Chapter Twenty-six
Charlie sat in a conference room at The Offices of Mills, Webber, and Adams in Washington DC, conveniently two blocks from the SEC’s office, and tapped her fingers incessantly on the table as she waited for her attorneys to arrive.
She was driving herself crazy with the motion, yet she couldn’t stop.
It wasn’t caffeine coursing through her since she was halfway through a mug of chamomile tea that the receptionist had given her when she’d arrived.
She felt like she might throw up. She knew she was doing the right thing, but she was nervous.
The SEC might not believe her. D. B. Graves might pull out some big guns to try to silence her.
She’d never knowingly been a part of anything illegal, but in a world of AI and easy photo and video manipulation, there was no telling what they might come up with or manufacture to discredit her.
“Ms. Paulson?” A blond woman who might have been considered short, except for her several-inch heels, who looked like she was in her early forties in a stunning burgundy suit came into the conference room.
Charlie stood and shook her hand. “Yes, but please call me Charlotte. Or Charlie. Sydney Adams?” She recognized her from their multiple video consults, but it felt weird to address her like they were old friends.
“Yes, great to finally meet you in person, Charlie. Let’s sit. Pat and Frederick will be here shortly. They’re on a call that is running over.”
Charlie cleared her throat as Sydney sank into a plush conference room chair across from her. “Gotcha.” She didn’t know what to say, her nerves still holding her hostage.
“How are you finding DC?”
“It’s fine. I only just drove in from New York yesterday, so I haven’t done anything other than check into my hotel and sleep.
” Since she’d left Key West nearly two weeks ago, Charlie had felt exhausted.
She was sure it was all the stress with the SEC and not knowing where things stood with Harper, but all she wanted to do was sleep.
Sydney chuckled. “Fair enough. Are you ready for this?”
Charlie took a deep breath. “I hope so.” But she wasn’t entirely sure.
“You’re going to do great. You already know this, but Pat and Frederick are the dream team for SEC matters. I’m here as your personal attorney, and you’re in great hands with all of us. I promise. Do you have any questions before we head over?”
“Am I really going to be okay breaking the terms of the NDA that they had me sign on my way out? I don’t want to go to jail. But if I’m going to, I don’t want to be blindsided by it.” She chuckled, but it wavered.
“You should be fine. They can try to take action, but NDAs that are based on illegal actions are generally unenforceable. Additionally, per Commission Rule 21F-17, no agreement can contain provisions that would prevent you from reporting a possible securities violation to the SEC, so they won’t have any grounds to come after you.
And they shouldn’t know you’ve even spoken to the SEC until the SEC takes action against them. ”
Charlie sighed, relieved. She wasn’t worried about the money, but she really, really didn’t want to go to jail. Google said she wouldn’t, but Google wasn’t an attorney or the courts, so she wasn’t certain. She was going to do the right thing regardless but still. “So no jail?”
Sydney uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.
“Your NDA with D. B. Graves is a civil matter, not a criminal one, so jail would be impossible, even if they sued you to try to enforce the NDA you signed. And from a criminal prosecution perspective, we are going to require blanket immunity from the SEC for anything that comes to light via their investigation into D. B. Graves, in exchange for your willingness to cooperate with them. We’ve made the immunity agreement as airtight as possible, so you will be covered.
I promise you, we are very good at what we do.
” She smiled at Charlie and leaned back.
The glass conference door swung open again just as Sydney was finishing speaking, and two men she also recognized from their video chats walked in.
Pat, a white man, older, balding, and with a few wisps of gray hair around the sides of his head entered carrying a dark brown briefcase and Frederick, a Black man who appeared to be in his early thirties, with short dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard sported a smile that said he was ready for a fight came around the table and shook Charlie’s hand.
After they exchange pleasantries, Pat said, “I heard what Sydney was saying on our way in, and I can assure you, you’re in the best of hands.” He had a warm smile that had made Charlie feel confident, even on a video chat.
“Thank you, and I know. It’s why a former colleague of mine—who no longer works for D. B. Graves—recommended you all to me.”
“And the SEC has been salivating at the idea of taking down D. B. Graves for years. They’ve had a hunch something shady has been going on, but they haven’t been able to prove it, so they’re going to be willing to give you pretty much anything to talk to them,” Frederick said.
