Divorced the CEO, Chose His Rival

Chapter 010 — A Signature Without Consent

The signature looked like hers.

Nadia leaned closer to the document, studying the familiar sweep of the final letters. She had signed enough contracts and professional reports to recognize her handwriting, and the resemblance was difficult to dismiss.

What she couldn't recognize was the conclusion printed above it.

The acquisition's financial risks have been assessed and are considered acceptable within Whitlock Industries' investment parameters.

She looked up at the man sitting opposite her.

"Where did you get this?"

Elias Sorrell rested his hands on the conference table. "It was included in the acquisition documents provided for our review."

"Who prepared it?"

"We haven't established that yet."

"Then why does it have my signature?"

"That's what I hoped you could help us understand."

She sat back, struggling to contain her irritation. They had been discussing Bellwether for nearly twenty minutes, and this was the first time he'd shown her the document at the centre of his inquiry.

"You could have started with this."

"I wanted to understand your involvement before discussing the certification."

"By asking whether I changed my recommendation?"

"Yes."

"Wouldn't it have been more useful to show me what supposedly changed?"

Across the table, Reese Navarro lowered his pen. Beside her, Jessa remained quiet, although Nadia could tell her friend was following every word.

Elias considered the question.

"Perhaps. But I needed to establish your account independently of the document."

She glanced down again.

"I understand the reason for asking questions. I don't understand why you waited to show me what you were questioning."

For the first time since the meeting began, he appeared to reconsider his approach.

"Fair enough."

When she'd arrived at Sorrell Strategic Capital that morning, Nadia hadn't known what to expect.

Adrian had spoken about his rival often enough for her to develop an unflattering impression of him. She'd imagined an arrogant financier who enjoyed finding weaknesses in other people's businesses and reminding them how much he knew.

The man who greeted her in reception was certainly self-assured, but his manner was restrained rather than theatrical.

He'd introduced his business partner, welcomed Jessa, and taken them to a private conference room where the documents had already been arranged.

There was no attempt to charm her.

He hadn't mentioned the divorce, offered sympathy or asked about Adrian.

Instead, he'd gone straight to the acquisition.

At first, she'd appreciated that.

Then the questions became increasingly pointed.

He wanted to know whether she'd prepared Bellwether's original financial assessment, whether management had requested revisions, and whether she'd subsequently approved the acquisition.

She answered each question, but he returned repeatedly to the possibility that her recommendation had changed.

Now she understood why.

Someone had supplied his firm with a certification apparently confirming that the acquisition's risks were acceptable.

And her signature was attached to it.

"I didn't approve this," she said.

Elias picked up his pen.

"Are you saying the signature isn't yours?"

"I'm saying I didn't authorize this certification. The writing resembles mine, but I don't know how it came to be on this page."

"Did Whitlock use electronic signatures for internal documents?"

"Under specific circumstances, yes. That didn't give anyone permission to attach mine to an assessment I hadn't approved."

He made a note.

"What was your actual recommendation?"

"That the company renegotiate the proposed purchase price substantially or walk away."

"Why?"

"Because the projected returns depended on assumptions that weren't sufficiently supported. Several customer expansions hadn't been secured, and the proposed integration savings required more verification."

"Could those assumptions have improved after you completed the assessment?"

"Certainly. But I wasn't given evidence that justified changing my conclusion."

He studied her.

"Would you have supported the acquisition if management accepted those risks?"

"That's a different question. Management was entitled to proceed against my advice. It wasn't entitled to convert my objections into approval."

Reese glanced at the disputed certification.

"Was there a formal distinction between an adviser recommending a transaction and executives authorizing it?"

"There should have been. My responsibility was to evaluate the financial risks and report my findings. The decision belonged to management."

"Then we need the original assessment," he said.

"My attorney can help arrange an appropriate review."

Jessa nodded. "Provided the confidentiality restrictions are addressed. My client won't distribute Whitlock's internal records informally."

"Agreed," Elias replied.

Nadia looked between them.

The lawyers had established sensible boundaries before the meeting. She was grateful for that, particularly now that the question involved more than interpreting old financial forecasts.

