16. Edward
EDWARD
“What do you think, Zach?” I wedge the phone between my shoulder and chin to free up my hand as I pore through paperwork. “Do we have enough to investigate J he weaponized his own department’s trust to do it.
“Which brings me to why you’re here.” I grip the edge of the table. “Our legal counsel has advised that every department conduct a full internal audit of any transaction, contract, or approval that passed through Graham’s office. That means everything. Even the files you think are spotless.”
Groans rise from several corners. The head of logistics, a stocky man named Henley, speaks up. “But, Edward, that will slow down our output significantly. My team is already stretched thin.”
“I know,” I say. “I’m not asking you to do this out of the goodness of your hearts.”
The room quiets again.
“For the duration of this audit, every permanent employee will receive a ten percent bump on base pay for normal working hours. Overtime will be paid at time and a half. Becky will have that in writing and pass them to each department.”
Someone lets out a low whistle. Henley blinks, then nods slowly.
A younger woman from operations stands up near the back. “I just want to say thank you. For being human about this.” She glances around the room as if checking whether she’s overstepped. “Most places would make the workers pay for what the executives did. You’re not doing that.”
A murmur of agreement follows. I feel a warmth in my chest.
Arthur gets up and turns to face the room. “The senior managers have discussed this informally. We’re all in agreement.” He looks back at me. “We’ll do whatever it takes to help you save this company. From your brother, from anyone. You have our full support.”
A round of determined nods moves through the crowd, followed by scattered applause.
“Thank you,” I say. “All of you. Let’s save our company. You're dismissed.”
The room empties in a shuffle of footsteps and quiet conversations. Arthur claps me on the shoulder as he passes. I wait until the last person leaves, then walk back to my office on autopilot.
The door shuts behind me. I loosen my tie and drop into my chair. The documents from earlier are still spread across the desk. I stare at them for a full minute before picking up my phone and dialing Noelle.
She answers on the first ring.
“Hey.”
I tell her everything. Zachary’s legal assessment. The meeting. How everyone now knows their CFO is a fraud. The pledge Arthur made on behalf of the managers. I don’t leave anything out.
She listens without interrupting. When I finish, she asks, “Why didn’t you wait for the board to commence their investigation?”
“Because we can’t afford to take their time while Graham still walks free.” I let out a deep breath. “He already tried to destroy evidence once. Who knows what he’s lining up next.”
Noelle is quiet for a moment. “You’re right. If he’s panicking, he’s dangerous. Faster is better.”
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
I hesitate. “When all this is over, there’s a chance you could be caught in the crossfire with him.”
She doesn’t respond immediately, so I press on. “You were in a relationship with him for years. You shared finances. You signed off on most of those deals together. Even if you’re cleared of any wrongdoing, Graham isn’t going down gracefully. He’ll try to drag you with him.”
“He can try,” she says, her voice flat.
“I know. But even if you survive a legal battle, your reputation could take severe damage. Oversight. Compliance. Ineptitude. Other employers won’t care about nuance. They’ll care about optics.”
Noelle sighs. “I didn’t spend months building a case against your brother just to fold because he might smear me,” she says. “Let him try.”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes with an incoming call. I glance at the screen.
Dad.
“Noelle, I have to call you back. It’s my father.”
“Sure.”
I switch lines and bring the phone back to my ear.
“What’s this about your brother appearing on 60 Minutes?”
The question sounds ridiculous at first, but it pushes me out of my seat and to my feet instinctively.
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“Turn on the television, boy. Cause I’m staring at it right now on the headlines.”
I grab the remote from my desk drawer and fumble with the buttons. The screen mounted on the far wall flickers to life. A news anchor’s face fills the frame, her expression grave. The chyron at the bottom of the screen reads it in bold white letters.
Whitmore Brother Prepared To Expose Family Business.