Victor sat at the head of the table. Beside him were the general counsel, Margaret Ellis, and the chief financial officer, Peter Lawson.
A large screen displayed the waterfront project's financial model.
Victor gestured toward an empty chair.
“Ms. Carter. Please sit.”
Naomi placed her folder on the table.
“Good morning.”
Margaret Ellis nodded politely.
Peter Lawson looked at the folder.
“Do you have a written report?”
“I have preliminary findings and questions. I haven't completed the review.”
Victor folded his hands.
“Then perhaps we should begin with the questions.”
Naomi opened her notes.
She explained the discrepancy involving the infrastructure guarantee, carefully distinguishing the wording of the investor summary from the conditions in the amended agreement.
She then described the environmental remediation estimate and the possibility that the main financial model still relied on the superseded figure.
Finally, she explained the timing inconsistencies she had found in the financing schedule.
She did not speculate about motives.
She did not accuse anyone of hiding information.
She presented the documents, the relevant dates, and the questions that needed answers.
When she finished, the room was quiet.
Peter Lawson leaned toward the screen.
“Show me the remediation figures.”
Naomi displayed the relevant spreadsheet.
Peter studied it.
“That's the old estimate.”
“Yes,” Naomi said.
“Where is the updated one?”
She opened the engineering attachment.
He read the figure and frowned.
“Why wasn't this incorporated?”
Margaret Ellis turned toward Richard.
“Was the revised estimate approved?”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know whether it received final approval. The engineering team submitted it, but I haven't reviewed the change history.”
Peter looked at the screen again.
“This is not a minor adjustment.”
Victor's voice cut through the room.
“Let's not exaggerate. The project has a contingency reserve.”
“Yes,” Peter said. “But the reserve is calculated against the total projected costs. If the base estimate changes, the reserve has to be evaluated against the new figure.”
Victor turned toward him.
“I'm aware of that.”
“Then we need to establish whether the reserve remains adequate.”
Margaret Ellis opened a notebook.
“Agreed.”
Victor looked at Naomi.
“You understand that these are preliminary questions, not confirmed failures.”
“Yes.”
“And you cannot say the project is underfunded.”
“Not without further analysis.”
“Good.”
Naomi met his gaze.
“But I also cannot say the project is fully protected against these risks.”
Victor's expression tightened.
“No one asked you to certify that.”
“The investor summary appears to imply it.”
Silence.
Margaret Ellis looked at the document on the screen.
“Which sentence?”
Naomi highlighted the relevant passage.
Margaret read it.
Then she turned toward Victor.
“This language should be reviewed.”
Victor's jaw flexed.
“Fine. We'll review it.”
Peter Lawson began examining the model's formulas.
Richard opened the financing agreement.
For the next forty minutes, the room became a working session rather than a confrontation.
Questions were asked.
Documents were compared.
Two dates were corrected.
One apparent discrepancy proved to be a version-control issue, while another remained unresolved.
The environmental estimate required further review by the engineering team.
The guarantee provision required a legal interpretation.
Naomi recorded each decision and assigned each open question to the appropriate person.
By the end of the meeting, she had a list of seven outstanding items.
She also had something more important.
A growing sense that several people inside the company had been uncomfortable with the project's assumptions but had not found a way to force a full review.
When the meeting ended, Peter Lawson approached her.
“You were right to flag the estimate.”
“I haven't established whether the revised figure is final.”
“No, but the discrepancy is real.”
He looked toward the closed conference-room door.
“I've been asking for an updated model for two weeks.”
Naomi studied him.
“Why didn't you get one?”
Peter hesitated.
“Because everyone believed someone else was handling it.”
It was a familiar answer.
It was also the kind of answer that could allow a serious problem to grow without any single person deciding to create it.
Naomi nodded.
“Then the next step is to determine who owns the update and when it will be completed.”
Peter gave a tired smile.
“You really don't let anything go, do you?”
“Not when the numbers don't agree.”
He laughed softly.
“I'm beginning to understand why Victor finds you difficult.”
Naomi gathered her papers.
“I suspect he would find me difficult even if the numbers agreed.”
Peter did not disagree.
That afternoon, the Shanghai investors requested a formal preliminary report.
Naomi prepared it with careful qualifications.
She identified the discrepancies, explained their potential significance, and specified what evidence would be needed to resolve each issue.
She made no claim that the project was fraudulent.
She made no claim that anyone had intentionally concealed information.
She also refused to describe the financing as secure until the guarantee provisions had been reviewed and the financial model updated.
At 4:12 p.m., she sent the report to Richard Cole and Margaret Ellis, copying the members of the investment committee identified in the contract.
Victor called less than ten minutes later.
“What exactly did you send them?”
“The preliminary report.”
“You were supposed to send it to Richard first.”
“I sent it to Richard and the investment committee, as required by the agreement.”
“You could have waited.”
“The report identifies issues that affect the investors' decision.”
“They are preliminary.”
“The report says so.”
Victor's voice grew colder.
“You've created unnecessary alarm.”
“I've identified questions that need to be answered.”
“You have no idea how these things work at this level.”
Naomi looked at the document on her screen.