At nine, Patricia Holt arrived with a small ownership committee and entered the seventeenth-floor conference suite. The independent auditors were working in adjacent rooms, and Elaine gave a preliminary report over a secure call. The original payment ledger confirmed the $1.62 million already released to Lakeside across eighteen months. The final $180,000 remained pending, which meant the owner approval control had functioned as intended.
"We've also preserved the meeting-room calendar," Elaine said. "Seventy-eight recurring reservations for a ten-person team. No corresponding visitor badges or guest registrations on the ordinary access system. It is strong corroboration of what Ms. Ortiz reported, though we still need to investigate whether the work was supposedly performed elsewhere."
"What about the strategic reports?" Patricia asked.
"Some contain later-created material. We're tracing document histories now. Our working conclusion is that this vendor requires further investigation, not that every allegation has been proven."
Loretta nodded from the far end of the table. She had not dressed to impress the building. She wore a dark blue suit that was neatly cut but unadorned, and she carried the same canvas bag from the lobby visit. Her little notebook lay inside it with the first page marked by a folded corner.
At nine-twenty, Hayley saw Teresa enter through the front doors. She wore a simple cream blouse and a brown skirt, and she carried no company identification because it had been taken from her on Wednesday. The sight of the familiar lobby made her stop just beyond the revolving door. For four years, that lobby had been the place where she knew what to do every minute; now she did not know whether she was permitted to stand near its front desk.
Hayley came around the counter. "Teresa," she said, unable to keep the relief out of her voice. "You came."
"I got a call telling me there was a seat. I wasn't sure if it was real."
"It's real," Hayley answered. "Patricia Holt's office confirmed it, and nobody is changing that appointment."
Teresa looked toward the executive elevator, where Bradley had once disappeared after ordering security to remove Loretta. She could imagine his reaction if he saw her again, and she almost turned around. Then she remembered Mateo asking whether she would have good news when she came home, and she followed Hayley toward the conference suite.
Loretta met her at the door. She did not reveal her identity immediately, choosing instead to hand over a sealed envelope. "Your reference letter," she said. "I promised."
Teresa opened it carefully. The letter was printed on good paper, but the content was plain and specific: four years of dependable work, strong organizational skills, concern for visitors, and an unjustly disputed act of courtesy. Teresa read it slowly, one line at a time, and her eyes filled with tears before she reached the signature.
"Last week I printed an appointment confirmation on paper just like this," she said. "I watched it go in the trash, and I didn't say a word."