by Robin Mahle
“How is Beth doing?”
“Not well.” She dropped into the chair next to his. “It’s like I’m watching some crime drama on TV. Like all of this should resolve itself inside of an hour, but it isn’t.” Claire rubbed her temples as if a paralyzing headache was about to take hold. “I just feel so damn helpless right now.”
“I can’t even imagine what Beth is going through. I’m sorry that it’s taken the wind out of your sail.” Colin reached across the small table between the two chairs and took Claire’s hand. “You know how proud I am of you, right?”
A lackluster smile briefly appeared on her narrowed lips, but quickly faded. “Of course I do. And this has been deflating, no question. But I’m still excited for whatever comes next. This raise—it’s going to change a lot for us.”
“It will, but you should focus on the job too. It’s a prominent position and you’ve worked very hard for it. Yes, the money will most certainly help, but remember that you earned this, Claire.”
“I had to tell Lucas he wasn’t getting my accounts, that they were bringing in someone from the Salt Lake office.” Claire slid her hand down her calf, slipping off the left, then right shoe. Her fingers pressed on the toes of her tired feet as she tried to soothe them.
“Ouch. I bet that didn’t go over well.”
“No, it didn’t. He’s angry about it; not that he said as much, but I could see it in his eyes. I feel like I’ve become the enemy.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad, Claire. He’s a big boy; he’ll get over it.”
“Maybe. Listen, I told Beth I’d try and help her get out of this mess. I’m gonna go into the office for a while, see if I can re-trace my steps, track down the original files.”
“It’s so late, Claire. Why don’t you just go upstairs, have a bath and relax? Maybe I’ll come and join you.”
The spark in his eyes was one she knew well and while the invitation was appreciated, she’d promised Beth. But, she wondered, how much help could she really be? This situation seemed far more dire and much deeper than a couple of errors on expense reports and timesheets. Money had been stolen, a great sum of money. Beth was in deep, unwittingly so, but Claire wouldn’t find sleep unless she tried, even if it meant passing up on a rare but welcomed offer from Colin.
“I’m sorry, babe.” Claire stood on her now-bare feet. “I’ve got to do what I can for her, even if it amounts to nothing. She has to know that someone is on her side. God knows, this could mean prison.” The terrifying thought had to be shaken from her mind. “I have to help her.”
“I know you do.”
***
Hours had passed. Claire was alone and exhaustion had taken hold. The stillness of the house wreaked havoc on her already fervid mind. The occasional sound of a passing car far off in the distance helped to shift her thoughts, but only momentarily. Even now, the usual sounds of lapping water from the lake’s shores were absent. The night air was uncomfortably still.
She removed her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. Was it possible the time showed one a.m. and her search for an answer to the mysterious disappearing files left her no closer than she was three hours ago? Having dismissed her initial review of the reports the other night as simply a mistake on her part, it was becoming clear now that was not the case. She might yet have to find proof of her theory, but someone was using Beth as cover; a diversion with regards to hacking into Sea-Tech’s servers and issuing payments to inactive accounts. But connecting the incidents – the doubled-up hours and the missing money – would prove impossible without getting her hands on the original reports. It would be the only way to show that Beth had made Claire aware of the situation and that she had no part in it.
Claire didn’t have a relationship with anyone in IT, but Beth did. In the morning, she would send Claire the contact information via email to her personal account. No company emails; she couldn’t take the chance that someone might be monitoring their communications. Claire had to chuckle at the thought and began to feel like some sort of conspiracy theorist.
Enough for tonight. Claire needed sleep and shut down the computer, switching off the light behind her as she left the den. It had been the only light on and now, in the pitch black, she had to feel her way to the stairs until her eyes adjusted to the night.
The steps gave way slightly under foot, creaking as the wood rubbed against the screws that held the treads in place. Normally, this sound was hardly noticeable, but in the stillness of the house, it seemed to echo far too loudly.
Claire reached the double doors of her bedroom. Colin was asleep, turned on his side, the covers pushed down to the bottom of the bed. She wondered how it was he could sleep without blankets. It was cold and the heat was turned down, but he was obviously unaffected.
Slipping into bed quietly, she closed her eyes, the sound of Colin’s breathing comforting her enough to drift off to sleep.
***
The week had been exciting, worrying, and very busy for Claire. Two more days had passed and Friday arrived in a hurry. Beth sent over the information about her friend in IT, although it had taken some time. For the past two days, she had been hounded by the company lawyers and management, asking about her every movement in the past weeks, months even. But Beth had already contacted the man and told him to expect Claire’s call. In fact, Claire intended to make a visit to him today. It seemed no one else was pushing to find out the truth except her. They’d already written Beth off as guilty. No one in the office was even mentioning her name anymore, like she’d never existed.
Claire had finally reached her office, several people stopping her in her tracks, asking about the reorganization of the regions and who they’d be reporting to. This was something that Frank needed to handle, but hadn’t as of yet.
Just as she was sitting down, a meeting request popped up on her screen. Claire had to read it twice, just to be sure. It seemed Mr. Winters wanted to meet her for lunch today. It wouldn’t have mattered if she’d had anything else on her schedule; turning down this invitation was not an option. When Evan Winters requested a meeting, acceptance was implicit.
