Chapter 4 - The Audit and the Aftermath
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of flashbulbs, federal subpoenas, and emergency board meetings that made headline news across every major financial publication from Wall Street to the Nikkei.
BELLINI HOSPITALITY FOILS INSIDE JOB: BILLION-DOLLAR PACIFIC DEAL BACK ON TRACK, screamed the Wall Street Journal banner on Thursday morning.
Inside the Belmont Grand, however, life went on with the quiet, terrifying efficiency of a well-oiled machine.
Mrs. Delgado had cornered me in the breakroom on Thursday afternoon, her eyes wide as saucers, stammering apologies for every scolding she had given me over the last six years and asking if I wanted her to personally arrange for a VIP parking spot next to the general manager's entrance.
I declined the parking spot. But I did accept the promotion.
Laya Morgan had called me into her office at nine a.m. sharp. There was no desk-pounding, no legal jargon—just a thick manila contract folder slid across the mahogany table and a quiet, respectful nod.
“Mr. Bellini requested that you be appointed as the new Director of Corporate Document Integrity,” Laya had said, her black-framed glasses resting on her nose as she watched me process the words. “Effective immediately. Salary grade 402. Full medical, private childcare allowance included, and an office on the twenty-eighth floor.”
I stared at the paper. My hands were shaking.
“Is this… is this because of Elsie?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
May you like
Laya offered a rare, genuine smile—the first I had ever seen from her.
“Mr. Bellini says that anyone who can spot a missing corporate watermark at three years old while eating peanut-butter crackers has better analytical instincts than our entire compliance department. Sign on page four, Maya. Welcome to the executive suite.”
