Ember (Constant Flame Duet Book 1)

by Christi Whitson

  “Did you do a search on the company names?”

  “Yeah, they both had websites, but no employee photos. One was a parts manufacturer, and the other looked like a freight company of some sort.”

  “Both of which could be providing products or services.”

  “Maybe, but why Phelps? These companies aren’t big enough to warrant attention from someone that high up, and if he is embezzling… to what end? The amounts can’t be all that much.”

  “It might be more than you think, depending on how long it’s been going on,” Owen pointed out. “GC is a fifty billion-dollar corporation. A few hundred grand, maybe a million here and there over a period of time wouldn’t raise much suspicion, and if Phelps is controlling the accounts exclusively, then there’s a good chance he’s covering his tracks. What about audits?”

  “The IRS does one annually, of course, since it’s such a large company, but all other audits are internal. Guess who oversees them.”

  “Phelps,” he nodded grimly. “And if this has been going on a while, and the feds haven’t caught anything -”

  “Then either he’s really good at covering his tracks or… I’m just being paranoid.” Her voice fell slightly, wondering yet again if she was being silly about the whole thing. Her instincts were screaming, but it just didn’t make sense. “You don’t need to placate me. I’m probably just overreacting or taking something out of context.”

  “I don’t think you’re being paranoid,” Owen told her, and when she met his eyes, she could see the sincerity there. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but something about the situation is certainly off. I’m a good judge of character, and Phelps came off a bit strange to me when I first met him. Unfortunately, I was paying more attention to you that night, so I didn’t think much of it. And obviously I don’t like the way he looks at you. What does your dad think?”

  “I haven’t told him.”

  “Why not?” he asked, surprised. “I should think that would’ve been the first place you’d go. I mean, you’ve definitely gotta be careful about your approach, because if Phelps really is up to something and got wind of your suspicions, he’d probably destroy the evidence or just disappear.”

  “Or both.”

  “Right. But why haven’t you told Nate?”

  “Dad thinks Phelps is his best friend.”

  “Well, his ‘best friend’ might be stealing from him.”

  “You try telling him that. Dad sees him as some kind of savior because of the merger with Phelps Manufacturing. GC would’ve folded three years ago without him. The only thing they don’t really agree on is our degree of military involvement.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Phelps wants to sell aircraft and weapons components to anyone with the money to buy them. Dad doesn’t,” Lena explained. “A country’s ally status isn’t always stable, and Dad doesn’t want to do business with anyone who might eventually turn around and attack American soldiers with the very products we sold them.”

  “I’m with Nate on that one. GC is doing perfectly fine; there’s no reason to take that risk. If I’d seen the things your dad probably saw during his time in the service, I can’t say I’d want to perpetuate that cycle either.”

  “Right. Phelps likes to point out how lucrative it would be, but Dad is stubborn. I don’t see him changing his mind. But aside from that one difference of opinion, Dad practically treats him like a brother.”

  “Yeah, but he’s not his brother. In reality, he’s just a friend. You’re his daughter, Lena. Don’t you think he would listen to you at least enough to look into it?”

  Lena sighed and shook her head sadly.

  “My dad would do anything for me… anything but listen. You’ve seen how he is.”

  “But have you really talked to him? It’s obvious, at least to me, that running GC isn’t what you really want to do with your life. Have you told your dad that?” Owen asked, gazing at her empathetically. She was silent for a few moments as though deciding how to answer.

  “Once,” she admitted softly. “It was a few years ago, when I first started going to GC regularly to learn the business. At first, I was nervous, but then the more I thought about it, I got kind of excited to go. I knew how proud it would make him. But… it really only took a few weeks to realize that working there would never make me happy.”

  “So, you told him that?”

  “Not in quite so many words, but yes. I tried to tell him that I wanted to major in English lit instead so that I could write books.” Lena’s eyes took on a faraway look as she recalled the conversation, and when she spoke again, it was little more than a whisper. “If you’d seen the look on his face, you would understand why I never brought it up again.”

