“If they think the new head of Northline is a liability, they can terminate the contracts with thirty days’ notice.”

“We need to get ahead of this,” Calvin said, his face grim.

“We can’t let them leak a distorted version of your past to the press.”

The phone on Sayer’s desk rang, its sharp chime cutting through the quiet room.

Sayer looked at the caller ID, his brow furrowing as he pressed the speakerphone button.

“This is Malcolm Sayer.”

“Malcolm, we have a situation,” a woman’s voice came through the speaker.

It was Dr. Helen Aris, the regional director for Saint Jude.

“I just received an anonymous email containing several court filings regarding Avery’s past defaults,” she said.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared at the plastic phone console.

“Those are old, personal matters from a decade ago, Helen,” Sayer said quickly.

“They have no bearing on her ability to run Northline today.”

“That may be,” Helen said.

“But we’ve also received an inquiry from a reporter at the *Denver Business Journal* asking about our leadership transition.”