Finally, she explained the timing inconsistencies she had found in the financing schedule.
She did not speculate about motives.
She did not accuse anyone of hiding information.
She presented the documents, the relevant dates, and the questions that needed answers.
When she finished, the room was quiet.
Peter Lawson leaned toward the screen.
“Show me the remediation figures.”
Naomi displayed the relevant spreadsheet.
Peter studied it.
“That's the old estimate.”
“Yes,” Naomi said.
“Where is the updated one?”
She opened the engineering attachment.
He read the figure and frowned.
“Why wasn't this incorporated?”
Margaret Ellis turned toward Richard.
“Was the revised estimate approved?”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know whether it received final approval. The engineering team submitted it, but I haven't reviewed the change history.”
Peter looked at the screen again.
“This is not a minor adjustment.”
Victor's voice cut through the room.
“Let's not exaggerate. The project has a contingency reserve.”
“Yes,” Peter said. “But the reserve is calculated against the total projected costs. If the base estimate changes, the reserve has to be evaluated against the new figure.”
Victor turned toward him.
“I'm aware of that.”
“Then we need to establish whether the reserve remains adequate.”
Margaret Ellis opened a notebook.
“Agreed.”
Victor looked at Naomi.
“You understand that these are preliminary questions, not confirmed failures.”
“Yes.”
“And you cannot say the project is underfunded.”
“Not without further analysis.”
“Good.”
Naomi met his gaze.
“But I also cannot say the project is fully protected against these risks.”
Victor's expression tightened.
“No one asked you to certify that.”
“The investor summary appears to imply it.”
Silence.
Margaret Ellis looked at the document on the screen.
“Which sentence?”
Naomi highlighted the relevant passage.
Margaret read it.
Then she turned toward Victor.
“This language should be reviewed.”
Victor's jaw flexed.
“Fine. We'll review it.”
Peter Lawson began examining the model's formulas.
Richard opened the financing agreement.
For the next forty minutes, the room became a working session rather than a confrontation.
Questions were asked.
Documents were compared.
Two dates were corrected.
One apparent discrepancy proved to be a version-control issue, while another remained unresolved.
The environmental estimate required further review by the engineering team.
The guarantee provision required a legal interpretation.
Naomi recorded each decision and assigned each open question to the appropriate person.
By the end of the meeting, she had a list of seven outstanding items.
She also had something more important.
A growing sense that several people inside the company had been uncomfortable with the project's assumptions but had not found a way to force a full review.
When the meeting ended, Peter Lawson approached her.
“You were right to flag the estimate.”
“I haven't established whether the revised figure is final.”
“No, but the discrepancy is real.”
He looked toward the closed conference-room door.
“I've been asking for an updated model for two weeks.”
Naomi studied him.
“Why didn't you get one?”
Peter hesitated.
“Because everyone believed someone else was handling it.”
It was a familiar answer.
It was also the kind of answer that could allow a serious problem to grow without any single person deciding to create it.
Naomi nodded.
“Then the next step is to determine who owns the update and when it will be completed.”
Peter gave a tired smile.
“You really don't let anything go, do you?”
“Not when the numbers don't agree.”
He laughed softly.
“I'm beginning to understand why Victor finds you difficult.”
Naomi gathered her papers.
“I suspect he would find me difficult even if the numbers agreed.”
Peter did not disagree.
That afternoon, the Shanghai investors requested a formal preliminary report.
Naomi prepared it with careful qualifications.
She identified the discrepancies, explained their potential significance, and specified what evidence would be needed to resolve each issue.
She made no claim that the project was fraudulent.
She made no claim that anyone had intentionally concealed information.
She also refused to describe the financing as secure until the guarantee provisions had been reviewed and the financial model updated.
At 4:12 p.m., she sent the report to Richard Cole and Margaret Ellis, copying the members of the investment committee identified in the contract.
Victor called less than ten minutes later.
“What exactly did you send them?”
“The preliminary report.”
“You were supposed to send it to Richard first.”
“I sent it to Richard and the investment committee, as required by the agreement.”
“You could have waited.”
“The report identifies issues that affect the investors' decision.”
“They are preliminary.”
“The report says so.”
Victor's voice grew colder.
“You've created unnecessary alarm.”
“I've identified questions that need to be answered.”
“You have no idea how these things work at this level.”
Naomi looked at the document on her screen.
“Then please explain which finding is incorrect.”
He did not answer.
Instead, he said, “We need to discuss your role.”
“I agree.”
“Come to my office tomorrow morning.”
“I can attend at nine.”
“Good.”
He ended the call.
Naomi sat quietly for several seconds.
She had expected resistance.
She had expected Victor to dislike an unfavorable report.
But she had also expected him to identify a specific factual error if he believed the report was wrong.
He had not done that.
Instead, he had focused on who received the report and how its existence might affect the project.
Naomi wrote a final note in her private log.
Victor objects to distribution of preliminary findings but has not identified a factual error. Continue review. Preserve all work and correspondence. Avoid assumptions about intent.
Then she saved the document in two secure locations.
She had learned from experience that a record was most useful when it was created before anyone knew how important it might become.
At 8:52 the following morning, Naomi arrived at Victor Hale's office.
His assistant escorted her into a conference room.
Victor was already there.
A printed copy of her report lay in front of him, covered with handwritten notes.
He did not invite her to sit.
“Do you realize what you've done?”
Naomi remained calm.
“I submitted the preliminary findings required under our agreement.”
“You've made this project look unstable.”
“The report identifies unresolved risks.”
“You've created doubt among investors who were already nervous.”
“They asked for an accurate assessment.”
“They asked for reassurance.”
Naomi stared at him.
“Those are not the same thing.”
Victor's face hardened.
“You think you're the only person in this company who cares about accuracy?”