The meeting with the bank lasted less than twenty minutes.
“The purchase order is impressive,” said Nathan Cole, Reed & Vale’s primary lender. “The customer concentration is not.”
Northstar would soon represent sixty-three percent of total company revenue. Nathan offered the credit extension, but secured it heavily against inventory, accounts receivable, and Mara’s personal townhouse. Furthermore, the covenants required Reed & Vale to maintain a strict cash threshold that a two-week payment delay from Northstar would shatter.
“You’re lending against the contract,” Mara observed, “then penalizing us for depending on it.”
“That is an accurate description,” Nathan replied flatly.
Back at the plant, temporary workers were being trained for final assembly. Darnell had rehired six workers laid off the previous winter, including his nephew. He also reorganized the packing floor, saving three minutes per cooktop. When Mara asked why he hadn’t shared that idea last year, Darnell noted that nobody offers efficiency ideas when efficiency means fewer names on the schedule.
Financial pressures continued to compound. Shipping freight rates spiked following a port strike, and a weakening dollar squeezed their thin profit margins down to less than half of Caleb’s original projections. Owen suggested stopping after the pilot run.
Just then, applause erupted from the floor. The first finished cooktop had reached the end of the line, decorated with a blue ribbon. Caleb snapped photographs while Darnell silently watched Mara.
That afternoon, Mara signed the bank documents. When Owen asked if she believed it was still the right decision, Mara replied that reversing course now would hurt people immediately—the only answer she had left.
Signatures
