I still wasn't buying it. "Well maybe hecouldn'tcancel. The event was huge. It couldn't be stopped onthatshort of notice. We'd have to break contracts. And what about the vendors? They'd be outa lotof money."
Cole gave a humorless laugh. "More than you know. And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because they were charging us thirty percent above the going rate."
"They were?" I had never dealt with the financials, but that number seemed pretty far-fetched. "Are you sure?"
Cole nodded. "I did some digging. You wanna know what I learned?"
"What?"
"They were charging extra because they were giving kickbacks."
"Kickbacks? Like bribes?"
"More or less."
"To who?" I frowned in confusion. "You can't mean Mister Grampkin."
"Yeah, your hero."
"I never called him a hero. But if that's true—"
"Which it is."
I didn't believe it.Or maybe I didn't want to. "But that makes no sense. If you truly canceled, hehadto know that you would put a stop to it – on the day of the party if nothing else."
"Not if I’m out of town for an emergency meeting."
I recalled Cole's meeting in Grand Rapids. "But how wouldheknow about the meeting?Ididn't tell him."
"You didn'thaveto tell him," Cole said. "He was the one who arranged it – had one of our distributors claim a crisis, something that required a personal visit." His voice hardened. "Byme."
My jaw dropped at the implication. "So let me get this straight. You canceled the party, and he kept it going behind your back? Andthenhe made sure you were out of town?"
"That's about the size of it."
"Why?" I asked. "For the kickbacks? Because the wayyoutalk, it's like he was stealing from the company."
"Not just the company," Cole said. "From you. And your co-workers."
I wasn't following. "How so?"
"Where do you think the money for the party came from?"
I tried to think. "I don't know. The general fund?"
"No." Cole's mouth tightened. "The employee benefit fund."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "I didn't know therewassuch a thing."
"Well, there is," he said. "And you wanna know what else comes out of that fund?"
By now, I was feeling just a little queasy. "What?"
"Christmas bonuses."
