I returned to the ballroom after a few minutes.
The music was playing softly.
Several employees were gathered near the main table.
Malcolm was speaking with the general counsel.
The accountant was still holding the blue folder.
I approached them.
"How are we doing?"
Malcolm looked at me.
"The board members have been informed."
"And the report?"
"The detailed review is ready for the appropriate committee."
I nodded.
I didn't want the findings discussed casually in a crowded ballroom.
There were procedures to follow.
There were people whose reputations could be damaged by careless statements.
And there were employees who deserved to know that the company was being managed responsibly.
The accountant spoke.
"We have documented the transactions and the approval trail."
"Good."
"The records are organized by vendor and date."
"Has everything been independently checked?"
"Yes."
I looked at the general counsel.
He nodded.
"We'll handle the next stage properly."
That was what I wanted to hear.
Malcolm offered me a glass of water.
I accepted.
It was the second glass of the evening.
The first had remained untouched beside the table where Julian had struck me.
I took a small sip.
Then I noticed Denise approaching.
She seemed hesitant.
"Ms. Vance?"
"Please, call me Audrey."
She smiled.
"I wanted to thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming here tonight."
I looked at her.
She lowered her voice.
"Some of us have been worried that the company might not make it."
I understood.
People like Denise didn't spend their evenings reading financial reports.
They simply noticed when projects disappeared.
They noticed when managers stopped giving clear answers.
They noticed when colleagues began looking for other jobs.
"I can't promise that every problem will disappear overnight," I told her.
She nodded.
"But I can promise that the company will be given a fair chance."
Her eyes became wet.
She looked away quickly.
"That's all we want."
I squeezed her hand.
"Then we'll start there."
She returned to her table.
Malcolm watched her go.
"That is why the acquisition mattered."
I nodded.
My mother had believed the same thing.
She used to say that companies were not just buildings, accounts, or products.
They were made of people who depended on them.
I had heard those words so many times that I sometimes forgot how important they were.
That night, I remembered.
A little later, I saw Camilla standing near the far side of the ballroom.
She was speaking to another employee.
Her hand kept moving toward her earrings.
She touched one diamond.
Then the other.
I wondered whether she knew that I had noticed them.
She looked toward me.
Our eyes met.
She stopped speaking.
Then she turned away.
I didn't approach her.
I wasn't going to argue with her in front of the employees.
I had already learned what happened when private problems were turned into public performances.
But I wanted the earrings returned.
Not because they were the most valuable things I owned.
Because they had belonged to my mother.
She had worn them to the opening of her first Boston office.
I remembered her showing them to me when I was young.
She used to say that expensive things were not always valuable.
Sometimes their meaning was what made them worth keeping.
I had kept those earrings for years.
Now another woman was wearing them beside my husband.
I could feel the old sadness returning.
But it didn't last long.
Malcolm approached.
"Audrey, there's something else we should discuss."
I looked at him.
"About the review?"
"Partly."
He glanced toward the general counsel.
"We should schedule a board meeting as soon as possible."
"Agreed."
"The financial findings may require changes in the executive structure while the review continues."
I understood.
"Then let's follow the company's procedures."
He nodded.
We discussed the next steps.
The general counsel would coordinate the board process.
The accountant would preserve the records and prepare the supporting documentation.
Any executive whose responsibilities were affected would be informed through the proper channels.
Nobody would be removed based on rumors.
Nobody would be protected because of personal relationships.
I wanted that understood.
When the conversation ended, I looked across the room again.
Julian had returned.
He was standing with two executives.
His expression was controlled.
He was speaking with his hands, as though explaining something complicated.
One of the executives nodded.
The other looked uncomfortable.
I couldn't hear the conversation.
But I could guess the subject.
He was probably telling them that the situation had been misunderstood.
That the payments had legitimate explanations.
That the new owner was his wife.
That everything would be fine.
I hoped he had the documents to support his claims.
Because the accountant had spent six weeks looking for them.
And he had not found enough to close the matter.
I didn't know what the final outcome would be.
I only knew that it had to be handled honestly.
A few minutes later, Camilla approached me.
She was alone.
Her smile was different now.
Less confident.
"Audrey, could we speak?"
I looked at her.
"About what?"
She glanced toward the ballroom.
"Something personal."
I waited.
She touched one of her earrings.
Then lowered her hand.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding."
I looked at the diamonds.
"Which misunderstanding?"
Her lips parted.
For a moment, she seemed unable to decide what to say.
Then she looked toward Julian.
He was watching us.
I turned back to her.
"If you have something to tell me, Camilla, say it."
She swallowed.
"I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."
I almost laughed.
That wasn't an answer.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: Camilla Tried to Explain the Earrings, but I Had Stopped Accepting Answers That Were Designed to Make Me Feel Foolish
My Husband Wanted Me Gone Before the Biggest Announcement of His Career, But He Had No Idea Why I Had Come
Part 7 of 20