  “Was he angry?” Owen frowned in disbelief.

  “No. He was disappointed. And hurt.”

  Owen sighed, understanding what she meant. Disappointment from a parent was much worse than anger, but he hadn’t truly understood that until he’d gone to live with the Langfords. They rarely got angry, but on the one or two occasions that he’d been on the receiving end of their disappointment, Owen would rather have taken a dozen lashes with a belt than have to look them in the eye.

  His fear of disappointing his unofficial parents hadn’t faded with the years, but he knew that his situation was different than Lena’s. Sean and Mary really only wanted him to achieve his goals, to heal from the trauma of his childhood, and to be happy. Is Nate really so different?

  “I’m sure he’d just want you to be happy, love,” Owen murmured, turning her face toward him. “I think he’d get over it. Maybe not right away, but eventually.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she disagreed, standing from the barstool to take their plates to the sink. He frowned and stood as well, following her into the living room where they took up their usual position on the couch. Something about being on his lap made the world a bit less scary for her, and Owen had come to feel incomplete without her in his arms. “I made my choice, and I’m going to see it through. It makes him happy… and I owe him that.”

  “You deserve to be happy too,” he frowned in disapproval.

  Lena began to shake her head dismissively, but he took hold of her chin and gently turned her face toward him. The pain in her blue eyes was clear, and it made his chest ache. All of this because she thinks her mother’s death was her fault, he thought sadly.

  “It’s your life, Eleanore. Not Nate’s. You should choose the path that’s right for you. He’ll just have to make his peace with it.”

  “Please,” she whispered, slipping her chin out of his fingers. “Please just let it go.”

  Owen wanted to growl at her but managed to suppress his frustration. He stared into her eyes, easily reading the determination that was equal to the pain.

  “Okay,” he replied, after a long moment. “For now.”

  Chapter 25

  “Alright, back to Phelps. What are we going to do?”

  “We?” Lena replied, quirking one eyebrow in his direction.

  “Yes. Your problems are my problems, baby. We face them together.”

  In spite of her post-exam fatigue and the weight of the conversation, she felt her lips curling upward at the sentiment. How does he do that? she wondered, feeling dazed as she got a bit lost in his familiar green eyes.

  “Honestly, even if I thought it would do any good to go to Dad with my suspicions, I’m sure there’s no way he’d listen to me without proof. And getting that proof would be next to impossible. In the meantime, it’s like you said… If I approach anyone for help or to sound an alarm and Phelps hears about it, he’d probably just disappear. If he’s guilty, then he should be held accountable, not be given a perfect opportunity to escape to his own private island somewhere.”

  “Well… what can you see without needing the password?”

  “Nothing concrete. I’m sure you learned the red flags for embezzlement the same as I did, but at this point, all I could poss
ibly prove is that he’s guilty of micromanaging.”

  “Show me,” Owen suggested. “Do you still have the laptop?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been using it to do some work from home. Hold on.” She disappeared into the bedroom for a moment and returned with a mid-size black laptop that was identical to the ones they used at GC.

  “When do you even have time to work from home?”

  “When I can’t sleep,” Lena shrugged. When you’re not here. She didn’t need to say the words out loud for Owen to get her point, and he rubbed her back compassionately while she booted up the machine.

  He slept better when he was next to her too, but he’d promised to respect her boundaries for the sake of her education. Aside from a couple of joint study sessions, Owen hadn't seen her all week, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd been struggling. For the next three weeks, they would be able to spend every night together and see each other throughout the day at GC.

  Lena drew his attention to the laptop screen and navigated the finance program with practiced skill. Owen hadn’t learned that part of the system yet, so he watched her closely, committing her clicks and keystrokes to memory. She went through Phelps’ accounts one by one, starting with the two government contracts he managed and moving on to the civilian ones. By the time they’d gone through all six accounts, Owen was in full agreement that something about the situation was definitely fishy. Although some information in the government-related files was password protected as well, they could actually see more in those accounts than in their civilian counterparts.

