“I know.”
CHAPTER 9
“But several contracts were approved without competitive bidding.”
“How many?”
“Eleven.”
“And the total?”
“Approximately $17 million over four years.”
Victoria leaned back.
“Who approved them?”
“Richard approved most operational contracts.”
“And Sandra?”
“Several HR vendors.”
Victoria closed the folder.
“Show me the employee side.”
Evelyn opened another report.
Salary compression.
Turnover.
Promotion rates.
Complaint outcomes.
The pattern was unmistakable.
Employees from certain groups were leaving at significantly higher rates.
Again, the data didn't prove every individual decision was discriminatory.
But it demanded investigation.
Victoria called an all-hands meeting.
Nearly eight hundred employees attended in person or online.
She stood on the stage.
“I want to tell you something about my first day here.”
The room became quiet.
“I was mistaken for a cleaning employee.”
A ripple moved through the audience.
“I was ordered to clean an executive restroom.”
People began whispering.
“I was told to get on my knees.”
Several employees gasped.
“And I was told that people like me always miss the corners.”
The room became silent.
Victoria looked directly into the cameras.
“I could have responded with anger.”
She paused.
“Instead, I listened.”
She explained what she had discovered.
Not names.
Not accusations.
Facts.
The vendor review.
The complaint backlog.
The compensation disparities.
The outdated policies.
The lack of independent reporting.
Then she said:
“Pinnacle Solutions does not have a diversity problem.”
She paused.
“It has a trust problem.”
That sentence spread through the company before the meeting ended.
Richard did not resign.
He fought.
His lawyer sent a letter accusing Victoria of creating a hostile work environment.
Then came anonymous complaints.
Someone alleged Victoria had violated acquisition protocols.
Someone claimed she had intimidated employees.
Someone leaked a story to a business publication suggesting the new CEO was conducting "corporate loyalty tests."
Victoria knew exactly where it came from.
Richard.
She didn't respond publicly.
Instead, she waited.
Evelyn's investigation continued.
Then one morning, Evelyn walked into Victoria's office carrying a flash drive.
“We found the payment trail.”
She plugged it into the computer.
A series of transfers appeared.
Keller Strategic Operations.
Then another company.
Then another.
Money moved through several accounts.
Finally, it ended at an investment account.
Richard's name wasn't directly attached.
But the beneficiary was.
His brother.
And Richard had received property purchased by the brother.
Victoria looked at Evelyn.
“Is that enough?”
“For an investigation?”
“Yes.”
“For a criminal conclusion?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Victoria closed the laptop.
“We don't decide guilt.”
“What do we do?”
“We document.”
That afternoon, Victoria called Richard into her office.