Kay was quiet for a long time as she thought it through. “Under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going alone.”
“To hell you are.”
“It’s not open to debate. I don’t want you dragged into this mess.”
“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think? I helped uncover—”
“Riley, I’m in deep. My hands are dirty. Yours aren’t. I’d like to keep it that way.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The head of HR at Logan was a woman named Heather Corn. Kay considered her a friend. They’d served on a few committees together and they were often the only two women in the room. Heather had a reputation for being a straight shooter, and Kay hoped she’d be willing to listen to what she had to say. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, she showed up outside Heather’s office unannounced. After convincing the HR admin that it was an emergency, she was escorted into Heather’s office.
Heather was pleasant at first, but her southern charm faded fast. Just as she and Riley had rehearsed over the weekend, Kay began with a summary of the corruption she’d witnessed, but before she could finish, Heather interrupted. “These allegations are very serious, Kay.”
“I understand that. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t absolutely sure.” Kay pulled her laptop out of her bag and set it on Heather’s desk. “I’ve got extensive evidence…”
Heather pointed a long, pink fingernail at Kay’s laptop. “Put that away. Who do you think you are, Jessica Fletcher?”
If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Kay would have laughed. Heather certainly was aging herself. Jessica Fletcher was an amateur detective in the 1980’s show Murder, She Wrote. She cleared her throat. “Heather, if you’d just take a look, you’d see—”
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stand up and walk out of this office right now,” Heather replied with snarled lips, “and not utter another word about this nonsense, to anyone.”
Kay looked blankly at Heather. She was in utter disbelief. She stuffed her laptop back in her bag and said, “You’re making a big mistake. This is going to get out sooner or later.”
Heather stood from behind her desk. “You don’t know when to shut up, do you, Kay? I’ve always noticed that about you.”
“And I’ve always thought you were honest and trustworthy,” Kay retorted. “Obviously, I was wrong.”
Heather walked out from behind her desk. “I’m going to pretend this little meeting never happened.” She wagged a finger at Kay. “And I’d strongly encourage you to do the same.”
Kay stood. She towered over Heather’s and she tried to use that to her advantage. “You’re going to regret this.”
“I’ve warned you, Kay. There are certain people in this organization, people with a lot of power, who will make you pay dearly if you step out of line.” The look on Heather’s face softened ever so slightly. “You just need to put your head down and do your job.”
Kay didn’t respond. She grabbed her bag and marched out of Heather’s office. She took the elevator to five. She needed to talk to Riley.
“Baby, are you okay?” Riley glanced at her watch. “I thought you were on your way to HR.”
“I was.”
“Did Heather refuse to see you?”
“No, she saw me.”
Riley shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Kay kicked the office door shut and flopped down in one of the chairs opposite Riley’s desk. “Our meeting was brief. Very brief.” She gave her a quick overview of what had happened.
“No fucking way.”
“I told you this was a bad idea. Now I’ve got a target on my back and for what?” Kay set her elbow on the desk and rested her head on her hand. “I feel so powerless.”
Riley leaned forward and looked Kay straight in the eye. “You are not powerless. We’re going to figure out a plan B.”
Kay held back tears. “I don’t know, Rye.”
“We’re a team, you and I, and we are not going to back down now.”
“I’m probably going to get fired. They’re probably drawing up the paperwork as we speak.”
Riley shook her head. “Heather isn’t that stupid. She knows that would be the worst thing to do. Kicking you to the street would only add fuel to the fire. That, and you know too much for them to cut you loose.”
Kay sat upright. “Fuck Rye. I do know too much—way too much—and now they know I pose a threat.”
“Jesus, Kay. What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”
“A massive snake pit.” Kay banged her fist on the desk. “But you know what? You’re right. I’m not going to let those fucking bastards scare me away.”
Riley shot both hands into the air. “Now you’re talking.”
“How come you’re so brave?”
“I’m not brave. I just refuse to be a coward.”
Kay felt her eyes moisten, but this time it wasn’t out of fear or anger, it was the wave of emotion she felt for the strong, beautiful woman sitting across from her.
Riley swiveled back and forth in her office chair. “You know what I don’t get?”
“What?
“How did all these seemingly smart, accomplished people get caught up in this fucked-up shit and why do they continue to play a role in it?”
Kay yanked a tissue from the box on Riley’s desk and dabbed her eyes. “It’s simple. Good old fashion greed.”
“Sure, maybe, but Greg, Gabe, although the jury’s still out on whether he’s directly involved, Heather and God knows who else, they’re taking so much risk. I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“My guess is they all got sucked in slowly, sort of like me. Now their hands are dirty. At the same time, they’re all directly benefiting from the corruption. Logan’s share price is through the roof, which means Greg and everybody else involved are getting bigger bonuses, larger profit-sharing payouts…”
“One of them has got to crack soon,” Riley said.
“Yeah, you’d think.”
“In the meantime, we need to talk to a lawyer, ASAP.”
