Next morning, Sunday, Blake opened his eyes slowly as the sun’s rays peeked through the curtains into his bedroom. Tasha was sleeping soundly beside him, her head on his shoulder, and the warmth from her body enveloped all his senses.
He smiled smugly to himself as he remembered how both of them had made love until after midnight. Blake couldn’t remember the last time he was happy and free, like he had been for the past four days. He studied her face for a moment with a soft smile. He leaned in and gently kissed her forehead before untangling himself from her embrace.
As he got up, he went to the bathroom to freshen up, and he was leaving the bedroom when Tasha stirred awake. Rubbing her, she turned to check for the time on the digital clock on the other side of the bed. It was just after five.
“Honey,” she called, her voice laced with a hint of drowsiness. “Why are you up this early? It’s Sunday.”
Blake looked back from the doorway, his eyes filled with tenderness. “I need to have a quick meeting with Robby before Mia comes by seven. Remember, I told you Mia is coming to see me.”
Mia had called last night at around nine to ask if she could come over to see him at home, as she needed to have an urgent meeting with him.
“Of course I remember.” She gave him a big smile with her blurry sleepy face and turned to the other side.
One hour later, Blake ushered Mia Lopez into the living room.
“So you said you want to see me?” Blake said after they sat down. “What do you have for me, Mia?”
“I’m afraid,” Mia said, her voice filled with concern. “I have bad news. One of the staff in the accounts department has been stealing company funds.”
“Stealing?” He furrowed his brows. “Are you sure about this?”
“Mr. Carter,” she opened the folder in her hands and brought out some printouts, which she handed over to Blake. “I am very sure. That was the read we had a glitch last week. The person and his cohorts planned to crash the company’s entire internal system. If not that we were swift to take action, they would have succeeded.”
“Is that so?” Blake’s eyes widened. He found it difficult to believe any staffer would be so greedy.
“Yes, they are trying to cover their tracks. Don’t worry, Mr. Carter, we are more than capable of bursting their tracks, rest assured.”
Blake nodded. “I trust you, Mia.”
“Are you sure the staff is here at the headquarters?”
“Yes, I want to believe so,” she replied. “With what we saw. The person is certainly here in the headquarters, sir. I am so sure of that.”
Mia continued, explaining how her team had detected suspicious activity in the company’s financial records and traced it back to a source within the system.
“So what are we going to do to get to the root of this matter?”
“Not to worry,” Mia smiled confidently. “We are going to crack the criminal’s code very soon. I will advise that we devise a counter strategy to protect Carter Industries from financial ruin.”
“How do we go about it?”
“I already sent a file to your mail,” she told him. “You just need to sign the authorization and we’ll start everything today.”
“Today?”
“Yes,” she checked her wristwatch. “David and I are going to meet at the office in the next one hour. We need to do that today.”
“In that case,” Blake said and picked up his phone from the side table. “Let me sign the authorization now.” He opened his mailbox and signed it immediately.
“Done.” he looked into his eyes. “And can I invite a financial investigator at once, or do I have to wait a little?”
“Hmmm,” she deliberated internally for a few moments. “Let’s see what David and I are going to find in the next couple of days before you make that move.”
“It’s okay,” he agreed. “Mia, I am so grateful for your pro-activeness and dedication to your work. You have saved the company from a big mess.”
“It’s okay, Mr. Carter,” she gave him a professional smile. “I am only doing my job and I promise to do more.”
“Thank you so much,” he looked straight into her eyes. “Mia, don’t forget what I said about keeping this under wraps.”
“Of course, Mr. Carter,” she stood up. “Blowing it out carelessly will be counterproductive. I understand. I would like to take my leave now.”
“Yeah,” Blake stood up too and extended a hand towards her. “Thank you so much. Please call me when you are through.”
“You are welcome sir,” she shook his hand. “And I will surely call when we are done.”
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was heavy in the air by the time Blake walked into the kitchen after Mia left. Tasha was sitting at the kitchen table, hair tousled and looking so exquisite, with a steaming mug of coffee in her hands.
Though Blake wasn’t happy at all about someone stealing the company’s fund, the tension in his shoulders eased away as he entered the kitchen and Tasha smiled at him.
“Good morning, candy,” he said in a low rumble as he kissed her cheek.
“Good morning, Mr. CEO,” Tasha chuckled and rubbed him on the back.
He went to take a mug and fixed himself some coffee.
“You look like you could use some more sleep,” Tasha remarked as he pulled up a chair beside her.
“You are right darling,” he laughed and took a sip of his coffee. “Maybe after breakfast.”
“My babies are coming back home today,” Tasha said excitedly. “I can’t wait to see them.”
“Me too,” Blake said. “I have missed them so much.”
“You look worried,” Tasha set her mug on the table. “Is everything alright? Is it about your meeting with Mia?”
“Yes, it is.” Blake rubbed his eyes. “Mia and her team just discovered someone has been stealing from the company.”
“What?” she exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise. “I can’t believe this. Carter Industries pays the highest salaries in the industry to her staff members. Why are some folks so greedy?”
“I can’t believe anyone could be so callous.” He tilted his head back, “you remember the glitch we had during the week?”
“Yes, I remember,” Tasha nodded. “It’s the criminal trying to crash our internal system,” he set his elbows on the table. “Can you imagine that?”
“That’s awful,” Tasha said with disdain.