He had a glass of sparkling water in front of him.

His laptop was open, the screen casting a blue glow on his face.

He looked up and saw us.

He closed the laptop slowly and stood up to greet us.

“Congratulations, graduates,” Marcus said, offering a brief, polite smile.

He shook Derek’s hand, then mine.

“Thank you, Marcus,” I said, pulling out a chair.

“Now, please tell us what is going on.”

Marcus sat back down and rubbed his temple.

“Your team thinks this is just a celebration tonight,” he began quietly.

“And I want them to enjoy themselves.”

“But we have a compliance issue that popped up this afternoon during the final cap table review.”

Derek leaned forward, his elbows on the wooden table.

“What kind of issue?” Derek asked.

“We cleared all the background checks last week.”

Marcus adjusted his glasses.

He looked toward the main table where Sam was now gesturing wildly, telling a story.

“It is not an issue with you or Derek,” Marcus said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“It is about a new buyer trying to enter the picture.”