CHAPTER 14: A MESSAGE FROM THE ASSISTANT
Grant’s executive assistant, Tessa, contacted Helena after receiving a request to preserve business records. She was frightened of losing her job and reluctant to speak. Helena arranged for her to obtain independent advice before making any statement. When Tessa eventually agreed to cooperate, she described a workplace where Grant treated deadlines as emergencies and objections as disloyalty. He had asked her to locate an old scan of my signature, she said, and to forward it to an outside document preparer. She claimed she had believed the transaction was authorized. Only after the party did she learn I disputed it. I did not know whether she was telling the whole truth. I knew that she had saved emails and calendar entries that could be checked. Investigators would decide how her actions fit the evidence. Hearing about the office changed the way I understood Grant’s charm. He had surrounded himself with people who depended on his approval and then called their silence loyalty. I had done something similar in our marriage, though my reasons had been love and a wish to keep the peace. The distinction mattered, but the pattern was painfully familiar. That evening I sat with June at the kitchen table and helped her make a list of people she could call if she ever felt unsafe or confused. My name was first. Her grandparents were next. We added her teacher and a trusted neighbor. She decorated the paper with stars. It went on the refrigerator, not hidden in a folder.
