Chapter 4 - The Boardroom DoorAt four fifty-five, I walked into the Belgrave boardroom.
David begged me not to.
Arthur advised caution.
I agreed with both of them and went anyway.
Charles Mathis sat at the head of the polished walnut table.
Kristin was not present.
Rebecca Hale, the board secretary, sat to his right.
Five other directors filled the remaining chairs.
Most looked uncomfortable.
Charles looked irritated.
“This is a closed board session.”
“I know.”
“You’re not a member.”
“I know that too.”
“Then leave.”
Arthur walked in behind me.
“She’s my invited advisor.”
Charles stared at him.
“You don’t have authority to bring outside advisors.”
Arthur placed the club bylaws on the table.
“Article seven, section nine.”
Rebecca adjusted her glasses.
“He’s correct.”
Charles looked at her.
She shrugged.
“I didn’t write them.”
I liked Rebecca.
Charles leaned back.
“Fine.”
I sat.
“Let’s discuss Mrs. Fallon’s conduct.”
“No,” Arthur said.
“Let’s discuss all conduct.”
Charles’s eyes narrowed.
Arthur described the shove.
Three board members had witnessed it.
Two admitted Kristin made deliberate contact.
One said he could not tell.
Charles called it an accident.
Then he showed still photographs from security footage.
Not video.
Stills.
One image captured my slap.
Another showed my hand tearing Kristin’s dress.
None showed the shove.
“Interesting editing,” I said.
Charles ignored me.
“The question before us is whether Mrs. Fallon should be barred from Belgrave.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Has Kristin filed a police report?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
Charles’s jaw tightened.
“Family is considering options.”
Family.
He used the word like armor.
Arthur spoke.
“Before any vote, I move that the full security video be reviewed.”
Charles replied immediately.
“No.”
The room shifted.
Arthur leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Privacy.”
“Whose?”
“Members.”
“The footage covers a club event.”
“It also includes private conversations.”
“You can review it without distributing it.”
Charles shook his head.
“The matter is clear.”
“No,” Rebecca said quietly.
Everyone looked at her.
“If there is footage of the initiating contact, the matter is not clear.”
Charles turned.
“Rebecca.”
She did not blink.
“I’m board secretary, Charles. Not your employee.”
I almost smiled.
He changed direction.
“Fine. The video will be reviewed later.”
“When?” Arthur asked.
“After counsel advises.”
“Then there should be no ban until then.”
Charles’s face darkened.
One board member, Harold Lane, cleared his throat.
“That seems reasonable.”
Another nodded.
The vote was postponed.
Charles hated losing even a procedural battle.
He stood.
“Meeting adjourned.”
Arthur remained seated.
“We have another matter.”
Charles froze.
“I said adjourned.”
“I am treasurer.”
“And?”
“I am requesting a special audit of the Belgrave Legacy Foundation.”
Silence.
Charles slowly sat.
“On what basis?”
Arthur placed copies of several invoices on the table.
Not all of them.
Rule two.
Never show everything.
“Unusual related-party payments.”
Charles’s face remained almost perfectly still.
Almost.
Rebecca reached for the first invoice.
“Mathis Consulting.”
Charles’s voice hardened.
“This is improper.”
“What is?”
“Dragging my daughter’s legitimate company into your personal feud.”
I spoke for the first time.
“Why did the foundation pay for Kristin’s thirtieth birthday in Cabo?”
The room went dead.
Charles looked at me.
That was the moment I knew.
Not suspected.
Knew.
He had expected Arthur to question consulting fees eventually.
He had not expected the birthday invoice.
“How did you obtain confidential records?”
Arthur answered.
“I am treasurer.”
Charles turned on him.
“You had no right to share them.”
“I have a fiduciary obligation to investigate.”
“You have a fiduciary obligation to the board.”
“To the club.”
Rebecca quietly corrected.
“The foundation is separate.”
Charles’s hand tightened around his pen.
Harold Lane read the invoice.
“Eighty-one thousand?”
“It was a donor development event,” Charles said.
“On Kristin’s birthday?”
“She hosted donors.”
“Which donors?” Arthur asked.
Charles looked at him.
“I don’t carry guest lists in my pocket.”
“Good.”
Arthur smiled.
“Bring it tomorrow.”
Charles’s eyes became dangerous.
“No.”
That single word revealed more than a speech.
Rebecca closed the folder.
“I support an independent audit.”
Harold nodded.
Two others agreed.
Charles looked around the table as if betrayal had occurred.
Perhaps, in his mind, oversight was betrayal.
The motion passed four to two.
I said nothing.
We left.
In the corridor, Arthur exhaled.
“That went better than expected.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because Charles was not surprised.”
“By the audit?”
“By the invoices.”
“He knew they existed.”
“Exactly.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered this time.
A woman whispered.
“Mrs. Fallon?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Elena Ruiz.”
I recognized the surname.
Belgrave’s assistant controller.
“I know who you are.”
Her breathing shook.
“I need to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Because the two million dollars isn’t the biggest problem.”
Arthur and I stopped walking.
“How big?”
She whispered the answer.
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“Eleven million.”
Then the line disconnected.
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