Saorsa

by Kerry Heavens

  “You don’t sound so sure.”

  “I really like the company. It’s well run and it’s seems to be a positive work environment, which was important to me. I guess…” While I’m trying to finally put my concerns into actual words, our food arrives. “Holy crap, Michael, we won’t be able to finish all this.”

  “Nope, but we’re sure gonna have fun trying. Now dig in and then tell me what’s bugging you about your new job.”

  I watch him serve himself slices of brisket and sausage, taken aback that I’m thinking of discussing my work concerns with a someone I’ve known an hour when I really haven’t even thought to talk to Louise about it yet. But he does seem like he’s interested and it would be nice to hear an impartial opinion.

  “Are you going to leave me to eat all this?”

  “Mmm?” I realize I was lost in thought. “Sorry, no. I was just thinking about work. You’re right.” I pick some food from the platter for my plate. “I’m just wondering why they need me is all. I mean, I’m kind of at the top of my game, and they knew that when they headhunted me. Until just a couple of weeks ago, I owned one of the most successful financial consultancies in the US. I guess I’m just confused because Liberty is running like clockwork. Obviously I’m still working my way through familiarizing myself with every system and checking into all aspects of their finances, but so far, I’m not seeing why they would work so hard at bringing someone like me in when they were handling things fine.”

  “Maybe they want someone to come in and change things?”

  “Of course, I will make some changes where I think they will fit, but if it ain’t broke…” I shrug. I think it was playing on my mind more than I allowed myself to realize.

  “I’m sure that the reason will reveal itself in good time. You should just focus on dazzling them with your professionalism until it does and then you’ll be in a position to implement the changes they need with their trust fully in you.”

  I nod. “I suppose you’re right. I have to stop thinking above my pay grade. I’ve come from owning my own company and everything that entails, to being an employee where I feel like I might be more help than they’re looking for. I need to take off my CEO hat and try to think like an employee. It’s something I need to work on.”

  “You’ll get there,” Michael assures me. There is warmth in his eyes when I look up. I’m glad I stayed.

  Conversation flowed, well, small talk really, until our meal was over and we asked for the check.

  “I’ve had a lovely evening, Charlotte. Thank you.”

  “I have too. But let’s not tell Cami shall we? We can’t have her thinking this was a victory, she’ll be unstoppable.” I laugh.

  “Even more unstoppable you mean?”

  “Right.”

  The waitress places the check on our table and Michael moves faster than I manage to.

  “We can split it,” I quickly insist.

  “Oh no we will not.” His voice is stern.

  I raise a brow at him. “Do you have an issue with me paying for my own dinner?”

  He runs his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, that came out more forcefully than I meant it to. Really, it’s my treat, Charlotte. Please?”

  I study him. I enjoyed his company and I think I’d like to see him again, so I offer a compromise. “How about I let you get this one and the next is on me?”

  “That sounds like a second date,” he beams.

  “It sure does.”

  Eight

  “John, something isn’t adding up.” I have my phone on speaker, sitting back in my office chair. I know John is in his car between meetings but I didn’t want to sit on this a moment longer than necessary. Having finally got around to staff expenses, the ‘something’ I had been waiting for has at last shown itself. I mean, I wasn’t looking for it specifically, but there is definitely something not right in the expense system.

  “Give it to me, Charlotte. What have you found?”

  “You say that like you were expecting me to find something.” I pause and then a little paranoid voice in my head whispers an idea I wish I could unhear. “Am I being tested?” I snap.

  “Not at all,” John says calmly. “But I’m not shocked that you’ve come across something beneath the surface, let’s put it that way.”

  “What is that supposed to mean, John? If you suspected there was an issue, you should have told me from the get-go. I can only do my job to the standard you expect if I have all the information.”

  “Charlotte, calm down. It’s not like you think. I personally suspected something was amiss. A gut feeling. It was merely a theory, not something we hired you to find.”

  “Then why did you hire me?” My exasperation at the whole situation is finally too much to keep locked inside.

  “Isn’t that obvious?”

  I don’t offer any indication to the affirmative.

  “You’re the best. That’s why we hired you. We always want the best people working for us.”

  “And why did you feel like you needed the best? From the outside looking in, Liberty has everything under control.”

  “Absolutely,” John agrees. “I believe we have. But we also have potential beyond the capabilities of our previous head of finance and with that in mind we decided to bring in someone who could handle what we hope the future will hold for us. It’s all about growth mindset and you have the skill we will need as we grow.”

  I slump back in my chair and slowly exhale my sigh of relief, hoping John can’t hear. He sounds perfectly genuine. I’m not being tested. I really have uncovered something that has been missed until now.

  “So tell me what you have found,” he urges.

  “Okay.” I sit forward and scroll through the spreadsheet open on my screen. “I was putting together a proposal for a new expense reporting system for you and Mr. McAllister to take a look at, when I started noticing that many expense claims which have been approved over the last financial year were not included on the employees’ actual expense reports.”

  There is a long pause.

