Chapter 13 - Before the Vote
Jonah did not attend the vote. He stayed with me at the Juniper Table, making coffee we were both too tense to drink.
"You know you can't ask Anita to change the score," I said.
"I know."
"And you can't fix this for me."
He sat across from me. "I'm not trying to. I just don't want you facing it alone."
Harborstone's procurement director had postponed final approval for forty-eight hours while counsel reviewed the new information. The price ranking wasn't a contract. It meant only that Lauren's numbers looked attractive on paper.
Camila and Denise sent a carefully organized packet of time records to the appropriate wage investigators and, separately, a factual summary to Harborstone with the workers' consent. Camila deserved to tell her own story.
At noon, Anita called Leah. "We found conflicting insurance documents. We need independent confirmation before proceeding."
"And the Juniper endorsement?" Leah asked.
"Our legal team has flagged it as disputed. We won't rely on it."
I stared through the office window at my staff laying napkins. It was strange to hear my name discussed as evidence in a contract I had never wanted.
At three, a man arrived and asked to speak to Leah. He was lean, neatly dressed, and looked as if he'd spent the night awake. His name was Owen Price, the Glasshouse operations director Camila had mentioned.
"Are you here to threaten us?" I asked.
"No. I quit this morning."
Leah asked him to wait while she arranged for him to get independent legal advice. He agreed without complaint. Before he left, he placed a sealed envelope on the table.
"I kept copies because I knew someday she'd deny everything," he said.
May you like
Inside was an email chain bearing Lauren's name, mine, and a sentence that made my stomach drop.
Use Maya Collins's signature. She won't know until the deal is done.
