Chapter 3 - THE FIRST AUDIT HIT BEFORE BREAKFAST
Samuel Archer did not wait for Monday.
By 6:30 the next morning, Whitaker Development’s independent audit committee had received a preservation notice.
No documents deleted.
No expense records altered.
No vendor accounts changed.
No email accounts purged.
Preston received the notice while still in the guest room.
At 6:41, he called Evelyn.
She did not answer.
At 6:45, he called Samuel.
Samuel answered.
“Good morning.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Preserving corporate records.”
“On whose authority?”
“The controlling shareholder requested review. The audit committee agreed.”
Preston went quiet.
Evelyn owned 61 percent of voting control through the Whitaker trust.
Not 61 percent of every economic interest.
But enough to matter.
Her father had left governance complicated on purpose.
Harrison Whitaker trusted systems more than charm.
He had liked Preston.
He had never trusted him with control.
By noon, the first irregularity appeared.
A consulting vendor:
B.E. Coastal Strategy LLC.
Payments over fourteen months:
$312,000.
Registered owner:
Brooke Ellison.
Preston had approved most invoices.
Services listed:
West Coast client development.
Hospitality coordination.
Executive relocation research.
Samuel called Evelyn.
“Did you know Brooke had a vendor company?”
“No.”
“Did the board?”
“Ask them.”
“They didn’t.”
Evelyn stared at the birthday balloons still floating near the ceiling.
May you like
The affair was ugly.
Company money made it something else.