Kay nodded. “That, and be careful, very careful.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I need a drink,” Kay said when they got home that night. “Preferably a stiff one.” She’d been on pins and needles after her meeting with Heather Corn and the truth was, even though she’d talked a big game in front of Riley, she was petrified about the ramifications of having gone to HR. It was so messed up—going to HR had been the right thing to do—but she couldn’t shake the feeling she might pay dearly for speaking out. Still, as long as Riley was at her side, she was determined to march forward.
“What a fucking day, huh?” Riley asked. “Why don’t you call Ethan, and I’ll make us each a dirty martini.”
Kay gave Riley a peck on the cheek. “Sounds like a plan.” Earlier that day, she’d suggested they ask Ethan for advice. Not only was he her best friend, but he was a lawyer, a very good one. “I’m going to run upstairs real quick,” Kay waved a hand down her body, “and get out of this suit and then I’ll call him.” She looked over at Riley. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”
Riley held up an overstuffed tote. “Yep.”
Once they were changed, Riley pulled the vodka out of the freezer and dug the martini shaker out of the liquor cabinet. Kay sat at her kitchen island and dialed Ethan. After a little small talk, she filled him on the events with Heather earlier that day. “Hold on a sec,” she said, pausing while the shh-icka shh-icka sound of a martini shaker filled the room.
When it was quiet again, she continued. “You know that theory Riley and I had, the one about how the fraud at Logan might be more widespread?”
“Yeah,” Ethan replied.
“Well, Riley did some digging into some of Logan’s financial filings and turns out we were right.”
“You’re kidding?”
“You know me,” Kay replied. “I wouldn’t kid
about something like this. Logan is using the increased revenue from fares to cover up problems elsewhere in the airline.” Kay went on to tell him about the sagging bag fee and credit card revenue and how it appeared Logan was filing altered financial reports with the SEC.
“Wow,” Ethan replied. “That means they are intentionally misleading investors. That’s seriously fucked up. We’re talking massive fraud.”
“No shit, Ethan. That’s why I’m calling you. We think it’s time to talk to a lawyer.”
“I think that would be wise. But you know Kay, if you continue to plow forward, things are only going to get more difficult. What you witnessed today when you confronted HR could be nothing compared to what you might face down the road. I just need to put that out there.”
“Riley and I know we’re walking down a perilous path. We’re not backing down.”
“Okay, if you’re sure…you need to talk to someone who specializes in cases involving securities violations. Someone who’s—”
“Hold on Eth. Riley’s here too. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
Ethan’s voice filled the room. “Hi, Riley.”
“Hi, Ethan. Nice to finally meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. Wish it was under better circumstances.”
Riley handed Kay a very full martini glass and said into the phone, “So, you were saying we need to talk to…”
“An attorney who has experience with securities violations, someone who knows how to deal with the SEC.”
“The SEC?” Kay asked. “But wouldn’t the price fixing be considered an antitrust violation, like the Sherman Act, Federal Trade Commission kind of stuff?”
“Yes, Kay. You’re right,” Ethan replied. “Price fixing would fall under the FTC and they may very well get involved with this at some point, but if Logan is deceiving their investors, that’s SEC territory. They deal with that kind of fraud and they have a very well-established whistleblower program. You know what a whistleblower is right?”
“Yes, of course,” Kay replied. “It’s someone who blows the whistle to alert people that something illegal is going down.”
“Correct. Not to get all legal eagle on you, but if what you tell me is true, Logan is engaging in earnings management. The airline is adjusting, to put it judiciously, their financial filings to camouflage poor performance in bag fee and credit card revenue—and I think the SEC would be very interested to hear about this.”
Riley piped in. “Not only that. Logan’s creating the illusion of stellar revenue growth. They are artificially pumping up revenue by colluding with their competitors to fix prices.”
“You’re correct, Riley,” Ethan said, “and the SEC is the government agency that’s supposed to protect investors from fraud.”
“So, do you happen to know anyone who specializes in this area of the law?” Kay asked.
“Not off the top of my head, but hang on a sec…”
Riley nodded toward Kay’s martini glass. “Taste good?”
“God, yes. Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you.”
Ethan came back on the line a few moments later. “I got a name. Fred Archie. He’s based in Atlanta and he specializes in securities law. I’ll text you his contact information.”
“Fred Archie,” Kay said. “That’s a funny name.”
Ethan laughed. “Yeah, I know. He’s one of those people you always call by their first and last name, but according to my law school buddy, he’s a brilliant attorney.”
“Okay, thanks Eth,” Kay said. “I’ll give him a call. I hope he’ll listen to us. I’m a little jaded after my interaction with HR earlier today.”
“I won’t sugarcoat it,” Ethan replied. “Attorneys like Fred typically work on a contingency basis and they’ll only take cases they think are rock solid. But, based on what you’ve told me, he’d be insane not to hear you out. You just need to clearly lay out the facts for him.”
Kay put in a call to Fred Archie first thing the next morning, but given the impending Thanksgiving holiday, he was out of the office until the following week.
