A Husband by New Year's

by Sean D. Young

  “We’re so busy. When are we going to have time to get serious about it?” Jennifer asked. “Remember, I’ve got twins and another one on the way.”

  Patrice sat up and crossed her legs. “I agree with Jennifer; we would have to be dedicated to it. Plus, the gala is right around the corner, so we wouldn’t have time to get anything together.”

  Faith hunched her shoulders. “It was just a thought.”

  “Can we talk about Julia now?” Patrice asked. “She’s a cow.”

  Faith jumped up and grabbed one of the pillows from the sofa and hit Patrice with it. “Stop it.”

  “She is a cow,” Jennifer said, siding with Patrice.

  Renee couldn’t contain her laughter when she saw Faith hit Jennifer with the pillow too.

  She appreciated them, but time was the only thing that could help heal her broken heart. And she didn’t know how long it was going to take.

  Right before she went to bed, Renee stared at her journal, tempted to write down her thoughts, but afraid to at the same time. It was the first time since she’d been journaling that she didn’t want to write. After several more minutes, she swiped it off the nightstand, made herself comfortable in the middle of her bed, and opened the book.

  I really messed up this time. I put my heart on the line. Taking a chance on a man that I thought was good, honest, and kind, but he turned out to be a liar. How could he have deceived me in this way when he knew what I’d gone through before?

  Of all people to recognize him, Julia had to be the one. I’ll probably never hear the end of her smart remarks about him. In actuality, Julia was only a small part of my problem. Right now my heart is hurting too badly for me to focus on work, but I’ve got to find a way.

  Chapter Twenty

  A week had gone by and Patrick still hadn’t heard from Renee. Every day that passed, he missed her more and more. The way her eyes lit up when they greeted each other, her laughter, and most of all, her touch. He kept trying to reach out to her, but she’d never answer the phone when he called. Leaving messages and hoping that she would hit the call back button was all he had left. He’d sent her flowers the day before yesterday, but there was no response or acknowledgement from Renee.

  He could show up at her office or apartment, but he didn’t want to look like a stalker. His heart’s desire would be for her to call him because she wanted to, and not because she was forced to do so.

  Patrick had just gotten back from dropping off his last client and was still trying to match the receipts that Kathy had given him with the expense reports from accounting. Most of the items matched up, but there were still some that didn’t have an explanation. Pieces of the puzzle were missing, but he could see a pattern. The independent audit was set to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

  A knock on his office door made him scramble to shove the folder in his desk drawer. He didn’t think it was Robert, because he would have just barged into the room, but wanted to be prepared anyway. Straightening his tie, he answered, “Yes?” in a pleasant tone.

  Kathy walked into the room with a brown shipping envelope. “I think this is what you’ve been waiting for.” She handed the envelope to him and left the room.

  Patrick laid the brown package on the desk and stared at it for a few seconds. He dreaded opening the envelope, because he wasn’t sure if he was going to be happy with what he found inside.

  After releasing a loud sigh, he flipped it over and pulled the tab to open it. Peeking inside, he saw a thick stack of papers held together with a black binder clip on it. “Wow, that much information from one audit?”

  He pulled out the bundle and read the letter on top. Before he got to paragraph two, he was shaking his head. Forcing himself to finish the letter before sifting through the information, he started reading it again. Soon, he’d completed the letter with the summary of their findings. Over the past three years, the business had lost over two-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars due to misappropriated funds.

  “Where the hell did that money go?” Patrick asked out loud. He flung open his desk drawer, pulling out the expense report documents. He and Robert definitely needed to have a talk.

  He dropped the other folder into the envelope with the results of the audit and got up from his seat. He would study the documents when he got home. He headed out, giving Kathy a big smile on his way past her desk. There was nothing he could tell her conclusively, so he didn’t dare say anything now, even though he realized she was anxious to get a progress report. He appreciated her efforts, but he didn’t want her in the middle of what could be a nasty fight. If she didn’t know what was going on, she wouldn’t have to lie.

  On his way home, Patrick tried several more times to contact Renee, but of course, his calls went unanswered. He’d kept telling himself over and over that he didn’t want to hurt her. Now his world had blown up in his face and he needed desperately to put it back together. He needed to admit to himself that she was hurt by his actions. Since she didn’t answer, he had to move on to the other important thing in his life—saving his father’s company.

  Fifteen minutes later, Patrick walked into the house. He didn’t see his father’s car outside, so he figured he was out doing whatever it was that retired folks did. It was a good thing that he wasn’t there, because Patrick didn’t want to have to update him on his progress. At least not yet.

  Going into the den, he went behind the wet bar, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and a glass. He took them both with him up to his bedroom, where he intended on being for the rest of the night. He was going to go through the papers with a fine-tooth comb, and tomorrow his brother would have some explaining to do.

