Chương 7
He had not asked what Harrow North was.
Priya noticed.
“Nathaniel?”
Cross turned toward her.
“What?”
“You know the recipient?”
Cross hesitated.
“I know the name.”
“From where?”
“The Vantage discussions.”
Adrian said, “The Vantage intermediary you introduced.”
“I introduced dozens of firms over the course of that process.”
“You introduced three.”
Cross looked at him.
Adrian had remembered the number.
Claire felt an irrational little rush of satisfaction and hated herself for it.
Cross recovered.
“Then three.”
“Who owns Harrow North?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who introduced you?”
“I don’t remember.”
Claire spoke quietly.
“Your calendar does.”
Cross turned.
She opened her notebook.
“May twelfth. Breakfast at the Lowell. You met a man named Eric Vale for forty minutes. That afternoon, you emailed Finance recommending Harrow North.”
“How could you possibly know what was discussed at breakfast?”
“I don’t.”
“Then don’t imply that you do.”
“I said your calendar remembers who introduced you.”
“You kept my calendar?” Cross asked.
“No. Adrian’s.”
Cross looked at Adrian.
Claire continued.
“You rescheduled Adrian’s meeting with you that morning because your breakfast ran late. I changed his calendar.”
Something almost human crossed Cross’s face.
Annoyance.
Not fear.
The detail had gotten under his skin because it was mundane and undeniable.
Priya finally stood.
“Who is Eric Vale?”
Cross rubbed his mouth.
“A consultant.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had breakfast with him.”
“I have breakfast with people.”
“Does he own Harrow North?”
“I said I don’t know.”
Adrian picked up his phone.
“I’ll call him.”
“You don’t have his number.”
Claire opened her notebook again.
Cross stared at her.
She said, “I do.”
For the first time all morning, Adrian smiled without humor.
Cross looked from one of them to the other.
Then Priya’s phone rang.
She checked the screen.
“Jonah.”
She answered.
For thirty seconds she said almost nothing.
Her eyes gradually settled on Cross.
“Nathaniel,” she said after ending the call, “we need your laptop.”
Cross blinked.
“What?”
“Compliance found a legacy administrator token renewed from your board device six weeks ago.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
“My device is managed by company IT.”
“Yes.”
“So half the building could have done it.”
“Perhaps. We’re going to find out.”
Cross’s face reddened.
“I’m not surrendering my computer based on an accusation manufactured by a former secretary who has spent God knows how long engineering a takeover.”
Claire’s expression did not change.
Adrian’s did.
“Don’t call her that.”
Cross turned.
“What?”
“You know her title.”
The correction surprised Claire more than the insult had hurt.
Cross stared at Adrian.
“You cannot possibly be defending her.”
“I’m correcting you.”
“Last night you fired her.”
“Yes.”
“And this morning she owns your board.”
“Yes.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Possible.”
Priya shut her eyes briefly.
“We are not doing this.”
Adrian ignored her.
Cross stepped closer.
“Thomas would be ashamed of what is happening in this room.”
Adrian’s face emptied.
Claire saw it before Cross did.
Cross had made a mistake.
Not evidence.
A mistake.
There had been a period after Thomas died when nearly every disagreement ended with someone explaining what Thomas would have wanted. Bankers did it. Directors did it. Old employees did it. Eleanor did it once, then apologized.
Adrian had tolerated all of them.
Claire had never heard Cross use Thomas that way.
Until now.
Adrian’s voice became very quiet.
“Give Priya your laptop.”
“No.”
“Give her the laptop.”
“You don’t have authority to order me.”
Adrian looked toward Claire.
Claire did not smile.
She opened the shareholder folder and turned to another page.
“As majority voting holder, Northstar has delivered a written consent suspending Mr. Cross’s committee access pending the special meeting.”
Cross stared at her.
“You planned this.”
“I prepared for it.”
“Before you had proof.”
“Before I knew whether the proof would point to you.”
“That is the same thing.”
“No.”
He looked at Priya.
Priya held out her hand.
“Nathaniel.”
For a moment it seemed Cross might refuse.
Then decades of corporate instinct defeated anger.
He took his laptop from his leather case.
Placed it in Priya’s hand.
And said, “When this is over, you will all regret the way this was handled.”
It was not a threat.
Not quite.
He walked out.
The door closed.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then Priya looked at Adrian.
“The board meeting is postponed thirty minutes.”
“Why?”
“Because if Cross is involved, we need counsel in the room before anyone says anything else stupid.”
Adrian nodded.
Priya looked at Claire.
“Your voting documents are valid.”
Claire nodded.
“I know.”
“That wasn’t praise.”
“I know.”
Priya picked up her coffee.
She had reached the door when Adrian said, “Priya.”
She stopped.
“Do you think I did it?”
Priya studied him.
“I think yesterday afternoon your user ID accessed the estate dashboard.”
“I asked whether you think I did it.”
“I don’t know.”
He looked away.
Priya’s face softened, but only slightly.
“That is the problem with evidence, Adrian. It keeps being evidence when we love the person standing next to it.”
She left.
The door clicked shut.
Adrian remained near the desk.
Claire sank into the visitor chair.
For the first time that morning, she slipped one heel partly off and rubbed the back of her ankle against the other foot.
Adrian noticed the blister.
“You walked here?”
She glanced down.
“My car got stuck on Park.”
“You said you didn’t trust yourself to get in a car.”
“That was last night.”
“You were making a point.”
“I often do.”
He went to the small refrigerator behind the bar and took out two bottles of water.
He placed one in front of her.
Claire looked at it.
“Is this severance?”
“It’s water.”
“I’d prefer severance.”
“You own fifty-one percent of the votes.”
“I still worked here.”
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He sat on the edge of the desk.
For a while they said nothing.
Below them, Manhattan continued its morning.
May you like
Claire drank half the bottle.
Adrian stared at the crooked CEO nameplate.
