“The forecast assumes conversion of several preliminary agreements into firm commitments.”
Antoine stared.
“Assumes?”
Luc nodded.
“It's a standard modeling approach.”
Antoine leaned backward.
“And the materials sent to investors describe those commitments as secured?”
The financial director didn't answer immediately.
Antoine felt something cold move through his chest.
“Luc.”
The man swallowed.
“There were revisions.”
“What revisions?”
“Commercial classifications. Terminology. Presentational adjustments.”
Antoine looked toward him.
“Who approved them?”
Luc hesitated.
“I handled the consolidation.”
For several seconds, the room was silent.
Then Antoine spoke in a voice that was almost frighteningly quiet.
“Show me the original schedule.”
Luc didn't move.
Antoine stared.
“Now.”
The financial director slowly opened his laptop.
He retrieved an earlier version of the model.
Then turned the screen toward his employer.
Antoine leaned forward.
He examined the categories.
The dates.
The commercial status descriptions.
And the note beside several entries indicating that final agreements remained subject to negotiation.
His expression changed.
He looked toward Luc.
“These aren't secured contracts.”
Luc swallowed.
“They're highly probable.”
Antoine closed his eyes.
For a moment, the restaurant replayed in his mind.
The young waitress.
The quiet Spanish explanation.
The distinction between revenue projections and contractual obligations.
Inés asking why the word secured appeared in the investor presentation.
He opened his eyes.
“Did you knowingly change the classification?”
Luc stared.
“Antoine—”
“Answer the question.”
The financial director looked down.
“The financing timetable was becoming difficult.”
Antoine felt his chest tighten.
Luc continued.
“We needed the commitments to look more advanced if the consortium was going to maintain its schedule.”
For several seconds, Antoine couldn't speak.
Then he whispered, “You used preliminary agreements to support a financing presentation.”
Luc looked toward him.
“We expected them to convert.”
“That wasn't my question.”
The financial director stopped speaking.
Antoine stared at the screen.
He had spent decades building his reputation as a man who understood investment risk.
And now he was looking at evidence that his own company had circulated a presentation containing classifications the underlying documents didn't support.
Then Luc said something that made everything worse.
“I didn't think they'd examine the details this closely.”
Antoine slowly looked up.
For one terrible moment, he understood that the problem wasn't merely a waitress who knew too much.
It was a financial director who had begun treating assumptions as facts.
And Antoine himself had been too pleased by the optimistic projections to ask enough questions before showing them to investors.