Chapter 7 - The Unyielding Terms
For forty-five minutes, Amelia dismantled Northstar’s financial strategy piece by piece, exposing structural vulnerabilities that their own internal audit teams had glossed over. She laid out the exact terms of the restructuring package, showing how Vantage’s capital injection would restructure debt maturities, stabilize fuel supply chains, and protect the pensions of forty-one thousand employees.
But she also laid down her non-negotiable addendums.
"In light of today’s events," Amelia stated calmly, pointing to the revised clause on the screen, "Section 4.3 of the restructuring agreement now includes mandatory governance restructuring. Northstar will establish an independent customer and employee relations oversight committee, with veto power over frontline disciplinary actions. Furthermore, executive bonuses are strictly frozen until debt service ratios hit target benchmarks for two consecutive quarters."
Richard Vance looked around the table. Several board members looked ready to protest, but the flashing red numbers of their impending insolvency made dissent impossible.
Arthur Sterling leaned forward, staring at Amelia with a mixture of begrudging respect and exhaustion. "And if we accept these revised terms, Ms. Clare? Does Vantage sign today?"
Amelia looked around the room, meeting every executive's eye. "If you accept, Vantage wires the first tranche of capital by 3:00 p.m., ensuring your upcoming bond payment is met and your liquidity crisis is averted. If you reject it, I pack up my laptop, catch a flight back to Boston, and you can explain to your creditors on Monday morning why your airline went under."
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She didn't blink. She didn't waver.
Richard Vance looked at the document, then at the exhausted faces of his board members, and finally at Amelia. He took a deep breath, picked up his Montblanc pen, and signed the preliminary approval line without another word.
