t look like a small consulting firm attached to a struggling technology company.

Damian checked his phone.

9:58 AM.

His meeting was at ten.

The receptionist looked up.

"Mr. Cross?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Hale is expecting you."

Damian nodded.

"Thank you."

She pointed toward the elevator.

"Twenty-third floor."

Damian stepped inside.

The doors closed.

As the elevator began climbing, he looked at his reflection in the metal doors.

This wasn’t just about buying a company anymore.

Someone else had money in it.

Someone else had influence.

And Damian had no idea what they wanted.

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened.

A man was waiting outside.

Early fifties.

Dark suit.

Calm expression.

He extended his hand.

"Damian Cross?"

"Yes."

"Victor Hale."

They shook hands.

Victor smiled.

"Let’s talk about the company you’re trying to buy."

Damian nodded.

"That’s exactly why I’m here."

Victor’s smile didn’t change.

"Good."

He turned toward the hallway.

"Because I think you may have misunderstood what you’re actually buying."