Chapter 24: The Corrected Program

'Maureen, hand out the programs,' Kendra ordered me in front of the hospital staff. 'The guests are ready.'

She held out a stack of gala programs for me to distribute.

I took the top one.

Curtis's name appeared beneath the pavilion heading as its donor.

The board had already corrected the hospital's donor materials. Kendra had put his name back anyway.

My fingers bent the programs beneath the one I held.

The staff watched me notice.

I tried to set the stack down. My hands shook against the table.

Kendra lowered her voice, but not enough to keep anyone from hearing.

'Please stop making a scene and pass them out.'

She expected me to carry her version to every guest. I had carried Curtis's version for years.

'I won't hand out a lie.'

I put the program beside the stack and opened the payment record on my tablet.

The entry was clear. My company had paid for the pavilion.

The chair came over. I turned the screen toward him.

He read the payment entry, then picked up the program.

'Your record matches the company payment,' he said.

He placed the program beside the screen.

'This says Curtis Ainsley made the gift.'

Kendra kept her smile ready for the staff.

'We had to restore the original donor wording. The guests know Curtis.'

'You restored his name after the board corrected it,' the chair said. 'You did that without approval.'

Two staff members stopped sorting the remaining programs.

The chair took the stack from the table.

'Kendra, you're no longer making decisions about these programs.'

Her smile fell away.

'You can't remove me from donor communications over a printing change.'

'I can remove you from this decision,' he said. 'You put Curtis's name back without approval.'

She turned toward the staff.

'We have guests arriving. Please keep the corrected programs moving.'

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