Page 8 of Billionaire Corruption
The woman dropped her voice, but I could still hear her. “I heard one of the vice presidents has gone missing.”
“Which one?”
“The one in charge of the South American operations. I went to HR to get a new security pass and heard one of the ladies say they have no idea where he is.” Her voice was shaking with excitement.
Maybe that was where the problem was?
I couldn’t believe that Paul was responsible for the kind of fraud we were investigating. Our brief had included a long list of possible charges and problem areas, including money laundering and tax evasion. There were typical entries to look into but, depending on how sophisticated the accounting was, it was often hard to trace the money.
Ladden Ltd had employed top rated, experienced accountants. I couldn’t imagine that Paul would be involved in any of this, he was a good person, I was sure of it.
It had to be this vice president.
He was behind whatever was going on here.
Chapter 4
Paul
After work, I met Clarissa at a rooftop bar in Manhattan.
The venue was her idea.
I’d heard of the place before but had never been there. It was still early and there weren’t that many people. I went to stand outside on the roof and looked out over the city. It was an impressive view of a city that was said to never sleep. It certainly didn’t look sleepy. The sky was crimson and pink and with the lights coming on all over the city, the view was quite romantic.
“Have you been waiting long?”
I turned to kiss Clarissa’s cheek, taking in her subtle perfume, and noticing her slender frame in a pale, satin slip dress. Her hair was tied up and diamonds sparkled in her ears. She looked good and she knew it.
“Can I get you a mojito?” I asked. Her eyebrows lifted.
“Why not?” she smiled as I went inside to the bar to get our drinks.
I knew Clarissa from college. We had a been a tight circle of friends, who still kept in touch. She had married a film studio executive in LA but when they divorced, she came back to the city. We saw each other occasionally, for a drink and sometimes, she took me home to her hotel room, where slipping into her arms was always pleasant, if not exactly mind-blowing. We knew each other well enough not to have to try too hard around each other.
“I like what they’ve done with the place,” she said, looking over the bar. “They renovated last year and were closed for a few months. My friend, Lynne was helping them with the redesign.”
I nodded, pretending to be interested in the conversation.
My mind kept returning to work and the little accounting issue that was threating to become a bigger problem. Brock had assured me that there was nothing to worry about, but I wasn’t so sure. The fact that we had still been unable to track down Calderwood was significant.
“You’re not drinking your mojito?” Clarissa said and I took a sip, feeling the alcohol dance through my blood.
“You look like you could use a break. Things stressful at work?”
“You know, life of the CEO!” I forced a laugh.
She nudged me gently. “You love it, admit it.”
“Of course!”
But it wasn’t true, strictly speaking. Lately, I’d started wondering whether it was really worth it. When Brock, the chairman of Ladden’s board, had approached me about taking over as CEO, he’d neglected to mention a number of things that had become much bigger issues. Like the South American operation, which was under Calderwood. I’d been told he was very competent and didn’t need to be micromanaged, but a niggling worm of doubt had taken root. I asked Don to look into the matter more.
I took another sip of the mojito, forcing myself to pay attention to Clarissa. She really was looking very beautiful. Her sleek blonde hair had been styled into waves, which had been elegantly fastened to one side. Her make-up was light, the way I liked it and I was again reminded that I enjoyed her company. She knew me well, and never expected anything. I saw she wasn’t wearing a bra, under the sheer fabric of her dress, I could clearly see the outline of a nipple, pushing against the fabric. I felt a spark of desire and thought of her slim legs, how readily she always opened them for me with a soft sigh of delight.
“So, how have you been?” I asked, forcing a smile and trying to forget about work.
I didn’t listen as she told me about her job, an event planning company she ran with a friend of hers. They had started specializing in weddings in which I couldn’t have been less interested.
