I glanced up at him.
"Isn't Hendrick supposed to be on some corporate blacklist?"
Augustus's expression darkened.
"Flagged. Three months ago during an internal audit. Questionable billing practices. Inconsistent subcontractor charges."
He scrolled through the document.
"The audit didn't establish fraud conclusively, but it recommended additional scrutiny. Tighter approval requirements for future contracts."
I scanned the current shipping records again.
"And yet they're still getting business from Ever Holdings."
"Yes."
"So apparently being investigated is a fantastic way to secure more contracts. I should add that to my LinkedIn tips."
He didn't laugh.
The muscle in his jaw flexed. His eyes remained fixed on the screen with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine.
I straightened.
Something was genuinely wrong.
Augustus pulled up an archived file, fingers moving across the keyboard with surgical precision. The audit report materialized beside the shipping manifests.
He compared them in silence.
I watched the columns populate, cross-referencing data I couldn't quite follow at his speed.
"The audit recommended enhanced compliance review for any future Hendrick contracts," he said quietly.
"Instead, they received several new approvals. Unusually favorable rates. Relaxed delivery conditions."
He opened another window.
"They were granted exceptions from financial guarantees normally required for suppliers with outstanding compliance concerns."
I leaned closer.
The contracts showed Hendrick Maritime receiving priority processing despite cheaper alternatives being readily available. Qualified alternatives.
Augustus moved through the records like he was solving an equation only he could see. Document after document, pattern after pattern, assembling pieces faster than I could track.
I found myself staring.
Not at the screen.
At him.
The way his brow furrowed. The intensity carved into every line of his face. The rolled sleeves exposing forearms I absolutely should not be noticing right now.
His gaze shifted.
Caught me watching.
"Something wrong?"
I cleared my throat.
"Just witnessing a rare phenomenon. Augustus Evans looking genuinely confused."
His mouth almost twitched.
Almost.
He returned to the screen, and I forced myself to focus on something useful instead of the way his collar had come slightly undone.
Ridiculous.
I pulled the procurement workflow records toward me, comparing approval dates against the standard process timeline.
Something nagged at me.
I isolated the authorization timestamps.
"Augustus."
He looked up.
I highlighted three transactions.
"These shipments received approval unusually quickly. High-value procurement flagged for compliance should require documented checks by procurement, finance, and compliance before final executive approval."
"Standard protocol."
"Right. Except these have no visible compliance sign-off in the exported records."
I tapped the screen.
"This one was approved after business hours. This one cleared before the required review period could reasonably have been completed."
Augustus frowned.
"Could be an export error."
"One missing record? Maybe. Three approvals with the same unusual pattern?" I met his gaze.
"Either your procurement department discovered time travel, or someone's been skipping steps."
Augustus looked at the screen.
"Explain."
"This shipment was submitted at 6:42 PM and approved at 6:49. Seven minutes. Unless your compliance team consists of highly caffeinated superheroes, that's impressive."
"Some approvals can be expedited."
"Sure. But shouldn't there still be a record of who expedited them?"
He stopped typing.
The silence stretched.
Rain lashed against the windows. Thunder rolled overhead.
Augustus turned toward me, posture shifting subtly.
"Walk me through what you're seeing."
I blinked.
That was new.
Augustus Evans asking me to explain instead of simply correcting my interpretation.
I pointed to the timeline.
"Standard high-value procurement involving compliance-flagged suppliers requires at least two business days of review. These three contracts went from submission to final approval in under twelve hours. One cleared in seven minutes. No compliance sign-off. No justification notes. Just straight to executive authorization."
He studied the records.
His expression hardened incrementally.
"The discrepancies may involve someone with access to senior-level procurement authorizations."
"So we escalate to—"
"No."
I stared at him.
"Don't mention Hendrick Maritime's irregularities to anyone until we've verified the original approval records."
"You mean like the office gossip network."
"I mean everyone."
"Everyone."
"Including Vanessa."
I actually laughed.
Then realized he wasn't joking.
"Not even Vanessa?"
"Especially not until we've verified what we're looking at."
Vanessa Lin. The woman who probably knew Augustus's bathroom schedule before he did.
"Wow. Are we officially members of a secret society now? Do we get matching robes?"
"Juliette."
"Fine. No robes. Terrible membership benefits."
His gaze held mine.
"I'm not accusing her of wrongdoing. We don't yet know who had access to these documents. Widening the circle could compromise the investigation."
He pulled up another screen.
"Keep the original files intact. Avoid circulating copies. Work only from the secure company system."
Something warm and unexpected bloomed in my chest.
Augustus Evans was trusting me with information he'd deliberately withheld from Vanessa.
I refused to examine why that made me feel absurdly proud.
"The summary report shows final approval statuses," I said, "but doesn't identify who authorized each exception."
Augustus opened the approval history for one of the flagged shipments.
The screen loaded slowly.
Spinning wheel of corporate patience.
"For a multibillion-dollar corporation, Ever Holdings could afford faster computers."
He barely acknowledged the joke.
The document populated.
An attached executive authorization appeared—something absent from my initial report export.
Augustus clicked it.
Transaction reference. Supplier details. Approval date. Digital authorization information.
Everything ordinary.
Until I noticed the executive approval field.
EXECUTIVE APPROVAL RECORD
Supplier: Hendrick Maritime
Approval status: Authorized
Authorizing officer: Augustus Evans
Authentication: Digital executive credential
I looked from the document to Augustus.
He went completely still.
"Did you approve this shipment?"
He didn't answer immediately.
His expression hardened as he examined the authorization details, jaw locked tight.
I stared at the name on the screen.
AUGUSTUS EVANS.
Well.
That was certainly one way to make a corporate investigation interesting.
"Augustus?"
He didn't answer.
"Please tell me you have a perfectly reasonable explanation for why your name is on that document."
His jaw tightened.
"I never authorized this."
I looked back at the screen.
The digital approval record said otherwise.
And judging by the expression on Augustus Evans's face, someone had just made a very expensive mistake.