She pushed out a chair and sat down. He had already ladened the table with a gourmet breakfast of eggs Benedict, stuffed French toast, and fruit salad. The aroma of the coffee he just brewed filled the air.
Blake joined her at the table, pulling out a chair to sit beside her. “Enjoy your meal, my baby.” He said, his eyes sparkling with love.
“Yes, I will,” she picked a plate to serve herself.
“Hmmm,” Tasha moaned with her eyes closed after a few bites. “This is so delicious, honey.”
“Thank you, my candy,” he leaned in and kissed her.
Blake shook his head for the umpteenth time ten days later in his office. The financial investigator had turned in his report after it had been discovered that it was Ed Briggs, the finance manager, who was the one stealing from the company.
He could not believe how much the criminal had stolen over the years. The amount that had been stolen over seven years was staggering; a sum of $1. 5 billion- millions of dollars, money that could have funded countless charitable projects or employee bonuses.
“This is serious,” he muttered gently as he looked at the report lying in front of him again.
Ed had covered his tracks so well, being the financial expert that he was.
His father had called for an executive meeting to discuss the recent developments with the boards this morning as expected, and it was time to deal with Ed accordingly.
The phone on his desk started ringing. He reached over and picked up the receiver.
The phone on Blake’s desk buzzed, jarring him away from his thoughts. He picked up, his voice a low rumble.
“Hello.”
“Mr. Carter,” Jane, the front desk staff, said from the other end. “There are two men here asking for you. They said they are police officers.”
“Okay,” he stood up. “Keep them there with you until I ask you to bring them up.”
“Yes, Mr. Carter.”
He hung up; the phone clattering back onto the receiver. Blake felt a surge of anger course through him as he left for his father’s office. By the time he got there, the company lawyer was already there. Gerald then made a call through to Ed, asking him to come over to his office.
“You wanted to see me,” Ed said when he walked in a few moments later.
“Yeah, Ed,” Gerald cleared his throat. “We need to talk about these.” He opened a drawer, brought out a folder and slid it to Ed.
Ed did as he was told. Inside the folder were the evidence of the dummy companies he set up and copies of several copies of checks. There were several forged invoices, altered ledgers, and a trail of digital footprints leading back to his computer.
“Mr. Carter,” he sprang to his feet, cheeks flushed. “No, no, oh my God!” He ran his hand through his hair.
“Do you have any explanation for any of those, Ed Briggs?” Gerald asked, leaning back in his seat.
Ed looked on for several minutes, dumbfounded.
“I guess as much.” Gerald gave him a mirthless smirk. “I promise you, Ed, you are going to pay for this.” The air in the room was thick with the scent of betrayal.
Ed looked from one man to the other with the weight of his years of deceit. He knew he was helpless. His time was up.
“Your time at Carter Industries is over, Ed,” Gerald said, his voice devoid of emotion. “And your time as a free man is about to end as well.” He signaled to his son.
Blake picked up his phone and made a call to Jane, asking her to bring in the policemen.
*******
Two hours later, Blake was sitting behind his massive desk, busy with some paperwork, when he heard a soft knock on his door. He furrowed his brows and said, “come in.”
The door opened, revealing Vanessa, his assistant.
“Vanessa?” He dropped his pen on the desk.
“Mr. Carter,” she said, her voice a calm melody in the otherwise tense atmosphere, “Your meeting, the inventors have arrived.”
“Oh, great.” Blake’s eyes lightened up a bit. “Right,” he said, his voice a low tempo. “Show them to the conference room. I will be there soon.”
Two software engineers had approached him for an investment in their startup.
“Okay,” Vanessa nodded, and walked towards the door, her heels clicking on the polished marble floor.
Blake picked up his pen again and made some notes on a paper in a file. He dropped the file in the outgoing box and rose from his chair. He picked up his iPad and left for the conference room.
“Hey partners,” Blake greeted the two young engineers as strode into the conference room with his trademark confidence and authority. “It’s good to see you again.”
Ferdinand and Watson had developed an academic website that could provide college students with resources and connections to make their academic easier. Both of them just graduated, and they needed someone to finance their start up.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Carter,” both Ferdinand and Watson stood up.
“Good afternoon, young men,” he shook their hands and asked them to sit down.
“I have gone through your proposal,” he said and looked from one face to the other. “And I must say, I am impressed.” He checked for the time on his wristwatch. “I will give you thirty minutes to pitch your project.” He gave them a professional and set his elbows on the desk.
“Thank you so much for this great opportunity, Mr. Carter,” Ferdinand said as he stood up, holding a sleek iPad, the website’s homepage glowing on the screen.
“You may sit down,” Blake said. “You don’t have to stand.”
“Thank you,” he responded and sat down.
“Our website differs from any other that is available presently,” he began.” We have built something special. A platform that connects college students like never before.”
He looked confidently into Blake’s eyes. “It’s a one-stop shop for everything a student needs: course information, study groups, even a marketplace for textbooks and used furniture.”
Blake nodded and leaned back in his chair. He already knew he was going to invest in the startup. A soft knock sounded on his door and Vanessa came in with a file.
“Eric dropped this while you were in the meeting.” She set a folder in front of him. “He needs you to append your signature.”
“I can’t do that now,” he closed up the folder and put it in his briefcase. “I will do it later at home, I have to leave the office now.
Vanessa nodded and left.
Blake checked his wristwatch and stood up. He and some members of the chamber of commerce and industry were having a meeting with the Mayor tonight. He had to go home to freshen up and have a change of clothes.