  Combing through those papers took Patrick on an emotional rollercoaster. Page after page, he found evidence against his brother, so much so that Patrick became overwhelmed. Why would Robert do this to their father? To their family? Did he even care about what their father had worked for?

  Patrick had no idea how he should go about confronting his brother with the situation. Should he tell their father right away or talk to Robert first? Could Robert go to jail for this? Did he want to be responsible for that if Robert were convicted of a crime?

  He felt betrayed and his heart hurt that Robert would do this to their family. It was clear now why Robert resented Patrick’s return—he was using the business as his own personal piggy bank. Anyone else who’d stolen from the company like this would be going to jail, and that was the reality of the situation.

  Still, he wanted to give his brother the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there was an explanation for all of this and he hoped that Robert would give it to him. Patrick didn’t know how his brother would be able to explain why there was two-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars missing.

  He looked at the now mostly empty whiskey bottle and shook his head. Knowing that drinking would never solve his problems, it was the only thing that comforted him as he attempted to take in the damage that had been done to his family’s company. It was also a distraction for what he wanted that he couldn’t have. Renee.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Patrick was still sitting at his desk in the clothes from the day before. Sleep deprived and emotional, he stared at the damning evidence of his brother’s betrayal. He’d started making notes on a separate sheet of paper on each individual incident. By the time he’d gone through the documents, he had twenty pages of notes. Most of which were his thoughts about what he was going to say, and how he was going to approach Robert. It was almost Christmas and he wanted everything to be settled before the New Year. January 1st would be a new start for It’s A Stretch.

  Patrick yearned for the opportunity to share this burden with Renee. Not just because he missed her, but because she was so levelheaded. They’d opened up to each other about the things in life that concerned them. He hoped that she didn’t regret letting him in. He rec
ognized his own bias in this case because the wrongdoer was his brother. Even though Robert was combative and angry anytime they were in the same room, he was still his brother.

  And if the information Patrick uncovered was as bad as he thought it was, he didn’t want Robert to go to jail. Did he deserve to? Yes. But Patrick knew that this discovery and Robert’s potential imprisonment was going to break their father’s heart.

  Patrick reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his cell phone. There was no way that he’d missed a call from Renee if she’d tried to contact him last night, but he wanted to check anyway.

  Patrick had been trying to think of a way to get her to return his calls, emails, and texts. It looked like she had dismissed him from her life, but he couldn’t accept that. Before jumping into the shower, he tried Renee once again and left yet another message.

  “Baby, I wish we could talk. There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t want to leave it on your voicemail. I’d rather tell you in person, so that I can touch you, look into your eyes, and have you look into mine. I miss you, baby. Call me when you get this message. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night.”

  Leaving the message didn’t make his heart feel any better, but knowing that he’d reached out to her again was all that mattered. There had to be something special between them because he hadn’t felt this much pain since his mother died. Women had been disposable to him before, so if he lost one, there was always another one waiting in the wings.

  Christmas had always been one of his favorite times of the year, for it was a season of goodwill. But this year, it seemed that he’d lost his joy, between his brother embezzling funds and losing Renee. For him, the New Year couldn’t come fast enough.

  “Pat, you in there?” he heard his father call out.

  Patrick gathered the papers off the desk. “Yeah, Pop, I’m here.”

  “You decent? Can I come in?”

  Patrick stuffed everything back in the large mailing envelope and put it away before walking to the door. “Sure,” he said, swinging it open.

  James stood before him in a pair of black slacks and a crisp electric-blue shirt. “Good morning,” he said cheerfully.

  Patrick looked his father up and down. “You look nice, Pop. Where are you going today?”

  “I thought I’d take Kathy out to lunch.”

  Patrick’s eyes widened. “What? That’s great. Where are you guys going?”

  “I haven’t decided yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Cool. She’s such a nice lady and has had a crush on you for years.”

  “I know, and I’m fond of her too. Kathy is a beautiful and smart woman whose been by my side since before your mother died. I couldn’t give in to my feelings before now, because I felt like I was betraying your mother’s memory.”

  Patrick patted his father on his back. “Pop, Mom’s been gone for ten years.”

  James dropped his head. “I know, but we’d been together since we were eighteen years old. She was my favorite girl for all those years and no one could replace her.”

  “I don’t think anybody could ever replace Mom. You’re just making new memories with a new lady. She’ll have her own place in your heart,” Patrick said as his thoughts went to Renee.

  James turned around toward the door. “I’m going to see you a little later. Have you spoken with your brother? I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

  “I’m hoping to see him today, but I haven’t spoken with him either,” Patrick replied.

  “Have you found out anything?” his father asked.

  Patrick could see the concern in his father’s eyes and he didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily. He needed to speak with Robert first, then come up with a plan before presenting it to their father.

  “I’m still gathering information and then we can get together to assess the situation accurately,” Patrick responded. He didn’t feel bad about what he’d told his father because it was all true.

