As the meeting ended, Alan looked at me through the screen.

“Your father would hate seeing his business dragged through this.”

I felt the familiar sting of being told that embarrassment was worse than misconduct.

“My father used to say a company is a promise to every employee who depends on its paycheck,” I answered.

“He would hate it more if we hid the truth.”

For the first time, Alan did not argue.

When I walked out, my phone held eleven missed calls from Preston.