PART 13

Garrett’s employer suspended him pending an internal review.

The notice stated that the agency was examining customer authorization records and associated financial disclosures.

It did not declare him guilty of anything.

For Garrett, however, the distinction offered little comfort.

He had built his entire identity around being the confident man other people trusted.

At Priscilla’s apartment he laid the notice on the kitchen table and asked her to stop making purchases for the business.

She laughed bitterly.