It seemed a slightly unusual request, but whatever the reason for the invite meant she would need to see Chris in IT this morning, not knowing how long she’d be with Mr. Winters. Claire grabbed her cell phone, set it to record audio and dropped it into the inside pocket of her suit jacket, hoping that wouldn’t make the recording too muffled. She actually felt guilty about being so covert, but she wasn’t going to let Beth go down without a fight.
The elevator doors parted on the sixth floor and Claire stepped out, approaching the receptionist. “Can you tell me if Chris Goyal is in today? He’s expecting me.”
“Hi, Claire. Let me call him, see if he’s in his office.”
The receptionist pressed a button on a console that was hidden beneath the counter. “No answer. Let me try someone else, see if they know where he is.” She pressed another button. “Hey, I’ve got Claire McKenna here to see Chris. Can you tell me if he’s in this morning?”
Claire watched as the receptionist nodded her head, agreeing to something.
“Okay, thanks very much.” She looked up at Claire again. “I’m so sorry, Claire, but Chris quit last night. No notice, just packed up and left.”
“Well, that’s strange.” Understatement of the year. Thank you for letting me know.” She headed straight back to the elevators without further inquiry.
What the hell is going on here? Claire waited for her floor number to light up. Something was very wrong with this situation and Claire was feeling on the verge of fear, her stomach was twisting into knots. Should I say something to Mr. Winters? Should I say something to Charlie? Claire’s mouth was dry and her breathing became shallow. The doors opened and she felt lightheaded for a just a moment, wavering as her eyes struggled to focus on the room ahead of her.
Emily, at the front desk, must have noticed. “Claire? Claire? Are you all right?”
Those wo
rds seemed to pull her out of the confusion that was settling in. “Yes. Sorry, I was daydreaming, I guess.” She staggered off the elevator.
“I’m sure you were dreaming of your big new office on the seventh floor.” Emily said, seemingly trying to put Claire at ease.
“You caught me!” Claire released an odd-sounding cackle that she quickly regretted. “I’ve got a lunch appointment today and I’m not sure how long I’ll be out, if anyone’s looking for me.” She was trying to bring the conversation back to something that didn’t revolve around her promotion.
“Okay. Sounds good.” The ever-cheerful Emily returned to her computer screen, punching in various keys for whatever it was she’d been working on.
Claire made it back to her office without having to face any more awkward discussions with other colleagues. She still reeled at this latest blow. The plan was to ask Chris to look at the server logs and tell her exactly when Beth’s credentials were accessed. Who would she be able to turn to now?
“Claire?” The speaker phone buzzed.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Winters would like you to meet him in his office prior to your scheduled eleven o’clock lunch. He’d like you to come down around 10:30, if you’re able.”
“Yes. That will be fine. Thank you, Sheri.”
What now? She began to wonder for a moment if she might find an ally in Evan Winters. Maybe she could bring this up with him? He was the man in charge; if anyone could do something about this, he could. For whatever reason, he’d come to respect her work and, by default, her. Not many people had the ear of the president, but she would today at lunch; assuming no one else would be present.
“Lucas?” Impeccable timing as always. “Come in.” Her wandering eye caught his as he approached her office.
“Claire, I just want to apologize for the other day. I’ve had a chance to acclimate now.” Lucas took a seat. His manner seemed a marked change from a few days ago.
“You have nothing…”
But before she could finish, he continued. “I was caught off guard, that’s all, and I’m sorry if I seemed less than happy for you because—I am, you know.”
“I do know, Lucas, and thank you, but really, there’s no need to apologize. I would’ve behaved exactly as you, had I just found out a potential opening had been snatched away.”
“Thank you, Claire. I appreciate that.” He began to stand up again. “I won’t keep you. I hear you’re having lunch with the big man today. Good luck.”
How did he know that?
“Thanks. I’m sure he just wants to review my new accounts or something.” She laughed it off as if it would be some unofficial, getting-to-know-you type of meeting; which, maybe that was what it was intended to be. “Oh, we will need to get together, maybe first thing Monday morning, if you’re available? I’ve got some handoffs for you.”
“Sounds good. If I don’t see you, have a good weekend, Claire.” He tilted his head in a slight, acknowledging nod and walked away.
“Thanks, you too.”
***
Lucas headed straight for the elevators and went down to the first-floor lobby. His steps seemed full of purpose as he reached for his cell phone in his front pocket and exited the building.
“I don’t think she knows anything right now. We had no choice but to get Chris out of there. He’ll be fine; don’t worry about him.” Lucas pulled out his electronic cigarette and began puffing away, the blue light illuminating with each vaporized puff. “I need to keep her on my good side, you know that. If she keeps digging around, we’re gonna have problems. My guess is she’ll be too busy with her new job to be worrying any more about Beth Graves. We just need to give this thing time to blow over.” He took another puff, listening intently to the person on the other end. “Yeah. I’ve already got someone lined up. We’re going to have to find another way, though. We don’t want another Beth on our hands.” He nodded. “Yeah, he knows and he’s making provisions to solve the problem. I better get back. Later.”
