Sitting in his office, Jude stared outside his window as he was lost in his thoughts. Even though he was really angry at his encounter with Catherine, he didn’t fail to notice how suspicious it was.
First of all, she came into his office even when he wasn’t around and when he came in, he noticed how shocked she was even though she was quick to compose herself.
It made him wonder if she had already caught up with what was going on in the department. After thinking for a while, he shook his head in denial.
“There’s no way she would find out about it. We were very careful. Besides, Amara’s been doing it for years now and she hasn’t even been caught yet. There’s no way Catherine would figure it out.” He said to himself.
Having such thoughts, he became calm till he remembered that for almost two years, Catherine hasn’t been working at the company. Panic took over him and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breath.
Even though he belittles Catherine, if she finds out about his fraudulent activities, there’s no way for him to escape it. He’ll surely be fired and jailed. His career would be over.
The air conditioner in the office was on but Jude felt hot all over so he took off his suit jacket and his neck tie. He was so scared and at the same time, he tried not to be.
He still had faith that Amara was very thorough while something in him kept making him feel very scared. Unable to deal with the mixed emotions, he decided to drown himself with work.
At least, that way he would be able to forget about his problems. He opened his drawer and picked up the files that needed his signature. He glanced through them and signed where his signature was needed.
As he continued, he came across the finance report for his team. He was about to sign on it when his eyes gazed at a specific point that made his agitation return.
His intuition told him it was time to call Amara so he picked up his phone and dialed her number. When the call connected, he went straight to the point.
“Jude, what’s the occasion that you had to call me today?” Amara asked from the other end. Jude noticed how her voice sounded crooked but he didn’t bother to ask. Afterall, they had more pressing issues to deal with first.
“I wanted to know if you have any other shell companies.” Jude asked.
“Uhmm.. why are you asking?” Amara asked back in confusion.
“I just realised that we have been using the same shell company for the past two years, making it prone to scrutiny.”
In a scared tone; “Did anyone find out?” Amara asked.
“No but it won’t take time for someone to find out. We made it really obvious about what we are doing.” Jude complained.
“Listen Jude, we’ve been doing this for two years and no one has been suspicious.”
“But Catherine is now.”
“How do you know? Did she mention anything about it?” Amara asked.
“No but I could feel…”
“So you mean you called me only because you got a feeling that we would be caught?” Amara asked, a hint of anger and displeasure laced in her voice.
“I just..”
“Zip it Jude. You’re acting like it’s your first time doing this and it’s getting really frustrating. Don’t you know me? I’m a professional at everything I do. Even if the shell company raises suspicions, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
“How so?”
“You see, all payments were legal and supported by complete documents and contracts. No one can easily consider it as fraud.” Amara explained with confidence but Jude still remained unconvinced.
“I have a suggestion.”
“Ohhh… what is it now Jude?? Are my explanations not enough??” Amara asked impatiently.
“If you would just listen to what I have to say.”
“Fine, talk…” Anara didn’t bother to hide her displeasure but Jude didn’t care. If things blows up on their faces, it would affect him the most. He wasn’t from any big family nor did he marry a rich person.
His job was his only source of income so he needed to take caution if he wants to last long in this line of work.
“How about we find a different shell company to reduce risks.” He suggested.
Amara was silent for a while before; “That suggestion was prudent. Don’t worry, I and Andrew have already made thorough preparations for something like this.” She said and that made Jude relax a bit.
“Now, if you don’t have any other thing to complain about, I’d like to take my rest” Amara said.
“Oh yes, have a good d…” He wasn’t able to complete his sentence when Amara ended the call.
A deep frown appeared on his face as he stared at his phone’s dark screen. He has worked with Amara for so long to know how annoying she can be most times.
He thought he should have gotten used to it by now but it still made him burn with anger anytime she does what she does. The only thing that’s keeping him with her was the money and nothing else.
He can’t wait to be done with her and finally ditch her as she was already getting on his nerves. He placed his phone back on his desk and continued with what he was doing.
The call he had with Amara had finally eased his tension. Jude knew Amara and Andrew were smart and cautious in handling company affairs so he decided to leave everything to them.
In Catherine’s office, Jude’s words transmitted clearly through the bug to Catherine’s ears. Even though she had suspected that he was an accomplice with Amara and Andrew, it still made her surprised.
He was a new worker in the headquarters but it sounded like they’ve been working together for a long period of time now. Were they doing the same thing at the branch that he was in??
Catherine picked up his profile and scrutinized it more. She couldn’t find anything suspicious about Jude and how he worked in the branch but one thing she was sure about was that he was doing the same thing at that branch he was in before.
If Amara can do this in one of their branches, that definitely means that’s she had her claws in the rest of the company’s branches. Catherine’s grip tightened on her pen, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
Just two years and Amara was able to go this far without anyone suspecting her. Only God knows how much damage she had left the companies in. Catherine figured she had to have people helping her in thise branches like Jude is.
She needed to find out about it so as to stop Amara but how? Amara stealing from the head quarter was enough headache for her but now, she had extended her greediness to the whole conglomerate.
It’s not going to be easy to do but she had to try. She also couldn’t blindly trust anyone anymore and had to handle upcoming matters with greater caution.
She decided to continue using the bug to gather more evidence while keeping a low profile within the company to avoid any suspicion. Catherine realized that this battle was more complicated than she had imagined.
She had to proceed carefully to uncover the hidden conspiracies and protect her father and family’s interests.