Program compliance, he said. He said it with the careful neutrality of a man tasting something and deciding whether it's what he expected. Did legal say which program specifically? Emergency Assistance Fund was mentioned, Evelyn said. Approval processes, standard audit scope.
Should we be worried? He asked. Evelyn looked at him. She let the silence sit for exactly 1 second, not long enough to seem hesitant, just long enough to seem like she was thinking about it genuinely. I don't think so, she said.
We run tight compliance. If there's an inquiry, we cooperate. We document. We demonstrate our processes. We've been through regulatory reviews before.
Right, Gerald said. He smiled. It reached his eyes in the practiced way of a smile that has been trained to reach the eyes. Of course. Just wanted to make sure we're aligned.
We're aligned, Gerald, she said. He stood up. I'll have our compliance team do a quick internal review this morning. Just so we have our documentation organized in case they come to us directly. That sounds prudent, she said.
He left. Evelyn turned back to her desk. She put both palms flat on the surface. She breathed once slowly all the way through. Then she picked up her personal phone under the desk and typed a text to Marcus with her hands completely steady.
He came to me. 10:30. Told me he's doing an internal compliance review this morning. She hit send. Then she went back to work because that was the only thing she could do and she was very good at it.
Marcus's response came back in under 2 minutes. Tell Patricia. She's going to want to know he's already moving. Evelyn forwarded the information. Patricia's response was three words, expected.
Noon. Come. The four of them were in Patricia's office at noon. Marcus, Evelyn, Patricia, and a woman Patricia introduced only as Dr. Kim, the federal forensic accountant, who had been working through the shadow copies since 3:00 in the morning.