  “Staff submit expense reports each month to their department and the department managers sign off on them and submit them to finance, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “So, all requests would have a manager’s signature before they come to finance?”

  “Unless they exceed the department limit or are somehow special in circumstance, yes I believe so,” John confirms.

  “And those over-limits or special circumstances would still be verified with receipts and signed off by a finance manager. Correct?”

  “Yes, absolutely.”

  “So any time there is ‘special authorization’, I should be seeing more supporting documentation, not less.”

  “And you’re not?”

  “No…” I drift off as I scroll and think about what I’m really seeing here. I’d had a bad feeling, but voicing my concerns aloud have cemented my worst fears. “I think someone is stealing from the company,” I tell him cautiously, unsure of how this will go down.

  “Who?”

  “Questionable transactions appear in the expense reports of nearly half the staff on the payroll. But every single suspicious entry has the same characteristics. All are large amounts. All have bypassed department managers and been authorized directly by finance and have no receipts or other documentation on file. And they were all authorized by the same Work ID.”

  “Who is it, Charlotte?” John demands.

  “It says ELISKIN. I don’t know who that is.”

  John curses sharply under his breath. Honestly, I’m tempted to join him.

  “I’m not even through the second quarter of last year, but this is big. We need to act quickly. Whoever this is needs to be suspended immediately while we investigate. We need to involve the police.”

  “Just hold on, Charlotte. Slow down.”

  “Why? It’s critical that we collect evidence and press charges as soon as possible. I don’t think you re
alize the kind of money we’re talking about here and it’s probably still happening. We have to end it now.” As I’m speaking, I pull up this month’s company-wide travel and expense report to see what is happening right now. I change the filter to search specifically for expenses authorized by ELISKIN, but before I hit enter, John stops me.

  “It’s not still happening, Charlotte. She no longer works for the company.”

  My fingers hover over the enter key. “For how long?”

  “A few weeks. Technically, you replaced her.”

  “I see.” I clear the search, knowing I won’t find anything in this month and pull up last month instead. “I’ve got to tell you, you don’t sound shocked, John.”

  I can hear his long release of breath. “Is it possible to be deeply shocked and not at all surprised at the same time?”

  “I think it must be because that’s exactly how you sound.” I tap my pen on my desk thinking. “Look, we need to report this to Mr. McAllister. The sooner the better. He will want to press charges.”

  “I will call him as soon as I get off the line,” John tells me.

  “If an accusation is going to be made, I think it should come from me, don’t you? It’s not exactly the kind of meeting I want to be our first, but it needs to be.”

  “Charlotte, I appreciate what you’re saying, but this matter needs to be handled…delicately.”

  Scowling at the phone on my desk, I prepare to fight my corner. “And why is that?”

  “Miss King, the former employee in question, is a…personal friend of Mr. McAllister’s.”

  “So you mean he’s fucking her?” is right on the tip of my tongue, but I hold it in.

  “Their families are friends,” he tries to assert, but the damage has been done. It’s obvious Mr. McAllister is, or at least was, tangled up with her in a less than professional manner. The dumbass. Doesn’t he know, you don’t shit where you eat?

  “Well he should know that his ‘friend’ has been ripping him off as soon as possible then, don’t you think?”

  “I will call him and let him know what you’ve found. For now, if you could just gather all the information…”

  “Sure,” I cut him off, applying more sass than is professional, but seriously? “I think you should know though, this could be in the millions by the time I’m through.”

  “Christ,” he hisses. “I’ll call him now.”

  He ends the call, promising to come see me in the morning to brief me on whatever Mr. McAllister decides to do.

  Just as I am going to dive back into my reports my cell chimes. I sigh, it’s probably Louise wanting to go out after work. It is Friday night after all, but I don’t think I can handle Cami after the day I’ve had. Picking up my phone and opening it however, I smile when I see it’s a message from Michael. We’ve been texting with each other a little since our pseudo-date last week.

  Michael: How’s your Friday?

  Me: It’s been interesting…

  Michael: Oh? Do tell…

  Me: Let’s just say you were right.

  Michael: Three words I love to hear! About what specifically?

  I glance at my screen and feel the weight of this problem press down on me. I need to leave it behind when I go home or it’s going to dominate my whole weekend.

  Me: Work stuff. Long story, I’ll fill you in later.

  Michael: Sounds ominous! Want to meet for drinks?

  I think about it for a moment.

  Me: Thanks, but maybe another night. I’ve had a rough day. I probably wouldn’t be much company.

  Michael: I don’t believe that. You would be good company on your worst day. I could play dirty and tempt you with BBQ.

  Me: Ugh! You are evil.

  Michael: To the core. But those ribs though…

  Me: You are going to make me gain ten pounds.

  Michael: They have salad if you’re going to be a wuss about it.

  Me: PFT! You had me at ribs. What time?

  Michael: Can we say 8? I have some things to sort out first.

  Me: Sure, but you have been warned, I’m offloading on you hard.

