At nine the next morning, I carried my mother’s folder into the boardroom.
Camden had arrived.
Sloane sat three chairs away.
Not at his side.
Notable.
August occupied the head chair.
Margaret waited by the windows.
The directors appeared exhausted.
Nobody offered refreshments.
August opened without delay.
“Elena, tell us about the grants.”
I explained.
I detailed the projects.
A youth apprenticeship program in Detroit.
A neighborhood recovery initiative in Baltimore.
A logistics scholarship partnership in Newark.
Each fit the board-approved community-impact budget.
Each submitted correctly.
Each approved.
Weeks afterward, their statuses were altered.
A director leaned in.
“Changed by whom?”
“I don’t know.”
Sloane interjected.
“System errors happen.”
I faced her.
“Three times?”
“I’m not in IT.”
“No. You’re in Brand Strategy. Which is why I’m still wondering why my grant authorization records were in your possession.”
She began to respond.
Camden cut in.
