Chapter 4 - THE INHERITANCE HE NEVER BOTHERED TO UNDERSTAND
Harborstone Capital held its quarterly investment committee meeting the following Monday.
For the first time since Grandfather died, I attended as the member designated to succeed him.
The meeting took place in a modest Back Bay office.
No marble lobby.
No champagne.
No photographers.
Just financial reports, investment models, and people whose decisions affected hundreds of businesses and thousands of employees.
Harriet Ellis, Harborstone's chairwoman, greeted me at the door.
“Your grandfather would be pleased to see you here.”
My throat tightened.
“I should have come sooner.”
“He wanted you to come when you were ready.”
Harriet had worked with Grandfather for nearly thirty years.
She knew exactly what my inheritance included.
Twenty-nine percent of Harborstone's membership interests.
A seat on its five-member investment committee.
And certain voting rights under the firm's operating agreement.
I did not control Harborstone by myself.
But my membership interest was large enough to matter in decisions requiring a seventy-five-percent approval threshold.
Harriet explained the agenda.
Prescott Global was seeking additional financing for a European acquisition.
Its board had also requested Harborstone's approval for a proposed restructuring of the existing credit facility.
Ordinarily, the decision would have been straightforward.
But Olivia's concerns about related-party payments had raised questions requiring independent review.
I disclosed my pending divorce and the potential conflict of interest immediately.
Harriet nodded.
“We'll have independent members handle the investigation and any decisions in which your personal interests could conflict with the firm's.”
“That's what I want.”
She smiled.
“Your grandfather taught you well.”
During the meeting, I learned something Aaron had never told me.
Prescott Global's financial position was weaker than its public presentations suggested.
Several acquisitions had underperformed.
Expansion costs were rising.
And the company had become increasingly dependent on outside financing.
Nothing automatically meant the business was doomed.
But it meant the board needed accurate information before making additional commitments.
Then Harriet showed me a historical investment record.
“Your grandfather's involvement with Prescott Global began long before you met Aaron.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Prescott Global was a much smaller business when Harborstone first invested.”
She opened another document.
The investment had been arranged when Aaron's father, Peter Prescott, was still chairman.
Harborstone provided capital during a difficult restructuring.
Without it, Prescott Global might never have expanded into the international company Aaron now led.
My grandfather had helped finance the business that my husband claimed his family had built entirely on its own.
I felt a strange sadness.
Grandfather had never mentioned it.
He probably saw no reason to.
His investments were business decisions, not trophies to display at dinner.
Then Harriet placed a letter in front of me.
Peter Prescott had written it to my grandfather after their first major transaction.
I recognized the signature from old family photographs.
The final paragraph made me smile through tears.
William, I hope our families remain friends long after our business interests have changed.
I looked up.
“Did Peter know I was William's granddaughter?”
Harriet nodded.
“He knew when you became engaged.”
“And Aaron?”
“He was told there was a family connection to Harborstone.”
Apparently, Aaron had never bothered to learn what that connection meant.
Then Harriet's expression became serious.
“Claire, there's something else.”
She handed me a document from the latest financing request.
Prescott Global's executive office had represented that the Marblehead property might be available as additional security.
The proposal had been included in material sent to Harborstone.
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My own investment firm had received a document suggesting that my husband had authority over a property he did not own.
And now I understood why Nathan had insisted we deal with the disputed signature before the next financing vote.
