Part 7
“Oh, honey.”
Mara had thought she was done crying.
She was wrong.
Naomi led her to the sofa and sat beside her. Julian took the coffees to the kitchen. He and Naomi liked each other but had never mastered ease. Naomi distrusted inherited power on principle. Julian distrusted anyone who made Mara laugh harder than he could.
“What do you want to do with your hair?” Naomi asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Leave it. Cut it. Shave half of it and terrify the trustees. All valid.”
Mara almost smiled.
Naomi touched the uneven ends without pulling them. “Do you still have the braid?”
“In the trunk of the car.”
Naomi closed her eyes. “Of course it is.”
Julian returned with coffee. “I didn’t know where else to put it.”
“You own a house,” Naomi said.
“I was not thinking clearly.”
“That makes three of us.”
He accepted that.
At eight-thirty, Peter arrived.
He removed his shoes at the door without being asked, revealing navy socks patterned with tiny red sailboats. The detail was so ridiculous that Mara stared at them for several seconds.
Peter noticed. “My daughter buys my socks.”
“They’re terrible,” Naomi said.
“Yes.”
The ordinary exchange loosened something in the room.
Peter sat in the armchair and opened a leather folder.
“I need to explain the foundation’s immediate actions,” he said. “Not to pressure you. Just so you know.”
Mara nodded.
“Vivienne’s authority as chair has been temporarily suspended pending board review. She has been instructed not to contact you, enter foundation offices, access personnel files, or communicate with staff about the event. Security credentials were deactivated at six this morning.”
Julian stood near the mantel, arms folded.
“Temporarily?” he said.
Peter looked at him. “Due process is not endorsement.”
“She was photographed holding the weapon and the result.”
“Embroidery scissors are not legally classified as a weapon simply because—”
Naomi raised a hand. “Please do not become technical before I finish coffee.”
Peter rubbed his forehead.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been on calls since three.”
Mara asked, “What is she saying happened?”
Peter hesitated.
“Tell me.”
“Her counsel says there was a workplace confrontation involving property damage and insubordination. Vivienne admits cutting your hair but characterizes it as an impulsive act after you swung the braid toward her face.”
Naomi made a disbelieving sound.
Mara looked at Peter. “She says I hit her with my hair?”
“Not hit. Her statement uses the phrase ‘physical provocation.’”
Julian’s voice sharpened. “That is obscene.”
Peter nodded. “It is also inconsistent with the photograph.”
“What about the guests?” Mara asked.
“We have seventeen statements so far. Twelve say they saw Vivienne cut your hair. Five claim they only saw the aftermath. Three of the twelve say they heard you tell her not to touch you.”
“And how many intervened?” Naomi asked.
Peter did not answer.
Mara looked down at her coffee.
“Any recordings?” Julian asked.
“The ballroom security system has video but no audio. We preserved the footage. It shows the argument, the vase falling, Mara kneeling, Vivienne approaching from behind, and the cutting motion. The angle is partially blocked by guests.”
“Preserved by whom?” Mara asked.
Peter seemed surprised by the question.
“By me and our IT director.”
“Does Vivienne have access?”
“Not anymore.”
“Did she before six?”
Peter opened the folder. “The system logs show no deletion or export activity from her credentials. We made forensic copies.”
Mara nodded.
Archivists trusted copies only when chains of custody were clear. Peter knew that.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
“Nothing today.”
“Peter.”
He looked at the sailboats on his socks, then back at her.
“The board would like a written statement when you are ready. Our insurer requires notice. We are arranging outside counsel to investigate. Human resources will contact you regarding paid leave and support services.”
“I don’t want support services from the foundation.”
“That is understandable.”
“I want access to my project files.”
“You are on leave.”
“The Carroway transfer inventory is incomplete.”
“Mara,” Julian said.
She turned on him. “Do not.”
He went quiet.
Peter said, “We can arrange read-only remote access, but I do not want you working.”
“Then why give access?”
“So you can verify that your files and notes remain intact.”
Mara had not realized until then that she feared Vivienne might alter them.
“Thank you.”
Peter closed the folder. “There is another issue.”
Julian’s posture changed.
“The marriage.”
Mara felt Naomi’s hand settle near hers on the sofa.
Peter continued carefully. “Several guests have spoken to the press. No reputable outlet has published names yet, but that may not hold. One society account posted that Julian revealed a secret marriage to a pregnant foundation employee during a gala confrontation. The post was removed after twenty minutes, but screenshots are circulating.”
Mara looked at Julian.
He did not look away.
“What does the board want?” she asked.
“A joint statement confirming the marriage and condemning workplace violence.”
Naomi laughed once. “Efficient.”
Peter’s cheeks reddened. “I told them that combining those issues would appear opportunistic and cruel.”
“Appear?” Naomi asked.
“Be,” he corrected. “It would be opportunistic and cruel.”
Mara stood and walked to the window.
Snow covered the back garden. The neighbor’s dog moved along the fence in a red coat, stopping to investigate the same bare hydrangea it investigated every morning.
Mara had spent seven months protecting the marriage from the foundation. Now the foundation wanted to use the marriage to protect itself.
She pressed two fingers to the glass.
“No joint statement,” she said.
Peter nodded. “I expected that.”
“No announcement from the family either.”
Julian unfolded his arms.
“Mara.”
“Not yet.”
“The information is already public in practice.”
“Then let it be rumor for one more day.”
“What changes tomorrow?”
“I might know what I want.”
May you like
Julian looked toward Naomi, perhaps hoping for support. Naomi drank her coffee.
Peter said, “We can issue a narrow statement confirming that an employee was harmed at a foundation event, that the chair has been suspended, and that an independent review is underway. No names. No marriage.”