“Can I get on his calendar for a meeting early next week?” Kay asked his admin.
“I’m afraid not,” the admin said. “Mr. Archie won’t meet with anyone until he, or someone else at the firm, has had a chance to vet them on the phone first.”
“Please,” Kay pleaded. She tried to convey the urgency of the situation, but the admin was not swayed.
“As you can imagine, we get calls from a lot of crack balls,” the admin said. “People who’ve read the news about big whistleblower payouts and think they can get in on the action by reporting this or that infraction about their employer.”
Kay finally relented and scheduled a time to do a phone interview with Fred in early December, but the admin’s comments had rattled her. A wave of nausea swept through her as soon as she got off the phone. She took a long pull from the water bottle on her desk and used a leftover napkin to dab the sweat beading on her brow. What if Fred Archie wouldn’t take their case? What if he didn’t think they had enough evidence? There was only one choice, she had to go to the one place where there might be more.
Kay grabbed her cell phone. “Do you have any plans the first Saturday in December?” she asked as soon as Riley picked up.
“Um, not that I can think of. Why?”
“Greg Brandywine is throwing his annual holiday party. He loves showing off his exquisite house in Buckhead and his wife lives to entertain. They always invite all the big wigs at Logan. I hadn’t planned to go, but—”
“Now you’re reconsidering.”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
“Well,” Kay said, “because if he’s hiding the missing pricing data at his house, maybe we can find it.”
“You can’t be serious, Kay.”
“I’m dead serious. We don’t have a choice. We’ve got to get our hands on that data. It’ll strengthen our case.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
As they did every year, Riley and her family attended the annual holiday dinner dance at the country club the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The party was held early enough in the evening so that people with children of all ages could attend and the club hired a Santa to roam the party and hand out candy canes and Christmas ornaments. Even though it could be a little bit chaotic, Riley generally enjoyed the celebration. A lot of the kids she’d grown up with also attended with their families, and it gave her a chance to catch up with them.
Riley’s friend Sally ambled over to her just before everyone sat for dinner. She had a toddler on her hip and her bulging belly signaled another baby was on the way. “When are you due?” Riley asked.
“Super Bowl weekend, if you can believe it. Johnny,” she said, referring to her husband, “has already told me I better not go into labor during the game.”
Riley chuckled. “Well, it’s not like you have a lot of control over that. Certainly, he’ll be understanding if it happens.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “Yeah, fat chance.” She shifted her toddler from one hip to the other. “How about you, Riley? Any wedding bells in your future?”
“No, I’m, um, seeing someone, but it’s still pretty new.”
“You should bring him by the club sometime. Maybe we can all have dinner or something.”
Riley thought of Kay. She took a sip of her wine and smiled into her glass. “Um, yeah, maybe.”
Sally’s toddler started to wail. “I should probably bring him down to the nursery. Good to see you Riley.”
Riley waved goodbye and scanned the room in search of her parents. She spotted her father talking to Philip, one of the boys she’d dated briefly in high school, and she wandered over to say hello.
“Hi pumpkin,” her father said. He tipped his tumbler of bourbon toward Philip. “Phil here is joining my firm right after the first of the year.”
Riley tried to hide her surprise. “Here in Atlanta?”
Philip looked down
at his beer and then up at her. “Um, yeah.”
“But, I… I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” When Riley had seen Philip at the club the previous Thanksgiving, he and his wife had just finished building a house in Vermont and he was working for a small law firm in Burlington.
“It’s okay,” Philip said. “Kelly and I are getting divorced. It’s for the best. I was like a fish out of water up there in the Green Mountain State.”
“Oh, gosh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Riley said sincerely. Philip was a good guy and even though she’d only met his wife a few times, she seemed pleasant enough.
Just then a bell rang to summon everyone to their tables for dinner.
“It was really nice to see you Riley,” Philip said.
“You too,” she replied. “Good luck with, um, everything.”
She followed her father to the big round table reserved for the Bauer family. Her mother was already seated when they arrived, and she motioned for Riley to take the seat next to her.
She obliged. She took the white linen napkin off the table in front of her and set it in her lap.
“Are you having a nice time sweetie?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, I am.” She looked up at her mother. “You did a great job with the decorations.” Her mother served on the committee that organized the party every year.
“Thanks, honey.” Her mother glanced around the room. “I must admit, we really outdid ourselves.”
Riley took a sip of water and nodded.
“I saw you talking to Philip. You know, he and his wife have separated.”
“So, I heard.”
“You two made such an adorable couple…”
“Jeez mom, they aren’t even divorced yet.”
“I know, darling, but he’s quite a catch. I’m sure he’ll get snapped up the second he’s back on the market.”
She groaned in response. Back on the market. For God’s sake, it was like she was talking about a front entrance colonial in a sizzling real estate market.
A waiter approached their table. “May I get anyone a drink?” He was quite effeminate and had a high-pitched voice.
Her father ordered two bottles of wine and the waiter ran off to get them.
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