The following morning, Damian received a call from a restaurant owner whose kitchen his company had serviced for five years.
The owner, Miguel Serrano, said a property manager had suggested replacing Damian’s firm with a larger contractor.
Miguel wanted to know whether Damian was involved in a dispute with Cedric Vaughn.
Damian said he was, but his personal situation had not affected the maintenance schedule.
Miguel explained that the property manager had mentioned a possible change in insurance requirements.
Damian asked whether the manager had provided any documentation.
Miguel said he had not.
Damian offered to review any written requirement with his insurer and provide updated certificates if necessary.
He refused to speculate about Cedric’s involvement.
Later that day, Niko reported that another customer had received an unsolicited quote from a competitor.
Damian told him competition was normal, but rumors about their insurance status needed a response.
He called the company’s insurance broker and requested a current certificate and confirmation of coverage.
He then sent a factual notice to customers who had asked questions.
The notice said the company remained insured, staffed, and available for scheduled work.
It did not mention Cedric.
Niko asked why Damian would not name the person who seemed to be interfering.
Damian said he had no evidence connecting Cedric to the calls.
He would not damage his own credibility by turning suspicion into fact.
Two days later, Miguel called back.
He had confirmed that the alleged insurance change did not exist.
He renewed the service agreement for another year.
Damian thanked him and returned to work.
He knew the victory was small,
but it belonged to his crew rather than to a public argument.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN AA: THE MESSAGE IN THE HALLWAY
Briana attended a scheduled interview with the foundation’s outside investigators at her attorney’s office.
She had spent the previous evening reviewing dates and separating what she remembered from what she assumed.
The investigators asked about her role in approving Northstar’s invoices.
Briana explained that Cedric’s office had presented the approvals as administrative confirmations after services were completed.
One investigator asked whether she had ever visited the housing providers named in the invoices.
Briana said she had not.
The investigator asked whether she had requested confirmation from anyone who had.
Briana admitted she had not done that either.
Her attorney asked for a short break when Briana began speaking too quickly.
In the hallway, Briana drank water from a paper cup and stared at a painting of a mountain road.
She remembered telling Damian that his insistence on checking every measurement made him small-minded.
At the time, she had been impressed by Cedric’s ability to make decisions in seconds.
Now she understood that speed could conceal the absence of any decision worth trusting.
When the interview resumed, she described a meeting where Cedric had urged staff to approve a group of payments before a donor visit.
She said she had understood the urgency as a business necessity.
The investigator asked whether anyone had explained why payment was required before delivery confirmation.
Briana said no one had.
She acknowledged that she had not asked.
At the end, she signed a statement after reviewing it with her attorney.
She left the office without feeling forgiven.
She did feel that she had finally described her own actions without hiding behind Cedric’s instructions.
