Page 22 of My Unexpected Surprise
I scoff lightly. “Doesn't mean I'm distracted, Riley.”
She sets a plate of sliced bread on the table and sits across from me. "You took one sip of that coffee and haven't drunk it since.”
I take a sip.
“There.”
Vaughn makes a sound that is not quite a laugh. "Okay, I'm with Riley on this one. What's up?" he asks.
I hesitate, but I know deflecting even further would only sharpen their curiosity.
"Hired someone yesterday. Senior Compliance Strategist. We kick off the Aurelius evaluation in six weeks."
"Good," Vaughn says, tearing into a slice. "You needed that slot filled. But that's not what's eating at you."
"Nothing's eating at me." But that statement sounds weak, even to my ears.
"Val."
I set my mug down. "She's Dante De Luca's daughter."
The kitchen goes quiet.
Vaughn and Riley trade one of those loaded glances that come from years of knowing each other. Whole conversations in half a second.
"Estranged," I add. "Background check was thorough. Marchetti's confident there's no active connection."
"Marchetti's confidence has limits," Vaughn counters, not unkindly.
"I know his blind spots. I accounted for them." I pause. "She identified three specific gaps in our compliance architecture from public filings. Before she was even formally in the room."
Another look between them.
"Qualified," Riley says.
"Exceptionally."
"And Dante?"
"Is likely aware his daughter was job-hunting. Whether he's aware she landed here—" I pick up my mug again. "We'll know soon enough."
Vaughn is quiet for a moment, which with Vaughn means he's building toward something.
"The Aurelius evaluation," he starts.
"Six weeks."
"Dominic Calder is running the compliance review."
"I know."
"He'll go through everything. Client communication, incident response, internal protocols. All of it." He tears another piece of bread with the unhurried care of a man who's not actually thinking about bread. "You know where I think the real risk is?"
"Tell me."
He looks at me levelly. "It's not capability. You have capability. Calder knows you have capability. The Aurelius families know it." He pauses. "The question they're going to ask is whether Ferretti Global Risk understands what it's protecting."
I wait.
