Chapter 7 - THE APPROVALS UNDER $25,000
The second layer of evidence was almost boring.
That made it stronger.
Pacific Crest’s audit team examined change orders Austin had approved through his delegated project authority.
His limit without additional internal review was twenty-five thousand dollars.
Most Coastal Clinical Interiors invoices fell beneath it.
$21,840.
$18,990.
$24,600.
$22,175.
Individually normal.
Together, unusually consistent.
Monica did not receive the raw investigation file.
Linda told her only what related to the conflict involving her family.
But Monica knew enough about procurement controls to understand what the pattern suggested.
Somebody knew the threshold.
She remembered Austin asking her.
What dollar amount needs a second set of eyes?
She had answered casually at a summer cookout.
“Depends on the program, but facilities gets extra review around twenty-five.”
Austin had smiled.
“That specific?”
Monica had laughed.
“Welcome to healthcare.”
Now she felt sick.
Had she helped him?
Linda answered that question before Monica could ask.
“You gave general information your brother could have obtained through his project documentation.”
“But I told him.”
“You are not responsible for what another adult chose to do with ordinary information.”
Monica nodded, though guilt did not disappear on command.
Naomi’s interview complicated things further.
Coastal Clinical Interiors was a legitimate company.
Real employees.
Real work.
Real materials delivered to hospital sites.
This was not a fake vendor invented overnight.
The potential misconduct was subtler.
Naomi admitted Austin steered opportunities toward her company and occasionally warned her when invoices should be split into separate change orders.
She insisted she believed Westbridge knew they were married.
“Why?”
“Austin said they did.”
“Did you ever disclose it yourself?”
Her attorney reportedly advised her not to answer beyond existing forms.
Naomi had her own responsibility.
Good.
Monica was tired of every woman in Austin’s life being cast either as victim or accomplice depending on what made him look better.
Then compliance found another relationship.
Payments from Coastal Clinical Interiors had gone to a consulting company called AW Advisory.
Austin Wellman.
Not surprising by itself.
Spouses could transact with each other.
But several payments occurred days after hospital invoices Austin had approved.
Hospital funds went to Coastal.
Coastal paid Austin.
Austin had effectively participated on both sides of transactions without disclosure.
And Amanda?
The audit had not yet connected her financially.
Until Naomi’s attorney produced an old email.
Amanda wrote it seventeen months earlier.
Keep Austin’s name off your public company bio until the hospital work stabilizes. People love making innocent family connections look dirty.
Monica read the sentence in Linda’s office.
There was no longer a plausible version where Amanda simply discovered the marriage recently.
May you like
She had understood the exact conflict.
And she had helped hide its appearance.