***
Claire pulled her overcoat from the hook near her office door. Although she was meeting with Winters a half-hour before they were to leave for lunch, she didn’t want to make him wait while she returned for her coat.
“Taking off already?” Emily asked as Claire breezed by.
“Yes. Not sure when I’ll be back; probably one or two. See ya later.” Claire left for the top floor.
***
Sheri sat at her desk, coffee in one hand, magazine in the other.
Claire could hardly believe she was standing here, getting ready to have lunch with the president and, for just a moment, she let herself forget about the missing money, Chris Goyal, and Beth. But that didn’t last long and guilt soon crept up into the place where she’d let herself feel a moment of pride.
“He’s ready to see you now,” Sheri said.
The smooth powder-grey doors that led into Evan Winters’ office appeared large and menacing as Claire stepped through them. This was her first time in his office and she was taken aback by the stunning view of the harbor that filled every inch of the glass wall behind his desk. The building towered over most of the others on this street and, since this was the top floor, she could easily see the water, the boats, the docks, everything.
The rest of his office was surprisingly sparse. She’d expected a great big wooden desk, some bookshelves with sculptures, and expensive art on the walls. Instead, Evan Winters sat behind a thick modern glass desk with a gunmetal frame of relatively normal size and just a singular laptop on the surface. No family pictures? The few works of art that did adorn the walls were likely from famous painters, but Claire knew little of the art world. She could be looking at a Pollack or a Picasso and wouldn’t be able to distinguish either one. All she knew was that they looked nice.
“Claire! Come on in and have a seat.” Evan stood up and motioned towards the white leather-upholstered chair across from him, an upgrade from the standard guest chairs that prevailed in this building.
It looked like it could have been from Ikea, for all she knew, but probably wasn’t, and she finally took her seat. “Thank you, Mr. Winters.”
“Please, Claire; call me Evan.”
It didn’t feel right to her, but she did as he asked. “Thank you, Evan.”
“I understand this must be a very difficult time for you, what with all that’s been going on with your friend. I am sorry to have had to put her on leave, but I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course I do, sir, it’s just that, I don’t believe Beth…” She was interrupted by the buzz of his speaker phone.
“Mr. Winters, Mr. Connelly is on the phone for you,” Sheri said.
Claire knew the name. He was the head of Sea-Tech and this could only be about the missing funds.
“I’m sorry, Claire, but I do need to take this. I’ll only be a moment.” Evan lifted the receiver and a look of severity shrouded his face. “Marty, good morning.” He grew quiet while the man on the other end spoke. “Yes, it has been taken care of. The wire was sent this morning. Yes, it was for the entire amount. Of course, Marty. We are working very hard at gathering the information and, of course, charges are pending.”
Oh my God.
“Our meeting for Monday is scheduled, but in the meantime, please, Marty, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. Again, I sincerely appreciate you standing by us through all of this and I can assure you, our systems are being upgraded as we speak. Good bye, Marty.”
Evan placed the phone down and looked directly into Claire’s eyes. “I’m sorry you had to hear that, Claire. But Sea-Tech is a very important client, which I know you’re already aware, and someone in our organization has stolen from them. This is deadly serious.”
“I understand—Evan.” And she did, but the fact remained, she was confident of Beth’s innocence. “As I was going to say…”
“We’d better get going if we’re to make our reservation. I wanted to show you around before w
e left, but never mind; perhaps when we return? Shall we leave?”
Claire felt like she’d just gotten a big fat brush off and wondered if Evan would be an ally after all or if he was so concerned with the reputation of the company, that he didn’t care who took the blame so long as someone was held accountable.
***
The Metro was one of the nicest restaurants in downtown and they were sitting at the best table. Claire had never eaten here before; it was far too rich for her blood, but Evan seemed quite at ease. And surprising too was the fact that it ended up just being the two of them for lunch. As a result, Claire felt obligated to raise her guard, although she hadn’t figured out why just yet. Maybe it was the phone call earlier. But, unlike their first meeting, she now felt somewhat on the defensive.
“I always make a point of getting to know my management staff and now that you’re a part of that, Claire, I thought this would be a good start.”
“I appreciate the invitation, I do, sir.” She cleared her throat. “Evan. It’s just that…”
“It’s just that you’re worried about Beth Graves.”
“Yes. Very worried.”
“I didn’t want to mention this, since it wasn’t my intent to bring up such unpleasantness on our first outing, but I must tell you that the FBI has become involved. It seems they believe the money was wired to overseas accounts, but they haven’t yet tracked down the locations. It’s only a matter of time before Ms. Graves will be arrested for embezzlement, Claire. I’m sorry to break the news to you and very sorry it had to be here. I had hoped to have a nice lunch.”
The FBI. When did this happen? Why didn’t Beth tell me they were involved? Claire clamped her jaw shut, realizing it had just fallen onto the table. Clearly shaken, she tried hard not to be so obvious in her surprise, but this news was difficult to swallow. Beth could actually go to prison.
“Are you okay, Claire?”