Marissa woke up way too early Monday morning and her attempt to sneak out of bed without disturbing Bianca were unsuccessful. But Bianca was incredibly understanding and even let her rehearse her presentation one last time. She tried out the new last paragraph she had been playing with in her head most of last night and Bianca admitted it was an improvement.

So she was ready! The future of two companies; hundreds of jobs and her son's financial future all rested in her hands…

No pressure…

…

Marissa met up with Caleb and Liza the Chandler offices. Caleb didn't say very much, just patted her on the shoulder and muttered,

"You can do this!"

Liza, who had been proof reading the final contracts for her, leaned in and whispered,

"I don't envy you this. Just don't buckle under the pressure."

That didn't really help at all.

…

Chandler had set aside one of their conference rooms for Marissa to use to set up the presentation. It was much more swanky than the conference rooms at Courtland and the IT set up was a little more complicated but Marissa managed to get everything ready just in time for Adam's arrival.

Adam, Scott and Brooke entered and sit at the head of the table, the few remaining members of the board sat around them. Adam looks quite stern but Scott gave her a wink and a supportive smile…

It was show time!

…

Marissa tried her best to stay relaxed as she talked through her presentation starting with the data she had got from Erica's business contact Auden Pascal. His business analysis showed very clearly the weaknesses in the Chandler portfolio and the long term costs of keeping to the status quo. Next Marissa showed them what the sale to Courtland and a change in business focus would look like. She introduced the growth of the Dutch hardware chain 'Joossens gereedschap winkel' and how expanding into the retail sector was the best way forward for Chandler. After outlining the kind of profits they could expect she went through Courtland's actual business offer…

Adam is very quiet when she was done…

He thanked them all and told them he would think about it.

Caleb tried to push back, warning him not to be too long about it, but Adam wasn't going to be rushed. He wanted to have a full discussion with the board before anything could be decided.

But he did take a copy of Marissa's research with him before he left.

"That was an interesting presentation, thank you." he said, shaking Marissa firmly by the hand.

Liza insisted that was a good sign.

…