Chapter 4 - The Floral Invoice Leads Somewhere Else
Hotel accounting restored Paula’s records.
The floral invoice belonged to a vendor called Blanc & Rowe Design.
The company had been approved six months earlier.
Its listed address was a downtown office suite.
Its bank account received three hotel payments totaling $412,000.
Nathan had never heard of it.
The real ballroom florist was Maison Verde.
Their bill for the entire event was $28,600.
Blanc & Rowe had not provided flowers.
It had provided nothing.
Nathan looked at his CFO.
“How does a fake vendor get paid three times?”
The answer was uncomfortable.
Each invoice had proper approval codes.
Two came from the event division.
One carried Nathan’s own digital authorization.
Nathan stared at the screen.
“I never approved that.”
The CFO checked the time stamp.
The authorization occurred at 2:14 a.m. on a night Nathan was flying
back from New York.
Someone had used his credentials.
Nathan’s assistant confirmed his laptop was in the hotel office that
night.
Ryan often had access to that floor through Vanessa.
Vanessa sat on a hospitality advisory committee and knew several
executives.
Still, access was not proof.
Then Paula’s notes appeared.
She had flagged Blanc & Rowe that morning.
Her final entry said:
ASK EMILY WHAT SHE SAW IN EVENT OFFICE. RYAN MAY KNOW.
Emily felt cold.
Paula had spoken to her only once.
Apparently that was enough.
Nathan ordered an independent forensic review.
Ryan’s lawyer objected to any implication that his client stole money.
Nathan agreed.
“No implication. We follow the records.”
Then Marcus found another camera clip.
At 6:42 p.m., Vanessa entered Paula’s office.
May you like
She stayed four minutes.
When she left, she was holding Paula’s security badge.