  Michael: I’ll do some stretches.

  I giggle to myself. I like him, he’s funny and good company.

  I shove my phone aside and dive into the data that’s calling my name. Pulling the numbers into a new spreadsheet makes it easier for me to sort through all the information. It’s shows clearly how many of the entries by this ELISKIN person are fraudulent. She uses most of the female staff as her scapegoats, but there are some men in there too.

  Once I start going through the entries I begin cross-referencing them against her personal corporate card and find the confirmation we need there in black and white. Even though she was entering the expenses under other names, she was using her card. And no one was checking because the buck stopped with her. And I’m fairly certain she was fucking the boss.

  “Ugh!” Was she even qualified to do the job? I bet she wasn’t. And now I’m left clearing up the mess.

  As I’m going through her statements, I happen to notice that her card is still active and there have been cash withdrawals since she left. A lot of cash withdrawals! I snort. Not for long, Missy. I mark her card as inactive immediately. This girl has an expensive shopping habit, designer brands, luxury goods and Lord knows what else with her cash withdrawals and she isn’t doing it on Liberty’s dime any longer. Let her take it up with her boyfriend.

  After a couple more hours of cross-referencing, I notice the time. It’s past six, I need to go home. I’ve had as much as I can take for one day and I need to go get ready to meet Michael. My stomach rumbles at the thought of dinner. Saving my separate file as ELISKIN, I shut everything down and swear to myself I won’t log into it again until Monday morning.

  Nine

  “Well, well.” Connor grins. “Back again.”

  “I can’t keep away now. I know how good your ribs are.” I wink.

  “I bet you say that to all the boys.” He laughs, then nods his head toward the back of the restaurant. “He’s in back, come on.”

  I follow him through and as I approach the booth Michael stands to greet me.

  “Look who I found,” Connor teases Michael. “Kept that quiet didn’t you.”

  “I don’t run my every move past you, you know.” He rolls his eyes, before turning his attention to me kissing my cheek. “You look lovely.”

  “Thanks, so do you.” I wince at the way I returned the compliment. Is it weird to call him lovely?

  “Why thank you,” Conner replies behind me before I can overanalyze it and I turn to find him preening and laughing accepting the compliment happily since he’s the carbon copy of his brother.

  Michael shakes his head and ushers me into his booth.

  “What can I get you to drink, Charlotte? Another cider?” Connor takes out his pad and I notice for the first time that he has tattoos on both forearms. He must have been wearing longer sleeves last time because he is covered in them. Immediately, I think of Rhys. I don’t know what it is about me noticing all these hot tattooed men all of a sudden. I typically go for a much more sophisticated look. Like Michael… “Charlotte?” He snaps his fingers in front of my eyes.

  Good Lord, pull yourself together! “You know, I think I need something a little stronger.” I scan the menu. “I’ll have a Martini, dirty.”

  “Rough day, huh?” he asks, scribbling the order down.

  “You could say that.”

  “Then this one is on me,” he says.

  “Oh no, you don’t have to do that.”

  “I insist, a thank you for getting this guy out of the house.” He points his pencil at Michael.

  Michael groans and Connor takes his leave before Michael has anything to say.

  “Sorry about him,” he offers.

  I wave him off. “He obviously cares about you.”

  “There’s caring and then there’s Connor,” he scoffs, but he has affection in his eyes.
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br />   “I think it’s sweet that you’re close.”

  “How about you? Are you close with your family?”

  “I’m an only child and my parents both passed.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It was a very long time ago.” I shrug it off.

  “Still…”

  I nod.

  Connor returns with our drinks, breaking the gloom, and sets them down. “Are we going big again, guys?”

  “I don’t know.” Michael looks to me. “Think you can handle it again?”

  “It was a lot of food. But the leftovers were good.”

  “Right on it.” Connor doesn’t give us a chance to hesitate a second longer and walks away. I can’t help that my eyes follow him as he leaves the table. The rear is just as perfect as the front. I wonder if he has any ink back there…

  Michael clears his throat and laughs awkwardly. “He’s an asshole you know.”

  I smirk, busted. “He seems okay to me.”

  “You’re something you know that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Never mind me, you just carry on checking out my brother.”

  “In my defense, he’s your identical twin brother.”

  “I promise you, we are very different.”

  “I can see that.” I eye his forearms and struggling to imagine any ink under those sleeves.

  He scowls. “I could have tattoos you know.”

  “Do you though?”

  “That’s beside the point.”

  I lift my drink. “You’re funny when you get huffy.”

  “Women are just suckers for muscles and tattoos aren’t you?”

  I slowly shake my head, showing my amusement. “You are both extremely handsome in very different ways. Is that better? Although, I’m quite sure you both hear it enough, especially since when you stand beside each other the effect is amplified tenfold.”

  Michael leans forward on his elbows and picks up his beer. “It never gets old though.”

  It feels like we are having a moment, but there is less certainty in his eyes than before.

  “So tell me about your week,” he says, changing the subject. “I was right was I?”