You hit every budget, every quarter, by the simple expedient of quietly removing whatever the spreadsheet couldn't see — a test here, a reviewer there, a maintenance window nobody approved. The numbers are immaculate. The system is held together with optimism and a contractor who left in March. It works. It works the way a chair with three legs works: confidently, until someone leans back.
"Under budget and ahead of schedule." — You, standing very still, hoping nobody asks about Q3