Mandatory independent inspections before entry into Carter Meridian service.
Employment protections for frontline technical staff who cooperated with the audit.
Preston Vale removed from operational involvement as a condition of closing.
Total headline value:
Far less than $770 million.
Conrad read the term sheet.
Then sat silently for almost a minute.
“You cut one hundred nine million dollars.”
“Yes.”
“Forty-eight of that was support revenue.”
“Yes.”
“You’re penalizing us.”
“No.”
Naomi pointed to the numbers.
“I’m repricing what you actually have.”
Conrad rubbed his forehead.
“Preston will never agree.”
“Then we’re finished.”
“What about my employees?”
“If the deal dies, that is a board problem.”
He looked toward her.
“That sounds cold.”
“It is clear.”
Naomi folded her hands.
“I will not use employees as emotional leverage against you.”
“You should not use them against me either.”
Conrad leaned back.
“You’re good at this.”
“I’m expensive at this.”
He laughed despite himself.
Then grew serious.
“One more question.”
“Yes.”
“If Preston had recognized you Thursday, would we have discovered any of this?”
Naomi did not answer immediately.
Finally:
“I don’t know.”
Conrad looked toward the term sheet.
“That may be the worst part.”
The Whitmore Vale board meeting lasted nine hours.
Preston called the revised offer extortion.
Conrad called it reality.
Avery, the executive who had kicked Naomi’s folder, apologized privately and then spent three hours arguing to accept the deal.
The lenders applied pressure without directly intervening.
Their message was simple.
The original $770 million price no longer existed.
If Whitmore Vale rejected $661 million, it could relaunch the fleet sale.
Maybe another buyer would pay more.
Maybe.
But now maintenance disclosures would follow the aircraft.
Every serious buyer would see them.
By midnight, Preston was losing.
At 1:17 a.m., he stood from the board table.
“You’re choosing her over me.”
Conrad stared at his oldest business partner.
“No.”
“I’m choosing the company over both of us.”
Preston laughed bitterly.
“You think she respects you?”
“I think that question is why we’re here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Conrad stood.
“For twenty-six years, you’ve measured every room by who respects you.”
“Maybe we should have spent more time asking whether we respected the people in it.”
Preston looked away.
The vote passed.
Six to two.
The revised transaction moved forward.
Mason Kerr, the technical director, resigned before the internal review concluded.
Three supervisors received discipline.
One maintenance manager was terminated for altering supporting documentation, though investigators found no evidence of a broader criminal falsification scheme.
Luis Ortega was promoted months later.
Naomi had nothing to do with the promotion.
She made sure of that.
Rewarding whistleblowers directly from the buyer could create its own problem.
Instead, the restructured management team created a quality-control position with independent reporting authority.
Luis applied.
He won it.
Three weeks before the new closing, Preston Vale requested a private meeting with Naomi.
She declined twice.
On the third request, Conrad called.
“See him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s leaving.”
Naomi was quiet.
“Board?”
“Partly.”
“Sale?”
“Yes.”