A document was carrying her apparent approval for a decision she'd opposed.

And she had no idea who had produced it.

Elias turned another page.

"Did you discuss your recommendation with Adrian before delivering it?"

"Yes."

"Was he aware you objected to the purchase price?"

"Very."

"Did Lydia Fenwick participate in those discussions?"

"She led much of the acquisition work. We disagreed about the reliability of the projected growth."

"Could she have believed you'd accepted her revised assumptions?"

Nadia frowned.

"She might have believed plenty of things. I can't speak for her."

"Did you receive a revised financial model?"

"There were several versions during the review. I'd need to examine the specific records before identifying which one you're referring to."

He nodded, apparently satisfied with the distinction.

Then he asked whether the personal difficulties surrounding her marriage could have affected her memory of the acquisition discussions.

The question caught her off guard.

"Are you suggesting my divorce has changed what I remember recommending?"

"I'm considering whether the disagreement may have developed differently from how you recall it."

She stared at him.

"My written assessment existed before the divorce. Its contents aren't dependent on my opinion of Adrian today."

He held her gaze for a moment.

"You're right. The contemporaneous records will be stronger evidence than either party's recollection."

She hadn't expected him to concede the point so readily.

It didn't make the question less irritating.

"You seem determined to find a reason I might have approved this."

"I'm determined to establish whether the approval is authentic."

"Those aren't the same thing."

"No," he acknowledged. "They aren't."

Reese shifted in his chair.

"Perhaps we should focus on what can be verified. We have the document Whitlock supplied, and Ms. Ellery has stated that it doesn't reflect her recommendation. The next step is to compare it with the original records."

"That's sensible," Jessa agreed.

Nadia took a breath.

She hadn't come here expecting anyone to accept her account without scrutiny. She understood why a potential financier needed reliable evidence.

But she wasn't prepared to be treated as though she owed an explanation for someone else's use of her professional identity.

The remainder of the meeting was more productive.

They agreed that the attorneys would coordinate a limited comparison of the disputed certification with her original assessment and its delivery records.

Sorrell's firm would not treat the apparent approval as independently verified while the discrepancy remained unresolved.

Nothing would be distributed beyond the agreed review arrangements.

When Elias closed his notebook, she noticed that nearly every page contained careful handwriting.

"Do you record every conversation this thoroughly?" she asked.

"Only the ones involving forty-five-million-dollar acquisitions."

Reese looked amused. "That's not true. He once took two pages of notes choosing an office coffee machine."

"It was an expensive coffee machine."

"It was a coffee machine."

Despite herself, Nadia smiled.

The exchange gave her a brief glimpse of a less formidable man beneath the tailored suit and relentless questions.

He noticed her expression.

"I assume your assessment of our meeting is less favourable than mine."

"Considerably."

"At least we've established something with certainty."

She shook her head, though her irritation had softened.

Jessa gathered her documents, and they stood.

At the door, Elias extended his hand.

"Thank you for coming. I appreciate your willingness to clarify the records."

She accepted the handshake.

"Next time, show me the relevant document before questioning me for twenty minutes."

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"I'll remember that."

Outside, Jessa waited until they reached the pavement before speaking.

"Well, he's certainly thorough."

"He's infuriating."

"He also listened when you challenged him."

"Eventually."

Her friend laughed.

Nadia looked back at the building.

She had expected to dislike Elias Sorrell. After the meeting, she still wasn't certain what she thought of him.

He was demanding, skeptical and apparently incapable of asking a question without preparing three more.

But he'd acknowledged when his approach was unfair. More importantly, he hadn't insisted that Whitlock's records must be correct simply because management had supplied them.

That mattered.

"Let's find my original assessment," she said.

"We will. First, we'll establish what can be reviewed and how."

Nadia nodded.

She remembered the afternoon she'd delivered her final Bellwether recommendation. She'd been frustrated with the optimistic assumptions, but she'd made sure her objections were documented.

She hadn't changed her mind afterward.

Now she needed to establish what happened between delivering that assessment and the appearance of a certification bearing her signature.

Because somewhere in Whitlock's records was a professional approval she hadn't given.

And someone had expected it to stand without being questioned.