PART 13 – The General Counsel Called Me Into His Office, and What He Said About Julian Changed the Way I Saw Our Marriage

The next morning, I arrived at Aurelia before nine.

I had barely slept.

Julian's words from the previous evening kept returning to me.

"You're my wife."

He had said it as though those three words should settle every question.

As though being married to him meant I had to stand between him and the consequences of his decisions.

I left my phone in my handbag and walked toward the elevators.

The receptionist greeted me.

"Good morning, Ms. Vance."

"Good morning."

I was about to enter the elevator when the general counsel approached.

"Audrey, do you have a few minutes?"

"Of course."

He led me toward his office.

There were two folders on his desk.

One was the preliminary financial review.

The other contained correspondence relating to the company's vendor approvals.

He asked me to sit.

Then he closed the office door.

"I want to make sure we're handling this correctly."

I nodded.

"That's important."

He opened the first folder.

"The accountant has completed another round of verification. Several transactions still lack sufficient supporting documentation."

I looked at the pages.

"Are these the same payments discussed at the board meeting?"

"Some are. Others were identified during the expanded review."

He explained that the accountant had compared the invoices against the company's internal approval records.

The dates were consistent.

The approvals were recorded.

But the supporting business information was incomplete.

I turned another page.

"Who was responsible for the approvals?"

"The records identify the relevant department and the executives involved."

"Does that include Julian?"

"Yes."

I put the document down.

I didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Have we given him an opportunity to provide the missing records?"

"We have requested them."

"And?"

"He has not provided everything requested."

I looked at him.

"How long has he had?"

"Since the initial review meeting."

I nodded.

The general counsel leaned back.

"There's another matter."

I waited.

He took a sheet from the second folder.

"During the examination, we identified repeated payments involving a small group of vendors. The accountant is checking whether those payments correspond to the services described in the invoices."

"Do we know who owns those vendors?"

"Not conclusively. Some of the ownership information requires additional verification."

I studied the document.

I recognized two company names from the earlier report.

I also recognized the department listed beside them.

Strategy.

Julian's department.

"Have you discussed this with Malcolm?"

"Yes."

"What does he recommend?"

"Continuing the review and temporarily limiting certain approval authorities."

I nodded.

That seemed reasonable.

I wanted the company protected while the facts were established.

I didn't want another payment approved without proper examination.

The general counsel closed the folder.

"There's something else I should tell you."

I looked at him.

"Go ahead."

"Julian contacted my office yesterday."

"What did he want?"

"He asked whether the investigation could be paused."

I wasn't surprised.

"Did he give a reason?"

"He said the review was damaging his professional reputation and creating unnecessary tension."

I looked down.

He continued.

"He also mentioned your relationship with him."

I slowly raised my eyes.

"What did he say?"

"He suggested that because you're the majority owner, you could resolve the matter without involving the full board."

I felt embarrassed.

Not for myself.

For him.

"Did you explain that this isn't a personal decision?"

"I did."

I nodded.

"Thank you."

He watched me carefully.

"I want to be clear, Audrey. Your position as majority owner doesn't mean you should personally direct the investigation."

"I agree."

"The board must remain independent in this matter."

"Absolutely."

He seemed relieved.

I stood.

Before leaving, I looked at the blue folder.

"Please make sure every document is preserved."

"Already done."

"And Julian should receive the opportunity to respond to every specific concern."

"Yes."

I left his office.

In the hallway, I stopped near a window.

I could see employees moving between departments.

Some carried laptops.

Others stood beside the coffee machine.

Ordinary work.

Ordinary people.

The kind of people who didn't know how much time senior executives spent protecting themselves.

I thought about Denise.

I thought about the eight hundred jobs.

Then I returned to my office.

Around eleven, my assistant brought in a small envelope.

"Someone delivered this for you."

I looked at it.

There was no company logo.

Only my name.

I opened it.

Inside was a short handwritten note from Julian.

He had written that he wanted to meet privately.

He said he had something important to explain.

I read it once.

Then I put it in my desk drawer.

I wasn't ready to meet him.

A few minutes later, my phone rang.

It was Malcolm.

"Audrey, have you seen the latest report?"

"Yes."

"We should speak before the board meets again."

"I agree."

He paused.

"Julian is becoming increasingly concerned."

"I know."

"He may request another opportunity to explain the transactions."

"He should have that opportunity."

"Good."

I looked at the photograph of my mother on the shelf.

"Malcolm, I want to be certain that nobody thinks this investigation is happening because of our personal situation."

"I understand."

"The company comes first."

"That's why we have the independent accountant and the general counsel."

I thanked him.

Then I ended the call.

For a moment, I sat without moving.

I had once thought that the hardest part of my life would be taking over my mother's company after she died.

I had been wrong.

The hardest part was discovering that the person I had trusted most had become someone I needed to investigate through the same careful process I would use with any other executive.

I opened the next document.

There was work to do.

And I intended to do it.