For months, Michael had made assumptions about me rather than asking questions. I brought up the forwarded email again.
“Look at this.”
“What?”
“The sender line.”
Michael leaned closer. The message displayed his personal address as the sender. I wasn’t an expert in email systems, but I knew enough to understand that forwarded chains could be confusing.
“This may not mean what we think it means,” I said.
Michael blinked.
“You think the consultant misunderstood?”
“I think we need the original files.”
He answered quickly this time.
“Ms. Bennett.”
“Can you tell me exactly how the document came to you?”
“I can.”
“The initial inquiry came through our website form. The contact name entered was Michael Bennett.”
Michael shook his head.
“I never used the website.”
“The email entered was the old consulting address.”
“What happened next?”
“One of our associates emailed that address.”
“And who responded?”
“That’s where it becomes unclear.”
