Chapter 3 - The Question Marcus Couldn’t AnswerI watched Marcus’s interview from another conference room through a secure video link.
Not because I wanted to spy.
Because incoming leadership needed visibility into a governance review affecting a senior executive.
Harrison remained downstairs with gala guests.
Nathan Brooks led the interview.
Elaine Porter sat beside him.
Marcus entered looking angry.
Then Elaine placed the payment schedule in front of him.
His expression changed.
“Do you recognize Rowan Strategy & Events?”
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Celeste owns it.”
“Your current romantic partner?”
“Yes.”
“When did your relationship begin?”
His jaw tightened.
“Is that relevant?”
Nathan answered calmly.
“Yes.”
Marcus leaned back.
“About seven months ago.”
I closed my eyes.
That was already a problem.
The divorce email had arrived six months earlier.
Marcus had publicly introduced Celeste even before our divorce became final.
I had never asked exactly when their relationship became romantic.
I hadn’t needed another wound.
Nathan continued.
“Your division began issuing payments to her company twenty-two months ago.”
“That was business.”
“Did you disclose your personal relationship when it began?”
“I didn’t think it affected vendor performance.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Marcus stared at the table.
“No.”
Elaine pushed another page forward.
“Did you approve these invoices?”
“Some.”
“Eight.”
“If that’s what the system shows.”
“It does.”
Marcus looked irritated.
“Celeste runs a legitimate agency.”
Nobody disputed that.
The issue was disclosure.
Then Elaine produced two invoices.
Same client dinner.
Same date.
Same venue.
One billed through Rowan Strategy.
One through North Shore Executive Services.
Marcus frowned.
“What am I looking at?”
“North Shore is registered to Celeste’s business partner.”
“I didn’t know that.”
That answer could be true.
Elaine didn’t react.
“Both invoices include venue coordination.”
“So?”
“The venue’s own invoice was paid separately by Vantage.”
Silence.
The company had apparently paid three times for overlapping portions of the same event.
Marcus picked up the papers.
“I don’t audit invoices.”
“But you approved them.”
“My department processes hundreds.”
“Which is why we have controls.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“Marcus, did Celeste ever tell you she had ownership or financial interest in any vendor beyond Rowan Strategy?”
“No.”
“Did you ever receive anything personally from Rowan?”
“No.”
That answer came instantly.
Good.
At least there was no evidence of direct kickbacks.
Then Nathan moved to the contract issue.
Three major accounts.
Projected revenue: $92 million.
All presented internally as committed.
Each contained material termination provisions.
Marcus’s bonus calculation relied partly on those projections.
“Did finance warn you?” Elaine asked.
Marcus stared at her.
“Finance warns everyone.”
“That is not an answer.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before final booking.”
“What did you do?”
“I told them the customers were committed.”
“Contractually?”
“In practice.”
Nathan’s expression hardened.
“Those are different things.”
Marcus glanced toward the camera.
He knew I was watching.
“I know what this is.”
Nathan frowned.
“What is it?”
“Rebecca.”
My stomach tightened.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“She finally gets power, and suddenly my division is under investigation.”
Nathan slid one document across the table.
It was dated two months before Harrison first contacted me.
Marcus stopped.
The review had begun before anyone discussed me as Harrison’s successor.
Nathan said quietly:
“You can blame your ex-wife for your divorce. You cannot blame her for a report created before she entered this process.”
Marcus’s face went pale.
May you like
And somewhere inside that room, the story he had built around me began losing its usefulness.
Keep reading—because Rebecca becoming Harrison’s successor had started with something Marcus never knew she had done after the divorce.
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