  “I see what you mean,” he nodded contemplatively. “It’s suspicious, but it’s probably not enough. Not if you’re sure of your dad’s reaction.”

  “I’m as sure as I can be.”

  “Then… we’d need a hacker.”

  “Are you serious?” She looked stunned by his suggestion and shook her head dismissively. “We can’t do that…”

  “It might be the only way to get the proof we need.”

  “It’s illegal.”

  “Yes, but if he found enough proof, I doubt Nate would press charges. And since it’s a private company, it would be at his discretion. Hell, if it were me, I’d hire the guy rather than send him to jail.”

  “You talk like you have someone in mind,” she raised an eyebrow dubiously.

  “I might,” Owen admitted. “It’s my neighbor. Declan. I can’t say for sure that he’d do it, because like you said, it is illegal, but he’s probably skilled enough to pull it off.”

  “Your neighbor…”

  “Yeah. Good guy, total genius when it comes to this sort of thing. Computer science major, graduating next semester.”

  “This sort of thing?” she echoed. “So, he’s actually...?”

  “I know he’s successfully hacked into different servers before, but I don’t know if he’s ever cracked a database that’s as secure as GC’s probably is. Your buddy Wes seems to know what he’s doing.”

  Lena ignored his snide tone when he pronounced Wes’s name, still rather taken aback that her boyfriend was on first name terms with a hacker. Are we seriously considering this? she thought anxiously. There were so many things that could go wrong.

  “And how would I explain to my dad how I got my hands on whatever information this guy manages to find? What if he doesn’t find anything at all? What if he gets caught?”

  “Look, I’m not saying it’s a smart idea for all involved. Obviously, there would be a lot of risks, and I don’t know that the ends would justify the means. It was just the only thing that came to mind when you said you needed proof,” Owen explained.

  Lena was silent, considering the potential ramifications of the idea. This ‘Declan’ would be risking jail time if he were caught, and his degree would be a useless piece of paper with a charge like that on his record. Why would anyone take that chance? She shook herself a little, realizing that she was being ridiculous to even consider such a thing. Sure, a hacker might be able to find proof of Phelps’ duplicity, but there was no guarantee. She wasn’t even certain that there was anything to find in the first place. In reality, there was little more to go on than some suspicious computer activity and her gut instinct.

  “I… I can’t ask anyone to do that. Your friend shouldn’t risk his future for this. There might not even be anything to find.”

  “Do you really think there isn’t?” he asked neutrally. Lena wanted to deny her intuition, but the words seemed to stick in her throat.

  “I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “But my suspicions aren’t enough to risk landing someone in jail.”

  “I’m inclined to agree. I guess I just… I know how much this would bother me if I were in your position, and I’d want to consider all of the options.”

  “Thanks,” Lena nodded, smiling a little. “I need to try to talk to my dad. Even if he doesn’t listen, maybe he’ll keep it in the back of his mind and pay more attention to Phelps.” His office at GC would be best, she thought, strategizing now. She knew that the room was soundproofed, offering more privacy than her father’s home, where there were usually staff members close by.

  “Want some backup?” Owen offered, taking her hand in his. His compassionate smile soothed her, and she melted into his side.

  “Thank you, but… I think it’s something I need to do on my own.”

  “Fair enough. In the meantime, I could bring it up with Sean if you like. Get his opinion from a legal standpoint. I trust him.”

  “You can’t do that,” she shook her head immediately. “Sean is technically an attorney for GC. He’d be ethically bound to go to my dad with anything he hears, and if Dad doesn’t listen to me about Phelps, he’s not going to listen to anyone else. He might even get pissed enough to fire Sean’s law firm, and that wouldn’t be fair. Let’s just… keep it simple for now. No sense in involving more people.”

