The employee remained calm.
"The legal hold requires preservation."
Elliot stared.
Then looked toward the door.
For a moment, his expression changed.
Finally, he said, "Fine. Preserve everything."
The employee nodded.
But the exchange was reported to legal because of the sensitivity of the review.
Margaret received the notice before lunch.
She read it.
Then asked the independent outside firm to supervise the relevant evidence collection.
By afternoon, access to certain acquisition files had been restricted to preserve their integrity.
Elliot was furious.
But he no longer controlled the process.
At Jade Passage, Wei called an emergency meeting of the independent directors.
He explained what happened at the dinner without dwelling on Victor's personal embarrassment.
The central issue was the disputed consent.
The transaction's projected value relied on the transfer of technology assets that might not be lawfully transferable under the proposed structure.
The directors needed to understand the legal and financial consequences.
One investor representative argued that the acquisition remained attractive and that the company shouldn't abandon it prematurely.
Wei agreed.
Another suggested asking Nia whether the stewardship arrangement would approve the transfer if Asterion offered better compensation.
The chairman nodded.
"That's a question the authorized representatives can evaluate under the governing documents."
Then he added.
"But we cannot treat consent as an inconvenience to be erased."
For several seconds, the room was quiet.
A younger director, Grace Chen, spoke.
Grace was forty, Jade Passage's chief operating officer, and had spent most of her career working in distribution facilities rather than corporate headquarters.
She looked toward the financial projections.
"I'd like the integration model examined separately from the consent issue."
Wei turned toward her.
"Why?"
Grace hesitated.
Then answered.
"Some of the projected savings depend on reducing support for smaller customers and consolidating maintenance teams."
An investor representative frowned.
"Operational efficiency is part of the acquisition rationale."
Grace nodded.
"Of course. But we need to distinguish genuine efficiency from transferring risk to customers."
She explained that several regional facilities were already struggling with equipment maintenance. Cutting technician coverage further could undermine the quality of temperature monitoring.
The concern wasn't hypothetical.
She'd seen internal reports describing delayed repairs, alarm-response problems, and pressure on staff to keep shipments moving even when monitoring data required attention.
The board asked for details.
Grace agreed to provide them.
Then she looked toward Wei.
"Lorraine Brooks warned us about this years ago."
The elderly chairman lowered his eyes.
"I know."
Grace contacted Nia two days later.
She asked whether they could meet somewhere quiet.