I didn’t go downstairs.
Before he finally left, he handed Nina a letter. It ran six pages long, filled with promises. He would attend counseling. He would remove Madison from any role at the company. He would apologize publicly, to my face and to the whole family. He would give me full access to every business account. He would sign a postnuptial agreement. He would never again allow his family to disrespect me in his presence.
On the very last page, he asked me to restore the company’s credit guarantee before the end of the week.
The order in which he’d placed those promises told me absolutely everything I still needed to know.
Cole Family Catering missed payroll that Tuesday. Richard blamed me directly in a companywide email, writing that an unexpected personal dispute had unfortunately interrupted financing, and that he was working tirelessly around the clock to protect his employees.