“Even if I can’t give them that much information?
I’m really not one hundred percent sure what I found.
I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but they ushered me out the door so quickly that I didn’t have time to save anything.
” Charlie wasn’t sure what she would have done if she hadn’t been immediately forced to leave, but she liked to believe she would have continued investigating until she did have some proof of intentional wrongdoing.
“Based on our earlier discussions, you have enough to really get them going,” Frederick said. “Even without a smoking gun, pairing your deposition with what they have seen in the market, I am confident they will be able to make a case.”
Charlie sincerely hoped so. She missed Harper and wanted to get back to Key West so she could try to make things right with her again.
She hoped she’d be able to. Every day away from her was painful.
They’d texted a few times, but it was all very superficial, and Charlie hated it.
Harper was the first person she’d opened up to about herself, and up until the day the SEC had shown up, she’d felt closer to her than anyone before.
She wished she could’ve told Harper she was in DC to help the SEC, but her attorneys had advised her not to tell anyone yet, so she’d been vague when keeping Harper posted on where she was and what she was doing.
“It’s about that time, Charlie,” Sydney said. “We’ll be with you every step of the way, okay? Just take your time and answer truthfully, and if one of us hops in before you can and says to not answer, just trust us.”
Charlie took a deep breath and readied herself for whatever was to come.
The initial round of deposition, which felt a lot more like an interrogation to Charlie, lasted nearly the full day.
She’d been thinking she would have to talk to the investigators for a couple of hours to give them a sworn statement and be done, but instead, as a condition of her immunity, they asked her to stay in town at their expense for a few days and review the information they’d been compiling against D.
B. Graves. Some of it was publicly available, some was SEC filings, and apparently, a few documents were obtained through means they couldn’t share with her.
As they exited the building, Sydney said, “If you don’t mind, Charlie, I’m going to have Frederick or a junior attorney sit with you for the next few days while you’re here at the SEC’s offices.
You’re covered with your immunity agreement, but we’d rather have legal counsel with you when you’re there.
I would, but I have to head back to Poland for a couple weeks. ” She winced.
“Of course, that’s no problem. And I’m sorry, did I pull you away from a vacation?”
Sydney laughed. “No, I actually live there. For a few more weeks, anyway.”
“Oh, did you make a special trip just for my case?”
“No, I normally work here one week a month. I just extended a preplanned trip, which worked out because my wife joined me for a couple of days so we could do some house hunting since we’re moving back soon. She’s an Army officer currently stationed in Poland but is PCSing to the Pentagon.”
“Oh wow, that’s a lot.” Charlie also couldn’t help but wonder how Sydney’s wife felt about all the changes forced on the military in the last year or so. “It seems like a really stressful time to be in the military.”
“It is. I’m excited and also stressed about coming back here.
This administration”—she shuddered, which seemingly stopped her thought—“I just hope my wife is never asked to do anything illegal or unethical. With all the changes, we’ve talked about her retiring, but she doesn’t want to…
” Sydney rolled her lips in, seemingly in contemplation. “Oh, obey in advance.”
“I’m so sorry she has to even consider that. I can’t even imagine. This is all horrible,” Charlie said.
“The way this administration is dismantling so much of the federal government and embracing such blatant corruption is almost beyond comprehension,” Sydney said and shook her head.
“I’m actually a little surprised that the SEC is going after D. B. Graves,” Frederick said. “But maybe it’s been lingering for a while? Or maybe the administration has a beef against them for some reason that we aren’t aware of. Either way, I thought that meeting went very well, Charlie.”
“Agreed.” She sighed in relief.
“Can we give you a ride anywhere?” Frederick said.
“No, thanks. I’m just a few blocks from here off New Jersey Avenue. And it’s a nice walk. And walking would probably help me clear my head.”
“Do you want to meet at that coffee shop across the street from the SEC tomorrow morning at eight thirty?” Frederick said.
“That’s perfect. Thank you all. I really appreciate your help, and safe travels back to Poland, Sydney.”
“Thank you,” all three attorneys echoed. She shook hands with all of them.