"I thought you were at the scholarship event."
"I was."
He laughed awkwardly.
"Well, this is a surprise."
She looked toward his briefcase.
Then toward the reception desk.
"Not for me."
The CFO's smile weakened.
For several seconds, they studied one another.
Then he asked.
"What's going on with the aircraft?"
The CEO answered.
"That's what I'd like you to explain."
They moved into a private conference room with the senior aviation executive, the regional operations director, and the company's general counsel joining remotely through a secure connection.
The outside acquisition advisers waited in a separate lounge.
The CEO didn't accuse them of misconduct.
She had no reason to assume they knew the flight authorization was disputed.
The issue concerned her company's records.
And the executive who had apparently submitted a flight request under her name.
The CFO sat across from her.
For a moment, he arranged his jacket and placed his phone on the table.
Then he smiled.
"Is this about the Washington meeting?"
The CEO remained still.
"Which meeting?"
He hesitated.
"The acquisition discussions."
She nodded.
"Who approved your use of the aircraft?"
He leaned back.
"I believed the travel authorization had been handled."
"By whom?"
"My office."
She looked toward him.
"Your office doesn't have authority to approve private-aircraft use without the required corporate release."
He sighed.
"We've had scheduling exceptions before."
The CEO nodded.
"When properly documented."
He looked irritated.
"This is important business."
She held his gaze.
"Then the paperwork should be important too."
The senior aviation executive placed the disputed authorization on the screen.
The CFO looked at it.
For several seconds, he remained quiet.
Then he said.
"That looks routine."
The CEO's expression didn't change.
"Whose signature is at the bottom?"
The CFO glanced toward the screen.
"Yours."
She nodded.
"Did you personally receive that authorization from me?"
He hesitated.
"I didn't handle the administrative process."
"Then who did?"
He looked toward his phone.
For a moment, the general counsel spoke.
"We'll need to preserve the complete approval history."
The CFO frowned.
"Are we turning a scheduling issue into a legal investigation?"
The CEO leaned forward slightly.
"No."
He looked relieved.
Then she continued.
"We're treating an authorization bearing a signature I never provided as a serious matter requiring independent review."
For several seconds, the room was silent.
The CFO's face changed.
Then he asked whether she was accusing him of forgery.
She shook her head.
"I'm asking who entered the approval and how it was authenticated."
He stared.
The CEO continued.
"If the answer is legitimate, the records will show it."
He looked toward the general counsel's image on the screen.