Chapter 4 - The Project Ethan Could Not Control
Ethan’s company had spent two years pursuing a government contract connected to aerospace infrastructure.
The contract was worth billions.
It would secure Vance Global’s future in renewable aviation and research logistics.
But after Maya’s public recognition, the project took on a new complication.
The National Aeronautics Research Institute was reviewing potential partners.
And Dr. Maya Hartwell had been appointed to the scientific ethics panel overseeing the selection process.
Ethan learned this from his legal department.
“She cannot approve the contract herself,” his attorney explained. “But her panel can review safety, transparency, and research compliance.”
Ethan’s face hardened.
“She is doing this on purpose.”
The attorney looked uncomfortable.
“There is no evidence of that.”
Ethan called Maya.
She answered after the fourth ring.
“What do you want, Ethan?”
“I want to discuss the Vance Global proposal.”
“No.”
“You are blocking it.”
“I have not reviewed it yet.”
“You have influence.”
“So do you.”
“This is personal.”
“No,” Maya said. “It is professional. That is a distinction you never learned.”
Ethan took a breath.
“You cannot punish me through my company.”
Maya was silent for a moment.
Then she said, “You still believe everything is about you.”
She ended the call.
The review uncovered serious concerns.
Vance Global had concealed safety failures in several overseas manufacturing sites. The company’s executive team had ignored warnings about labor conditions and environmental waste.
Ethan insisted he had not known.
But Maya remembered his old habit.
He never read what he assumed someone else would handle.
He trusted power.
He trusted appearances.
And now his company was paying the price.
The panel postponed the contract.
Investors panicked.
The board demanded answers.
For the first time, Ethan was forced to sit in a room where people questioned his judgment openly.
He thought of Maya’s divorce papers.
He had signed them without reading.
May you like
Now he understood the cost of assuming important things would wait for him.
They never did.
