CHAPTER FOURTEEN S: THE NAME ON THE DOOR
Cedric visited Damian’s workshop on a Friday afternoon while Niko and two apprentices were loading equipment.
He arrived in a black car and stood beneath the company’s modest sign as though waiting for someone to recognize him.
Damian came outside before Cedric could enter the building.
Cedric said he wanted a private conversation.
Damian replied that he would discuss legitimate business through the appropriate channels.
Cedric glanced at the employees and asked whether Damian wanted them to hear what he had been doing with a married woman.
Niko stopped loading the truck.
Damian said Cedric was free to speak truthfully, but he was not welcome to threaten staff.
Cedric asked whether Damian thought Yvette would stay interested once the excitement of revenge disappeared.
Damian said their relationship was not Cedric’s business.
Cedric stepped closer and accused Damian of using the foundation review to make himself important.
Damian pointed toward the public pavement.
He asked Cedric to leave the property.
Cedric looked at the workshop and said he could buy the entire building without noticing the cost.
Niko answered before Damian could.
He said the building was leased, so Cedric would need to speak to the owner.
One apprentice laughed and immediately looked worried.
Cedric returned to his car without another word.
Damian waited until the car turned the corner before speaking.
He apologized to his crew for the interruption.
Niko asked whether the man was always that unpleasant.
Damian said he was discovering new variations.
The crew returned to work, and Damian called his attorney to document the visit.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN T: THE WOMAN WHO WOULD NOT SIGN
A Northstar project manager named Felicity Cho asked to meet Laila after learning that several invoices carried her electronic approval.
Felicity said she had reviewed scheduling reports but had never authorized claims that families received completed housing placements.
She brought copies of messages requesting that she approve a final batch of invoices before the quarter closed.
One message instructed her to use the phrase delivery confirmed even when a service provider had not submitted proof of occupancy.
Felicity had refused and asked for clarification.
Two days later, she had been removed from the project.
Laila asked whether Felicity had kept the messages in accordance with company policy.
Felicity said her attorney had helped her obtain authorized copies of correspondence relevant to her employment dispute.
Yvette listened while Felicity described the meeting where a supervisor accused her of being difficult.
Felicity said she had spent months wondering whether refusing to sign had cost her career.
Yvette asked whether she wanted to speak with the independent board chair.
Felicity said she would, provided she could bring counsel.
Laila explained that the messages could help establish who knew services were unverified, but they did not automatically establish what happened to every payment.
Felicity agreed.
She said she wanted investigators to ask the questions she had been punished for asking.
After she left, Yvette asked Laila how many people might have raised concerns that never reached the board.
Laila said they would not know until the review gave those people a safe way to come forward.
Yvette contacted Elaine Porter and requested a confidential reporting channel managed outside Cedric’s office.
