My phone buzzed. Unknown number.
Unknown: You’re not going to like what happens if you keep snooping.
I swallowed hard. My smile froze mid-expression as I nodded at them. Keep cool. Don’t let it show.
Were any of them among those who were involved in the embezzlement? Ever since I had discovered these discrepanciesand their possible origins, I no longer knew who I could trust, and that included my best friend.
I rolled out a yoga mat in my room and started my core workout, my thoughts spinning. Somehow I had to find out who was involved in this and find out what this was all about.
Could there be any explanation that had eluded me?
Breathing heavily, I lay on my back, my abs burning, but I welcomed the pain. My phone vibrated again, and this time I picked it up and glanced at the glowing screen. An email that had just hit my inbox was at the top, followed by the usual social media notifications.
I paused when I read the subject line.
Re: Event Budget Details
Narrowing my eyes, I held my phone over my face. It was sent from Jasmine’s email, who also happened to be our treasurer. I tapped on the notification and realized that I had been CC’d, in a thread addressed to one of the guys from David’s frat.
In addition to me, the email was sent to several of my sisters, as well as David and a couple of his frat brothers.
Subject: Re: Event Budget Details
Hey Brian,
Just wanted to check in on a few things before we finalize the plans for the charity event.
Vendor Invoices: I took a look at the invoices for The Lodge — Luxury Mountain Resort, and The Highland, and it looks like the numbers are a little higher than expected. You’re welcome to reach out if you need help adjusting the budget.
Future allocations: The donations and sponsorship numbers are looking good, but we might need to revisit some of the upcoming budget numbers for the next event. I’ll keep an eye onthe miscellaneous expenses and make sure everything stays in line with what’s been approved.
Personal adjustments: I know Aria was asking about the additional spending for the upcoming gala, and I’m planning to make sure all the numbers are aligned before submitting everything. Should we consider any adjustments to our figures based on the final guest list?
Let me know if you have any concerns or need anything tweaked before I submit the finalized budget. We want to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Jasmine
Blinking in disbelief, I stared at the words in front of me.
What thefuckwas this? What did a luxury hotel and a high-end restaurant have to do with our charity event? The numbers were a bit higher than expected?
They shouldn’t fucking be there at all!
I re-read the email, looking for clues that I might have missed the first time. Obviously, this wasn’t direct evidence, but when I combined it with what I’d discovered in the spreadsheet and our expenses, it became slightly more substantial.
“Miscellaneous Expenses” raised red flags for me — it was so vague, reinforcing my suspicions that the funds were being tampered with. And what was the deal with the “Adjustments” and “Additional Spending”?
There was no explanation of what these entailed, which may not have been obvious to anyone else, but I had reason to question it.
The email was so casual and normal that I would never have suspected anything had I not already been suspicious. It could pass for a standard event planning email, but I knew better. Theclues indicating the funds were being used for other purposes would perhaps escape others, but not me.
I was also pretty sure that I should never have received this email. It suggested that this group had had previous conversations and meetings that I wasn’t privy to.
Obviously, for good reason. I would never be involved in shit like this.
As I began to understand the full scope of the situation, I slowly lowered my phone. This wasn’t just about small amounts here and there. If I was correct, both my sorority and David’s frat had been siphoning off huge amounts of donations meant for local causes and our own events.
Instead, they’d treated themselves to expensive trips, lavish meals, designer clothes, and even paid for renovations or expensive items for their homes … like an industrial coffee machine.
