I listened carefully.
I observed how executives treated people when they believed nobody important was watching.
And I began noticing things that disturbed me.
Certain invoices were treated as unusually urgent.
Some employees seemed frightened to question executive expenses.
Several purchasing decisions bypassed procedures my father had insisted upon for decades.
Then there was Celeste Price.
She had become Julian’s closest assistant and seemed to enjoy reminding everyone of her influence.
Employees regularly complained about her sharp temper, but few were willing to challenge her.
She wore expensive clothes, carried designer handbags, and moved through the building as though she personally owned it.
I found her behavior unpleasant, but I had no reason at first to suspect she was connected to the financial discrepancies.
Then came the incident with the coffee cup.
That morning, I was having lunch in the executive dining area when I mistakenly reached for a cup sitting beside my own.
