Chapter Five: Monday
Outside counsel arrived at Westbridge carrying two laptop bags and expressions that discouraged ordinary conversation.
The meeting room smelled of cold coffee and printer toner.
Naomi sat beside the firm’s general counsel, Saira Khan, while a representative from human resources arranged water glasses nobody wanted.
Laura entered alone.
Adrian arrived five minutes later, wearing a navy suit and the mild smile of a man who expected an easy conversation.
He was taller than I had imagined.
That embarrassed me more than it should have.
I had tried not to imagine him at all.
“Michael,” he said, offering his hand.
I kept mine on the table.
“Adrian.”
His smile held for another second and disappeared.
Saira began by explaining that the meeting concerned Westbridge’s contract with Briar County and the integrity of its public-engagement materials.
She asked everyone to speak only about matters they knew directly.
Nadia displayed the original field logs beside the revised report.
“These handwritten returns record opposition to closures,” she said.
“The submitted narrative describes the same residents as supporting remote replacement.”
Adrian leaned back.
“Qualitative material requires interpretation.”
Nadia selected a sentence from the source.
“This resident wrote that she cannot use the internet at home.”
She then showed the published version.
“The submitted quotation says she prefers the convenience of online scheduling.”
“That is an editorial paraphrase.”
“It says the opposite.”
Laura watched the screen without speaking.
Saira asked whether anyone had interviewed the resident after receiving her written comment.
Adrian said his contractors had conducted follow-up calls.
Nadia asked for the call records.
He promised to provide them later.
“We need them today,” Saira said.
“My staff are traveling.”
“Then please tell us where the recordings are stored.”
He named a vendor platform that Westbridge no longer used.
Nadia pulled up the access records and showed that no files had been uploaded there in the relevant period.
Adrian shifted in his chair.
“I wasn’t managing every entry.”
“Who was?” Saira asked.
“The communications team.”
Laura looked at him.
“You told me your contractors performed those calls.”
He gave her a quick warning glance.
“We can discuss workflow later.”
“You told me specifically.”
Saira raised a hand.
“Laura, please continue.”
Laura took a breath.
“Adrian sent me sample testimonials with placeholders for names.”
“Did you fill them in?”
“Yes.”
“Did you verify the words with those people?”
“No.”
The room became very quiet.
Adrian set his pen down.
“You’re leaving out the context.”
Laura looked at him as if she had only now seen the shape of his face.
“You said you had done the interviews.”
“I said my team gathered sentiment.”
“You said the people were real.”
“They are real people.”
“Those words weren’t theirs.”
Adrian sat forward.
“The purpose of qualitative analysis is to communicate overall trends.”
I heard my own voice before I intended to speak.
“You changed the denominator to create the trend.”
All eyes turned toward me.
I explained the difference between library cards, households, and appointment records.
Nadia demonstrated how the corrected denominator altered the forecast.
Under the original model, the proposed closures produced a modest saving but created a severe service gap for several communities.
The gap had disappeared in the submitted report because attendance by walk-in borrowers was missing.
Naomi looked sick.
“Why didn’t our review process catch it?”
“Because the source map was edited after the last signed technical review,” Nadia said.
“Whose account made the change?”
“A vendor administrator account associated with Mr. Vale.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Access does not prove authorship.”
“You’re correct,” Nadia said.
“That’s why we also have the vendor request authorizing the alteration.”
She displayed the request on the screen.
The attached description explicitly ordered the team to exclude walk-ins because they were unlikely to convert to the new digital service.
Adrian stared at the wall rather than the evidence.
Saira asked whether he had disclosed his relationship with a member of the client team.
He said personal relationships had no bearing on the work.
“Did you disclose it?” she repeated.
“No.”
Laura made a sound that was almost a laugh.
“You told me you had.”
“I wasn’t required to discuss my private life with every client.”
“But you were required to disclose a conflict,” Saira said.
Naomi ended the meeting by suspending Westbridge’s recommendation and notifying the county that the supporting engagement figures were unreliable.
Adrian stood as though he intended to challenge the decision, but he left without speaking.
Laura stayed seated.
“I need to say something,” she told Saira.
“Please speak with counsel privately before providing more detail,” Saira answered.
Laura looked at me.
I understood that she wanted me to reassure her.
For years that had been my role whenever she felt threatened or embarrassed.
This time I said nothing.
