My Family Called Me a Freeloader, So I Took Every Client Away Chapter 06

My Family Called Me a Freeloader, So I Took Every Client Away Chapter 06

He made all kinds of promises when he signed, then let payments drag on for a year or two.

Claire had never worked with him. She saw a big company and an impressive office and thought she’d struck gold.

The truth was that established companies had stopped doing business with Claire.

Daniel’s new client, Mr. Walker, was just as notorious among local distributors. He made a habit of withholding final payments.

Brooke’s new sales channel and Megan’s new buyer were deals everyone else had passed up. The terms were either brutal or the payments came late.

I posted in the group chat: “I hope you actually get paid.”

Claire replied, “You sound bitter. Who buys goods and then doesn’t pay?”

Megan wrote, “Then we’d sue. So it takes longer. We’d get our money eventually.”

Claire had no idea how many people were already suing Sterling. They could’ve formed a line

out the courthouse door.

They were so pleased with themselves that they wouldn’t listen to anyone.

Two weeks later, Claire called him eagerly. “Mr. Sterling, when can we expect payment for the first shipment?”

“Accounting’s processing it. Next week,” he said.

She sent me a screenshot of his message, smug as ever.

A week passed, then two, without a payment. Finally, Claire called again. “Mr. Sterling, we’re

short on cash. Our suppliers are waiting for us to pay them…”

He cut her off. “Cash is tight right now. Give me another week.”

“But you’ve already had a week!” Her voice sharpened.

Sterling bristled. “You think a company my size is going to vanish? Keep hounding me over money, and I’ll find another supplier.”

“No!” Claire said quickly. “I’ll wait.”

Claire had little choice but to keep reassuring the businesses she owed. She asked for one more week, then another. They were starting to lose patience.

After another week, she hurried to check her bank account.

There was still no payment.

“Mr. Sterling, we covered the raw materials ourselves, and everyone is demanding payment,” Claire said. Her voice was tight with worry.

He gave the same answer. “Just wait. You’ll get every cent.”

The others’ new clients kept delaying payment too.

At first, they reassured each other. “Big companies have cash flow problems. Delays happen.”

But one month passed, then two, without a cent coming in.

Their suppliers started calling to demand payment.

Payroll was due. So were the utilities and bank loans.

At first, they pleaded with their clients.

Claire texted Sterling, “Please send us something. We can’t keep going like this.”

He replied, “In a meeting. Talk later.”

That was the last she heard from him.

When Daniel called Walker to demand payment, Walker brushed him off. “I’ll pay you when my

customer pays me,”

Brooke’s client stopped answering entirely.

The strain left each of them looking pale and exhausted.

After a night of smoking and worrying, the four siblings got together to discuss suing their clients.

A lawyer looked over the contracts. They could sue, he said, but the other companies already

faced so many claims that it would take at least six months to get a hearing. Even a judgment mtheir favor might be impossible to collect.

That was when they truly panicked.

Raw material suppliers stood outside Daniel’s factory with signs demanding payment.

The workers crowded into the office and refused to leave until they got their wages.

Claire’s fabric supplier stopped shipping to her clothing factory.

Brooke’s landlord demanded the rent on her store.

The management of Megan’s furniture center warned her that another missed payment would mean losing her space.

At last, they remembered me. I ran into Daniel after a meeting. When he learned I was working

with Summit Group, his expression changed. “Evie, you can’t give them the projects.”

I looked up at him. “Why?”

Claire rushed in. “Evie, we’re family! How can you choose outsiders over us?”