Danielle continued.
“What mattered was what he did because of that opinion.”
The investigator waited.
“He assumed I couldn't understand his guests, so he behaved differently around me.”
“Differently how?”
“Carelessly.”
That word hung in the room.
Richard finally spoke.
“My attorneys have advised me not to address the underlying investigation.”
Danielle nodded.
“Then don't.”
His expression tightened.
The interview continued for another hour.
When it ended, Danielle gathered her things.
Richard approached her near the elevators.
Rebecca watched from several feet away.
“You've enjoyed this,” he said.
Danielle looked at him.
“No.”
“Don't lie.”
“I'm not.”
“My company may lose Harbor Point.”
“Yes.”
“My board wants me gone.”
Danielle said nothing.
“Thirty-seven years,” Richard said. “I built that company for thirty-seven years.”
“And you think I destroyed it?”
Richard looked at her.
Danielle waited.
Eventually he looked away.
“No.”
It was the first honest word she'd heard from him.
The elevator doors opened.
Neither entered.
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“I was an ass that night.”
Danielle almost laughed.
“Yes.”
“I thought you were lying.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you just tell me where you learned Mandarin?”
“Would you have believed me?”
Richard didn't answer.
“That,” Danielle said, “is why.”
He looked toward the city through the glass.
“Your mother hated me.”
“No.”
Richard looked surprised.
Danielle continued.
“She distrusted your numbers. That's different.”
“You sound like her.”
“I've been hearing that a lot lately.”
For the first time, Richard smiled.
Barely.
“She was relentless.”
Danielle smiled too.
“Yes.”
The elevator arrived again.
Richard stepped inside.
Before the doors closed, he said:
“For what it's worth, your Mandarin really is excellent.”
Danielle laughed.
“That's a very expensive compliment.”
The doors closed.
Three months later, Whitmore Urban Development announced Richard's resignation as chief executive.
The environmental review continued.
Additional contamination was identified on portions of the proposed Harbor Point site.
Negotiations began over responsibility for remediation.
There was no cinematic arrest.
No judge slammed a gavel.
No crowd applauded outside a courthouse.
There were engineers.
Lawyers.
Auditors.
Board meetings.
Regulatory filings.
Insurance negotiations.
And thousands of pages of documents.
Danielle preferred that.
Truth didn't become more true because someone shouted it dramatically.
Her life changed in quieter ways.
Her father's medical balance became zero.
His roof stopped leaking.