Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Auditor
Derek stepped into Mara’s line of sight, puffing out his chest the way he used to before every varsity game. “Alright, Bennett, nice entrance. Renting a chopper for a high school reunion? Pretty flashy for someone who used to tape her text books. What are you doing now? Selling real estate in the suburbs?”
Mara didn't blink. She reached into the pocket of her tailored blazer, pulled out a sleek matte-black tablet, and tapped the screen twice.
“Actually, Derek, I’m in logistics and automated infrastructure,” Mara said smoothly, her tone conversational. “In fact, speaking of local business, I’ve been doing a little audit of Cedar Ridge commerce this week. Did you know that your three fitness centers are currently carrying a combined commercial mortgage debt of 1.4 million dollars?”
Derek’s smirk instantly vanished. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
“And let’s talk about cash flow,” Mara continued, stepping closer as the crowd leaned in, completely paralyzed. “Your equipment leases are tied to regional supply distributors who use old refrigeration units for their juice bars. In fact, if I recall correctly, your main facility on Maple Street had a total compressor failure last Tuesday night. Lost about eight thousand dollars in organic inventory, didn't you?”
Derek took a sharp step back, his eyes wide with absolute panic. “How the hell do you know that?”
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“Because,” Mara smiled sweetly, “my company happens to own the patent on the IoT sensors monitoring half the commercial refrigeration units in this tri-state area. Your main distributor’s system sent an alert straight to my dashboard. I could have saved your inventory with a single tap, Derek. But honestly? I was too busy boarding a helicopter.”
A collective gasp rippled through the gathering. Selena looked as though she had swallowed a lemon, her expensive makeup suddenly looking like a mask over pure, unadulterated terror. The class loser hadn't just beaten them; she had bought the board.
