Hale," Nathaniel said. His voice was entirely neutral. He didn't stand up. He just watched her. "I am here to apologize," Veronica began.
She had rehearsed this in the car. It needed to sound sincere, but firm. Apologetic, but maintaining leverage. "My behavior last night was unacceptable. It was a high-stress environment, and I reacted poorly to a sudden disruption.
I am willing to offer a formal public apology, as well as a substantial personal settlement to you and your daughter. " Nathaniel wiped his hands on a rag. "You drove an hour out of the city to offer me a settlement for a slap? " "I came to salvage the deal," Veronica said, dropping the pretense. "You are acting out of emotion. You are letting a personal slight jeopardize a $2 billion transaction. It is bad business.
You think this is about my ego? " Nathaniel asked mildly. "Isn't it? " Veronica challenged. "You felt humiliated, so you pressed the nuclear button. I understand, but you have a board to answer to. You have shareholders. " Nathaniel finally stood up.
He walked over to a workbench, tossed the dirty rag into a bin, and leaned against the wood. He crossed his arms. "Let me explain something to you about Sentinel," Nathaniel said, his voice quiet, carrying the heavy density of absolute conviction. "I built the grid that keeps the incubators running in the municipal hospital. I built the substations that keep the water treatment plants online during hurricane season.
The metal, the wires, the servers, they don't care about stock prices. They require maintenance. They require patience. They require someone who understands that the system serves people. " Veronica crossed her arms, defensive. "Hale Industries is perfectly capable of managing infrastructure. " "No, you aren't," Nathaniel corrected her.
"You view everything as a spreadsheet. To you, people are just overhead, liabilities. I went to your party to see how you operate when you think you've already won. I wanted to see the culture you cultivated. " He pointed a grease-stained finger at her. "A little girl accidentally drops a pastry on your shoe.
A normal person, a grounded person, laughs it off. They ask if the kid is okay. They wipe it up and move on. You looked at my daughter like she was an infection. You humiliated your staff.
You demanded violence from your security over a piece of fruit. " Veronica flinched, the words hitting harder than she anticipated. "It was a mistake. " "It was a reveal," Nathaniel countered. "If that is how you handle a minor inconvenience in a ballroom, how are you going to handle a catastrophic grid failure in the middle of winter? Are you going to yell at the line workers? Are you going to fire the engineers because they didn't fix a blown transformer fast enough?
You don't have the temperament for this industry. You have no empathy. And without empathy, you cannot manage systems that keep people alive. I am offering you $2 billion, Veronica said, her voice rising, desperation finally bleeding through the cracks. You are walking away from generational wealth.