“Bring your notes from last night, the suspension notice, and the email from Delcourt's lawyers.”
Elena sat upright.
“What's happening?”
Camila took a breath.
“The university has arranged a preliminary meeting with counsel. And the independent assessment consortium has requested that we clarify the process used to obtain and analyze the project documents.”
Elena's stomach tightened.
“Are they accusing us?”
“Some people are asking questions. Our job is to answer them accurately.”
Elena nodded.
“Okay.”
Then Camila added, “And Miss Valcárcel has asked whether we would object to her providing an independent account of what happened at dinner.”
Elena blinked.
“What did you say?”
“That you should decide how to handle any personal statement, with advice. But that witnesses are entitled to describe what they saw.”
For the first time that morning, Elena felt something approaching relief.
She wasn't alone.
At nine-thirty, she arrived at the university.
The corridors were busy with students carrying laptops, notebooks, and coffee cups.
Elena moved through them feeling strangely disconnected from ordinary life.
Only yesterday, she'd attended class here and worried about a footnote.
Now she was carrying a restaurant suspension notice and a legal warning from a company whose investment proposal could reshape several regional markets.
Professor Ibarra met her outside a conference room.
Camila was a tall woman with short dark hair and a direct expression that softened when she saw Elena.
“Have you eaten?”
Elena blinked.
“What?”
“Breakfast.”
“Coffee.”
Camila sighed.
“That's a beverage.”
Elena almost smiled.
Her professor handed her a paper bag containing a sandwich.
“Eat.”
For several seconds, Elena stared.
Then she laughed.
“You sound like my mother.”
“Your mother is obviously sensible.”
They sat together before the meeting began.
Camila examined Elena's written account.
She asked several clarifying questions about the timing and exact topics discussed.
Then she nodded.
“You kept the description factual.”
“I tried.”
“Good.”
The professor looked toward her.
“I want you to understand something important. The independence of our research doesn't depend upon whether you happen to work as a waitress.”
Elena nodded.
Camila continued.
“What matters is whether we followed our research protocols, protected confidential information, documented our sources, and reached conclusions supported by evidence.”
Elena looked toward the table.
“What if the company attacks me personally?”
Camila's expression hardened.
“Then we'll distinguish those attacks from legitimate questions about the research.”
She paused.
“And Elena, you're not required to defend the entire assessment alone.”