CHAPTER FOURTEEN Y: THE FIRST PUBLIC QUESTION
The community college auditorium was half full when Yvette arrived for the foundation’s public meeting.
There were no flowers, no stage lights, and no donors’ names projected above the seats.
A college custodian checked the microphones while Simone arranged printed summaries on a table by the entrance.
Elaine opened the meeting by explaining what the independent review had confirmed and what remained under examination.
She said the board had found payments for services that could not be verified and had referred those matters for further investigation.
She did not announce an amount that investigators had not established.
A man in the third row raised his hand before she finished.
He introduced himself as Raymond Price, a former participant in a training program the foundation had advertised as completed.
He said he had received two introductory workshops but no promised placement with an employer.
He wanted to know why the annual report described him as employed.
Simone asked whether he was comfortable sharing the wording with the review team.
Raymond said he had brought the report because his daughter had seen his photograph beside the claim.
The audience murmured as he held up the page.
Yvette recognized the photograph from the previous year’s presentation.
She remembered approving the design because Raymond looked hopeful.
Raymond said hope had not paid his rent.
Elaine asked the foundation’s independent reviewer to examine the record and correct the public report if necessary.
A woman near the aisle asked why nobody had checked the claim before publishing it.
Yvette stood and said she had approved the report without sufficient verification.
She did not blame the designer or the photographer.
Raymond looked at her and asked what would happen next.
Yvette said he would receive a written response through the independent review process, with a named contact who could answer questions.
He said that would be a beginning.
The meeting continued for another two hours.
Some attendees demanded resignations.
Others wanted immediate services rather than arguments about the past.
One former volunteer said the organization had taught her to care about people but had treated questions as disloyalty.
Elaine asked her to help the board identify where its reporting process had failed.
The volunteer said she would consider it after receiving the findings in writing.
Yvette stayed until the last person left.
When she finally stepped outside, Damian was waiting near the entrance with two cups of tea.
He asked whether she wanted to talk.
She said she wanted to sit somewhere quiet and remember every question she had been unable to answer.
He handed her the tea and sat beside her on a low wall.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Z: THE PRICE OF A FAVOR