  “Okay,” Owen agreed. “Just let me know if you change your mind. I could always phrase it as a hypothetical, academic question. We talk about business law all the time.” Lena considered his words for a moment, weighing her options. If he trusted Sean, then she knew that she could as well, but she doubted the wisdom of getting him involved.

  “Maybe. Let’s just see how my dad reacts.”

  “If you plan to talk to him at work, you should do it tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” she frowned in alarm.

  “Yeah. It’s Saturday, so there should be fewer chances for interruptions, fewer people around. Plus, you’ve said he’s usually not as busy on Saturdays.”

  “He probably expects us for dinner on Sunday though,” Lena winced. “Talk about awkward.”

  “Well, I hear some women can contract headaches at the most inconvenient times… Maybe you could manifest one on Sunday,” Owen teased.

  “I’ve never faked anything,” she grinned. “But it’s not a bad idea.”

  “You sure you don’t want a wingman tomorrow?”

  “No… Whether he believes me or not, he won’t be happy with what I have to say, and I don’t want him taking his temper out on you.”

  “I’m pretty sure I could take it,” he chuckled. Lena sighed and shook her head, snuggling into him.

  “I don’t want to talk about Dad anymore. Or Phelps. Let’s talk about something else,” she pled.

  Owen smiled sadly and kissed the top of her head, pausing to inhale her familiar scent. It was amazing how such a trivial part of her could affect him so dramatically, calming his nerves and soothing his anger. It centered him. It was home.

  When he angled his head to peek at her, he realized she was mimicking his actions, her face buried against his chest. At least it’s not just me, he grinned.

  “Did I mention how amazing it felt to use my own key to open your door tonight?”

  “Only three times,” she giggled, smiling up at him.

  “Well, it bears repeating. It’ll be even better when all my stuff is here too.”

  “Ambitious as always, M
r. Langford.”

  “Good thing it turns you on.” He leaned down to kiss her, and she hummed in satisfaction.

  “Seriously though… What sort of timeline were you imagining?”

  “I don’t know,” Owen shrugged. “Next semester sometime, or maybe after I graduate. I like the idea of having a place that’s ours, so I thought maybe we could look for something new. But if you’d rather just stay here, that would be fine too.”

  “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

  “I think it’s not soon enough. I’d move my stuff over here tomorrow if I thought you were ready for it.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to live with you…” she trailed off nervously. He smiled and stroked her cheek.

  “I know, baby. I told you I’m willing to wait for you. We’re taking it one step at a time, and that’s what I want. I won’t rush you, but I won’t pretend that I don’t want to spend every single day with you either. I want to fall asleep next to you every night and kiss you awake every morning.”

  “Me too,” Lena whispered, smiling serenely at the image of his words. “I love you, Owen.”

  “I love you too. I don’t ever want to love anyone else.”

  What began as a slow, tender kiss quickly escalated to a heated makeout session followed by passionate lovemaking on or against most of the surfaces in her living room. As Lena lay sated and spent in his arms that night, Owen watched her adoringly, measuring each rise and fall of her chest.

  He hadn’t been exaggerating about his willingness to wait for her to be ready, because it didn’t really matter how fast or slow they moved. They would end up in the same place regardless. Owen was more certain than ever that they were meant to be together; he knew it in the same way he knew the sun would rise in the east the next morning. One day, Lena would be his wife.

  She was his past, his present, and his future.

  Saturday

  Lena gave a half-hearted wave to Shirley, her father’s personal assistant, as she passed through the executive lobby, anxiety bubbling in her gut. Although she’d spent nearly all day imagining how this conversation might play out, she still had no idea what she was going to say. It had occurred to her that if her father did somehow believe her, he would be extremely hurt by the actions of a man he considered family. Nate wouldn’t be able to comprehend what motive Phelps might possibly have, and Lena had to admit she was stumped on that one as well. The more she’d considered it, the more she’d come to believe that if Phelps was embezzling from GC, it wasn’t about the money.