"The seating chart needs your sign-off," she says, setting a cup on my desk. "And Rachel wants to confirm the audiovisual setup for the Foundation presentation."
"Tell Rachel the original configuration is fine. The podium mic feeds into the house system, no separate AV needed for the video tribute."
"Already told her that. She wants to hear it from you because apparently my authority has an expiration date." Laura drops into the chair across from my desk and glances at my screen. "Who's Sébastien Renaud?"
"A new addition to the guest list. Arthur's cultivating him."
"Cultivating. That's Arthur's word for it, isn't it." Laura sips her coffee. "What do you have?"
"Sciences Po. Crédit Agricole. A Luxembourg fund with minimal disclosure. And eight years of professional history that's either classified or doesn't exist."
"Some people just aren't online, Meagan."
"Some people aren't online by accident. Some people aren't online on purpose. There's a difference."
Laura considers this. She's smart enough to hear what I'm not saying, which is that the absence of information is itself a data point, and this particular absence has a shape that suggests intention rather than indifference.
"Are you going to ask Arthur?"
"I'm going to ask Arthur."
Arthur is in his office with the door open, which is his signal for availability. He's reviewing something on his tablet, reading glasses low on his nose, and he looks up when I knock on the doorframe with an expression of undivided attention that he deploys like a tool.
"Meagan. Come in."
"The gala brief is nearly complete. I have background on all three hundred guests except one."
"Renaud."
"He's thin, Arthur. Sciences Po, Crédit Agricole, and a Luxembourg fund that files the minimum. Eight years of professional history that I can't source. If he's sitting at a table with Thomas Oleander and Senator Calloway's chief of staff, I need more than a name and a barely populated LinkedIn profile."
Arthur sets the tablet down. His fingers go to his left cufflink, a small adjustment, precise. I've seen him do this a thousand times. It means he's organizing his thoughts, choosing the path that serves the conversation.
"Sébastien is private by nature and by necessity," he says. "His fund operates in regions where visibility creates risk. Political instability, competitive intelligence, sovereign interference. He keeps a low profile because a high profile in his world is a liability."
"That explains the Luxembourg structure. It doesn't explain the eight-year gap."
"He was doing advisory work for a European sovereign wealth fund. Consultancy, not public-facing. The relationships he built during that period are the reason I'm interested in him." Arthur meets my eyes. "He's well-connected in circles that don't overlap with ours. That's the value. I'd like to bring him into the Foundation's orbit, and the gala is the right introduction."
The explanation is clean. Logical. Each piece fits with the next in the way that Arthur's explanations always fit, because Arthur doesn't offer information carelessly. He constructs his responses the way I construct deal analyses: every element supporting the conclusion, no loose threads.
"I'll seat him at Table Four," I say. "Near the Oleander family, adjacent to the Pritzker delegation. That gives him access to wealth management and real estate conversations without overexposing him."
"Perfect." Arthur's expression warms. "You understand the room better than anyone I've ever worked with, Meagan."
The compliment settles over me the way his compliments always do: warm, earned, carrying the weight of praise from someone whose standards are so high that approval feels like an achievement rather than a courtesy. The thumb on my ring finger goes still.
"One more thing," I say. "The security briefing mentions additional outside support for the event. A consultant named Kincaid?"
"Evan Kincaid. He does security work for several of our clients. I've asked him to manage the gala's operational security: access control, personnel screening, perimeter coordination. Standard for an event of this size."
"We've used in-house security for the last three galas."
"We've also had three hundred guests for the last three galas. This year we have a few more, including a sitting state senator's representative and several international guests. The risk profile is different." Arthur tilts his head. "Is there a concern?"
"Just thorough."
"I'd expect nothing less."
