Chapter 84

Adrian

The angel investor hasn’t signed any documents, but the negotiations that revolve around their involvement in the project are close to being finalized. All they need to do is make for sure that they have their funds in order before officially signing on.

It’s been a month long process, but I am so happy to be at the pinnacle of our collaboration.

Thankfully, they have been cooperative through the process of the project. They have been giving my team and I feedback on our progress as well as providing us estimates os how much money they are willing to allocate to each aspect of the project.

We have been able to expand our servers and add a plethora of subscribers. We were able to set up our own personal call center for problems relating to the service, led by my company’s amazing IT department. A lot of the feedback has been positive, though, and we have been able to team up with a few local doctor’s offices to help schedule and plan appointments as well.

At this point, my company and I may be able to open up our own hospital. Nobody will need to wait for insurance to approve to get a CT scan or a MRI. They will be able to get the fast and accessible care that they deserve.

Although, that would make plenty of other companies very mad at us but they would do the same exact thing if they were in our shoes. They are all profit driven and, well, we are making all of the profit imaginable.

“Sir,” my secretary walks inside my office. I look up from my computer and raise an eyebrow. Their clear their throat and place their hands below their stomach, “Michael has requested that you see him in his office.”

“He did?” I ask aloud before I can even think about responding. My secretary nods. “Alright…tell him that I’ll be there soon.”

I watch as she leaves. As soon as the door is closed behind her, I feel my heart drop inside of my chest. My hands go clammy and a knot forms in my stomach.

There is only one outcome whenever Michael tells you to come to his office: bad news.

He always goes to people instead of having us go to him. Something must be seriously wrong for him to call me down.

Either I am about to be fired right as I brought the company to its apex or there is something wrong with the board of directors or even our shareholders.

I exit my office, each step slow and deliberate. I fix my tie as soon as I step into the elevator, pressing the button to his floor. Even the walk to his office has me feeling so unsteady.

After everything that I have done for the company, I can’t believe that there is a chance that he will be firing me today. The thought is terrifying to even think about.

I knock on the wooden door, his name engraved into the metal plate that sits in the middle of the door.

“Come in,” his voice is muffled through the door. I enter and watch as he visibly tenses, a look of defeat spreading across his face. “Adrian…take a seat.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask, doing as he says as I sit down in front of him.

“Things…things are not okay,” Michael sighs. He loosens his tie and looks at me, his lips pressed to the side of his face. “The investor pulled out.”

I blink at him. What did he just say? I lean forward, one eyebrow raised.

“What? Did I hear you—”

“Adrian. The angel investor dropped out and cut contact with us. Claimed that it had to do with something about your personal life,” Michael purses his lips, slowly shaking his head.

“About my… life?” I repeat his words, unable to comprehend what he just said.

“The company is almost half a billion dollars in debt. We’re about to declare bankruptcy, Adrian.”

His words make my blood run cold. I slowly nod and stand up, completely dissociating. His voice is muffled in my ears as I exit his office, immediately making my way to my car and driving home.

How can this be? We were so close to everything and they even helped collaborate on a few updates for the new health initiative we had! What happened?!

I slowly drive home, cars honking and passing me by. I make it to my house just as the sun begins to set, my tie loose around my neck despite my throat feeling so tight.

I get out of the car in a complete haze, unable to take my mind off of Michael’s news. As I move towards the front door of my home — a place that has been so cold and empty — I hear a familiar voice break through the white noise in my head.

“Adrian? Is that you?”

I look up and see Clara in front of my door, a pink box in hand. I sigh and walk up the stairs, pulling my keys out of my pocket.

“Now’s not the time, Clara,” I breathe out, “can you come back later?”

“What? Why!” Clara asks.

I unlock the door and push it open, aimlessly walking inside into the darkness. Clara follows after me, the door slamming behind her. The windows to the side of it rattle in their places.

I flinch at the sound, slight irritation running through my body. I slowly turn on my heel and look at Clara, narrowing my eyes at her.

“What do you need, Clara?” I ask in a low tone.

“I need you to tell me what’s going on! Why are you shutting me out, Adrian?! I thought we were a team,” Clara pushes forward, dropping the box of baked goods onto the ground.

“Because it does not concern you, Clara, you need to understand that,” I slightly raise my voice at her, escaping into the kitchen. She follows after me.

“Just tell me! What can be so bad that you have to run away and hide?” Clara’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard and her presence is beginning to irritate me even more than I already am.

“Because my company is in danger, Clara! An investor dropped out last minute and we are about to go bankrupt and it is all my fault!”

An ugly silence fills the room. Clara scoffs, shifting her weight onto her back foot. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks me up and down, a scowl written all over her face.

“What do you mean bankrupt?”

“I mean that we are going to go out of business, Clara. I am now broke and have to pay off as much as my debt as possible,” I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“What a joke,” Clara murmurs to herself.

I look at her to quickly retort but she is already spinning on her heel and exiting the kitchen, abandoning me under the warm lights.

I let out a sigh, placing my hands on the cool marble countertop. I hang my head low as the realization that I am now officially alone in my life sinks into my skin, the lowest point of my life enveloping me in a darkness, a void that I am unable to escape from.