Chapter 3 - THE PRESENTATION THAT WASN'T HERS
I didn't confront Donovan immediately.
That was the first intelligent thing I did after getting off the train.
The second was downloading the file history and sending it to our compliance department.
I worked for Bellweather Advisory, a consulting firm with offices in New York, Boston, and Chicago.
Donovan was a managing director.
I was a senior director.
We were engaged, but our professional responsibilities were supposed to remain separate.
That separation had become increasingly fictional.
For months, Donovan had been asking me to review his presentations after hours.
He called it teamwork.
I called it love.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether I'd been confusing the two.
At eleven-thirty, I joined the preparation call.
Seven faces appeared.
Donovan sat at the head of a conference table in Boston.
Juliet sat beside him.
She was wearing his navy blazer.
I stared at the screen.
Donovan smiled tightly.
“Glad you decided to join us.”
I ignored the remark.
“Before we begin, I need to clarify ownership of the commercial model.”
Juliet looked down.
Donovan's smile disappeared.
“Sloan, let's not derail the meeting.”
“Who prepared the version being presented?”
“I did,” Juliet said softly.
I waited.
She glanced at Donovan.
“With guidance.”
“From whom?”
Donovan leaned forward.
“From the team.”
I opened my original file.
“The pricing framework was developed by me, with Priya validating the assumptions and the finance team reviewing the risk adjustments.”
Silence.
I continued.
“The version circulated last night removes the sensitivity analysis and changes the proposed discount threshold.”
Donovan frowned.
“Those were strategic decisions.”
“Made by whom?”
He stared at me.
I asked again.
“Who authorized the changes?”
Evelyn appeared on the call.
“I'd like an answer to that as well.”
Donovan's expression shifted.
For the first time that morning, he looked uncertain.
He said the changes had been made to improve competitiveness.
Evelyn asked whether the client had approved the revised assumptions.
He said no.
Then she asked whether the finance committee had approved them.
Another no.
Evelyn folded her hands.
“Then we are not presenting that version.”
Juliet's eyes filled.
Donovan looked furious.
“Sloan, this could cost us the account.”
I met his gaze through the screen.
“No. Presenting unapproved numbers could cost us the account.”
Evelyn ended the call early.
An hour later, I received a calendar invitation.
CONFIDENTIAL: PROJECT GOVERNANCE REVIEW.
Required attendees:
Evelyn Hart.
Legal counsel.
Compliance.
Me.
Donovan.
And Juliet.
May you like
The train incident had become a corporate investigation.
And I hadn't even canceled the wedding venue yet.
