Chapter 5 - Dinner for the Cameras
Nina Vale did not ask Meline to forgive her. She asked for thirty minutes and brought her attorney.
They sat at the workers' accountant's office on a Saturday morning. Nina's cropped gray hair was immaculate, but her hands shook when she pulled a folder from her bag.
“I signed a temporary approval,” she said. “That part is true. The instruction I reviewed would move collateral into an account controlled by an independent trustee while the acquisition closed. I questioned the structure, but I signed because the board had approved the refinancing.”
“What changed?” the accountant asked.
“The final attachment. My signature was carried forward onto an instruction naming a different recipient. I didn't see that version until Elena filed her complaint.”
“Then why not immediately tell the trustees?” Rosa asked.
Nina looked at her. “Because I was afraid I'd signed something that allowed it. And because Preston told me he would accuse me of negligence if I raised an alarm.”
“Were you negligent?” Meline asked.
Nina nodded once. “I approved a complicated transaction without demanding the final destination in writing. I was proud of being the person who never slowed a closing. That pride could have cost people their retirement.”
She provided copies of communications she had retained through approved internal channels, as well as the name of an outside auditor whom she had contacted independently. The accountant compared dates but wouldn't reach a conclusion in the room. Nina's attorney cautioned that the signature issue required a formal investigation. Everyone agreed.
On Monday Caldwell and Hayes Capital announced a public employee-listening dinner at Laura. The event would be filmed. Preston wanted to show that he welcomed questions about Hudson Forge and took employee welfare seriously. The invitation specified that representatives could attend if they registered in advance.
Rosa read it aloud over the phone. “He wants the camera to see workers clapping at dessert.”
“Then don't clap,” Meline said.
“I'm thinking of asking about the reserve.”
“Ask about the independent trustees and the financial guarantees, not rumors.”
Rosa laughed. “You sound like a lawyer.”
“I've spent enough time with one lately.”
Meline didn't want to return to Laura. The memory of Preston's finger inches from her face still made her muscles tighten. But Simon called and said the restaurant had agreed to accommodate worker representatives, and the workers asked whether she would attend as an adviser. She said yes on the condition that she would sit with them as a guest, not become the evening's spectacle.
Evelyn insisted on helping her choose a coat. “Wear the blue one,” she said. “It makes you look like you know the answer before they finish asking.”
“I don't know all the answers.”
“Then wear it because you know how to say so.”
At seven-thirty, Meline walked into Laura beside Rosa and two Hudson Forge employees. Simon greeted them at the door. For an awkward second neither seemed sure whether to shake hands. Then he said, “I'm sorry about the suspension. I should have put the truth in the report.”
“Put it there now,” she replied.
“I did. Yesterday.”
She nodded. It wasn't enough to restore her lost income, but it was an actual action rather than a sentence designed to end the conversation.
Preston stood beneath a chandelier addressing journalists and invited guests. He described himself as the son of a factory worker. He spoke about sacrifice, resilience, and investment in American industry. Meline remembered him saying in Arabic that the workers were ants. He was fluent in two languages of contempt and only one of public sympathy.
A moderator called on Rosa. She stood with a folded sheet of paper. “Our employees were told the pension-related obligations were fully secured. The trustees rejected a release instruction because the approval records and destination account couldn't be verified. Will you release the complete financing terms to the appropriate worker representatives?”
Preston's smile remained in place. “There are complexities you wouldn't understand.”
“Then explain them,” Rosa said.
An uneasy silence followed. Cameras moved closer.
Preston spotted Meline. Something behind his expression sharpened. “I see our former waitress has arrived to coach the questions.”
Meline remained seated. “The questions are theirs.”
“You people prefer scandal to jobs.”
Rosa lifted the paper. “My people prefer knowing whether they can retire.”
A man near the camera applauded once, awkwardly. Preston turned to the moderator and demanded another question. Meline did not smile. The point wasn't to humiliate him in return. The point was that he still hadn't answered.
After the event, Preston approached Meline beside the coat check. His public-relations director stood a few feet away, visibly anxious.
“I hear your mother needs treatment,” he said. “Our foundation could cover her expenses. There's no need for you to make your family suffer over a misunderstanding.”
Meline felt an old instinct rise: take the help, keep the peace, let tomorrow deal with tomorrow. She pictured Evelyn reading in bed, her glasses slipping down her nose, insisting on making her own decisions even when they cost effort.
“My mother's medical care isn't a bargaining chip,” Meline said. “Please don't contact her.”
Preston leaned closer. “When the company collapses, those workers will blame you.”
“Then tell them what is true. They'll have something better than blame.”
She left with Rosa. On the sidewalk, the older woman took her arm. “You okay?”
“No,” Meline admitted. “But I'm going home.”
Before she reached the subway, Hana called with a development from an independently obtained corporate filing. The entity named as the proposed recipient was affiliated with an investment vehicle whose beneficial interests appeared linked to Preston's family office. More confirmation was needed, but the documentation suggested that the contested transfer would benefit people close to the man demanding it.
“Can you publish?” Meline asked.
“Not yet. We're giving them a chance to explain.”
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The next morning, Caldwell's lawyers responded that the transaction was lawful and necessary to rescue Hudson Forge. They did not address the relationship between the proposed recipient and Preston's family interests.
And at the Cleveland plant, Rosa received notice of an emergency meeting. The company had warned that unless the refinancing proceeded, payroll itself could be at risk.
