A Signature That Bound Us

Chapter Six

Aurelia’s POV

By the time I arrived at Vale Enterprises the following morning, I had rehearsed what I would say to Lior Vale at least three times. In the first version, I explained my findings calmly, answered his questions, and left his office feeling satisfied that I had done my job. In the second, he interrupted me so many times that I finally reminded him that he had hired me to think, not to agree with everything he said. The third version involved me telling him exactly what I thought of his management style, I abandoned that one before I reached the reception desk. As much as I enjoyed imagining myself delivering a speech that would leave him speechless, I wasn’t foolish enough to confuse an entertaining fantasy with a sensible career decision. I needed this job and I wasn’t about to lose it because I couldn’t control my temper around one arrogant man.

I stepped out of the elevator, greeted the receptionist, and walked toward my desk. The office was already busy. Someone was arguing quietly over a phone call, two employees hurried past with folders, and a printer near the corner kept making a noise that suggested it had developed a personal dislike for whoever was using it. They were ordinary office problems, for a moment, I found them strangely comforting. I placed my bag beside my desk, switched on my computer, and checked the messages that had arrived overnight. There was one from Finance confirming that my request for the original payment records had been received, access to the archived approval document, however, still required executive authorization.

I sighed, I opened the preliminary report I had prepared the previous evening and read it once more, I had arranged my findings into three sections: what the available records confirmed, what remained unclear, and what additional documents were required before a conclusion could be reached. It wasn’t the kind of report that would impress someone looking for a dramatic discovery but it was accurate, and accuracy mattered more than drama. At least, it should I thought.

I printed a copy, gathered my notes, and checked the time. It was eight forty-seven a.m, I had barely settled into my chair when my desk phone rang.

“Miss Laurent,” Lior’s assistant said, “Mr. Vale expects you in his office at nine.”

I glanced at the report in front of me, “thank you, I’ll be there.” I hung up and stared at the papers, “here we go,” I whispered. Then I picked them up and headed for his office, Lior was already seated behind his desk when I entered. His suit was immaculate, his expression was unreadable, and a cup of black coffee sat beside his laptop.

He didn’t invite me to sit, “your report,” he said.

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Vale.”

His eyes lifted, “is there a reason you’re wasting time?”

“No sir, I was simply greeting you.”

“Once you’re done, let’s get to work.” He said rudely, I walked to his desk and placed the report in front of him. He began reading immediately, I stood there, keeping my hands loosely clasped in front of me. I wasn’t going to fidget, and I certainly wasn’t going to fill the silence simply because he seemed comfortable making other people uncomfortable. He turned a page, then another while he was doing that his expression barely changed but I noticed the way his eyes paused over the section describing the third payment. “How long did this take you?”

“Most of yesterday evening, including the time spent requesting records I couldn’t access.”

“That wasn’t my question,” he snapped.

“Approximately three hours of direct review, excluding the time I spent waiting for responses from Finance.”

He leaned back slightly, “and you consider this a satisfactory report?”

I felt my shoulders tighten, “I consider it an accurate preliminary report based on the documents available to me sir.”

“I didn’t ask whether it was accurate, I asked whether you consider it satisfactory.”

I held his gaze, “I’m not going to call it complete when important supporting records are missing.”

His jaw shifted, “you seem very comfortable telling me what you won’t do.”

“Would you prefer that I tell you the investigation is complete when it isn’t sir?”

His eyes narrowed, “don’t turn every instruction into an argument, Miss Laurent.”

“Then please don’t ask me to make a judgment that the evidence doesn’t support,” the silence that followed was uncomfortable enough that I became aware of the faint hum of the air-conditioning. For a second, I wondered whether I had pushed too far, there was a difference between defending my work and provoking the man responsible for evaluating it. I understood that difference, even if Lior seemed determined to make it difficult to remember but I couldn’t simply agree with him to escape an uncomfortable conversation.

Finally, he looked down at the report again. “Explain the three payments.”

I took a breath, “the first has a supporting invoice. The second has a payment record, but I couldn’t locate a corresponding invoice in the material provided. The third refers to an approval form connected to an archived record I haven’t been authorized to access.”

“And what conclusion have you reached?” He asked.

“The records are inconsistent and require further review.”

“That’s not a conclusion, that’s a description of what you’ve already told me.”

“Yes sir, because that’s all the available evidence supports.”

He closed the report, “you’re telling me that after spending hours on this since yesterday, you still don’t know what happened?”

“I know what the records show, I don’t know why the descriptions differ, why one invoice is missing from the available documents, or what the archived approval contains. Those are three different questions, and I don’t have enough information to answer them.”

His expression hardened, “you’re just making this unnecessarily complicated.”

“No, sir. I’m trying to avoid making it unnecessarily inaccurate.” Instantly, I regretted the sharpness of my last sentence. It wasn’t because it was untrue but because I could see that he had taken it as a direct challenge.

He placed the report on his desk with deliberate care, “do you always speak to your superiors like this?”

“No sir,” I responded.

“Then what makes you think you can do it here?”

I swallowed the response that rose to my tongue, “my intention isn’t to disrespect you sir, I’m explaining why I can’t give you a definite answer yet.”

“Your intentions are irrelevant if you can’t follow instructions,” he hissed.

I stared at him, “I have followed your instructions. You asked me to examine the records, identify the inconsistencies, and report what I found. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

He rose from his chair, the movement was abrupt enough to make me straighten, although I refused to step back. “Listen carefully, Miss Laurent. I don’t have time to manage your emotions, if you want to continue working here, learn to separate your personal opinions from your responsibilities.”

I felt heat rise into my face, “my personal opinions have nothing to do with this report sir.”

“Then stop making every conversation about proving that you’re right,” he slammed the table.

I inhaled slowly before responding, “I don’t need to prove that I’m right, Mr. Vale. I need to establish what the documents actually say.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke, then he picked up his coffee. “Sit down,” he said, I hesitated at first, I was surprised by the sudden change of direction. “Please,” he added, his tone making it clear that the word was not an apology. I sat, he

returned to his chair and opened the report again. “Here’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to obtain the original supporting documents for all three payments. You’re going to trace the approval process and identify the people responsible for each stage, if there is a legitimate explanation, I want it documented. If there isn’t, I want to know precisely where the records fail.”

I nodded, mentally recording each instruction, “understood sir.”

“You will not contact anyone outside the departments authorized to handle this acquisition, you will not circulate your findings, and you will not suggest misconduct to anyone.”

“I haven’t suggested misconduct to anyone.”

“I’m making the expectation clear,” he said.

“Fine.”

His eyes lifted sharply, “fine?”

“I understand you perfectly, Mr. Vale.”

He held my gaze for another moment before continuing, “finance will provide all the records that can be released to you. I’ll authorize access to the archived approval material.”

I was relieved, though I kept it off my face. “Thank

you.”

“Don’t thank me, it’s necessary for you to complete the assignment.”

There he was again, for one brief moment, I had almost mistaken a practical decision for ordinary courtesy. I gathered my notes, “am I finished sir?”

“For now,” I stood, but before I could reach the door, he spoke again. “One more thing,” I turned around. “If you discover something you don’t understand, ask, don’t waste half a day trying to solve a problem you could have clarified in five minutes.”

I blinked because it was the closest thing to useful advice he had offered me since I began working at Vale Enterprises, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And Miss Laurent, next time, bring me answers. Not excuses.”

My fingers tightened around my notebook, “next

time sir, I’ll bring you whatever the evidence supports.”

His expression turned cold again, “get back to work.” I left before he could find another reason to criticize me.