  “Okay, I’ll check with you later tonight,” James said, walking up to Patrick and pulling him into a hug.

  Once his father released him, Patrick stepped back and watched his father walk out of the room. Checking his watch, he only had thirty minutes to get ready and get to the office. Taking a step to be sure that Robert showed up for work, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed his number.

  After three rings, Robert answered. “What’s up?”

  “Big bruh, I need to talk to you this morning. Can you meet me at the office?”

  “I’m on my way there now,” Robert said.

  “Okay. I’ll be there within the hour,” Patrick replied.

  “You’d better hurry, I’ve got things to do today. I can’t be waiting around for you.”

  It didn’t make any sense to argue with Robert, so Patrick just decided to ignore him. “I’ll be there,” he replied before ending the call.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Patrick rushed out of the house, but as he backed out of the garage, he noticed the ground was covered in snow. He had to slow down so that he wouldn’t cause an accident trying to get to the office. But he needed to get there before his brother disappeared.

  Twenty-five minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot right next to Robert’s vehicle and jumped out. Patrick walked swiftly inside the building with the large brown envelope under his arm, headed directly to his brother’s office.

  With his hand on the door, he paused and took a deep breath, because he had to get his mind focused. He knew from previous experience that Robert was going to push all his buttons, but he had to stay focused and remain calm, so that his judgment was not clouded. Today, he would get the answers he needed, come hell or high water.

  Pushing the door open, he went inside and found Robert sitting behind his desk.

  “What are you trying to change now, Pat?” Robert asked.

  “I’m not trying to change anything yet, Rob,” Patrick said, taking the empty seat, holding the envelope. “I need to talk to you about some things that were brought to my attention.”

  Robert leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “What things?”

  “I had a full audit done on the financials.”

  “And?” Robert snapped.

  “This is a business, Rob, not your personal ATM, but that’s the way you’ve been treating it.”

  Pushing back from his desk, Robert stood. “What did you say?” he asked, curling his hands into fists.

  Patrick stood as well. “I said that the family business is clearly financing your extravagant lifestyle.”

  Robert let out a haughty laugh as he walked from behind the desk.

  “What the hell is so funny?”

  “A good businessperson doesn’t throw out accusations without all the facts, little brother. I thought you were smarter than that. And to think Pop shelled out all that dough to get you an MBA.”

  “And your point is?” Patrick stepped forward, closing the space between them.

  “Are you sure you’ve got all the facts?” Robert asked.

  Patrick studied his brother’s appearance. Robert Dunlap was just as tall as Patrick and had similar features. The biggest difference between the two brothers was their skin color. Robert’s skin was much darker, like their father’s, and he had deep, dark eyes, broad shoulders, and a clean-shaven head.

  Patrick reached for the brown envelope on the chair and opened it. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said, removing papers from the envelope. “Credit cards receipts for lunches, dinners, extravagant hotel bills—with no business case to justify it—with three women at one time.” Patrick dumped the receipts on the desk. “Oh yeah, I also figured that you’d have that pretty young thing in accounting wrapped around your finger, so I went a different route to get my information.”

  Robert hunched his s
houlders. “What do you mean by that?”

  “All I had to do was take one look at her to know you were probably putting it down, so she couldn’t be trusted.”

  “I thought you’d have more sense than this, Pat. Walking into my office insinuating that I’ve been cooking the books. I don’t appreciate the finger pointing, lil’ bruh. Any fool knows that you have to entertain clients in this business,” Robert said defensively.

  “What about all those checks that you signed for fifteen to twenty thousand a pop? You had accounting approve your bogus travel and expense reports when you know damn well that you didn’t have any legitimate business in Milan or Paris.” Patrick clenched his jaw as he tried to control his temper. “What more proof do you need?”

  “You don’t have a damn thing to do with this,” Robert said, turning his back to Patrick. His voice sounded irritable and angry, but Patrick knew it was just because he’d called him out.

  Robert suddenly spun back around, rushing over to him. Pointing to the floor, he said, “This is my company. Mine,” he said, hitting his chest with his fist.

  Patrick wanted to punch Robert in the eye, but he clenched his jaw instead. “Correction, bruh, it’s Pop’s company.” Without realizing it, Patrick stepped closer to Robert. “We’re supposed to be looking after it for him, equally. Pop gave us both the same authority in this company.”

  “Equal, my ass. Where were you when I had to help Pop day and night? Oh, I remember. Your smart ass was off trying to get educated, thinking you were better than everybody else, while I was here running the place.”

  Patrick blew out a big breath and ran his fingers through his curly hair. “Damn it, man, tell the truth for once in your miserable life.” He was sick of the lies and the games that his brother liked to play.

  Robert stared at him with cold, angry eyes.

  “Yes, you were running the place all right, right into the ground. And if you were doing so damned much for the company, then why in the hell did Pop ask me to come and fix it?”