The Billionaire's Son
By Arabella Quinn
The Billionaire's Son
Copyright © 2012 by Arabella Quinn
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
The Billionaire's Son
Nearly five weeks ago, a representative from Jackson Vaughn’s corporate empire approached me with a job offer. I had just finished successfully wrapping up a very high profile case, even if my involvement as the lead forensic accountant was kept far from the public eye. It was as I was basking in the glow of my professional success, that I received the phone call. I was told that Jackson Vaughn had personally requested me for this job.
I would have to sign pages of confidentiality agreements before I was given even a glimpse of what was to be involved. Still, it wasn’t a very difficult decision to make. Over the years, I had consulted with many clients who demanded complete discretion. At the request of several of my clients, I had even gone undercover working side by side with key suspects to root out fraud within their companies. I was sure that I could handle whatever problems Jackson Vaughn suspected. Plus, the hourly wage and completion bonus they offered was quite generous.
Of course, I played it cool, but accepted the offer on the spot. I left my office early that day. The entire drive home, I kept trying to remember what I knew of Jackson Vaughn, the billionaire mogul, who tended to keep out of the spotlight. I could conjure up some blurry images in my mind of a handsome fatherly type figure. No doubt the man had a brilliant mind. What popped into my mind more readily was the image of the jet-setting playboy, Derek, who was Vaughn’s only son. Derek tended to be in the news more often for his bad-boy behavior than for the philanthropic endeavors that his father was known for. I didn’t know much about Vaughn's business dealings, except that his empire was vast and successful.
I spent the rest of the evening learning all I could about Jackson Vaughn and his companies. The internet was an amazing fount of knowledge; yet it only gave me a tiny peek into the complexity of what I would be dealing with. I found very few articles relating to Vaughn’s personal life. Apparently he was still married to his wife of 30 plus years and the two maintained residences all over the world. The only photographs I saw of the couple were taken at charitable fund-raising events. The Vaughn’s reputation was impeccable.
Stifling a yawn, I glanced at the time on my laptop. It was after midnight. I needed to turn in so that I could be at Vaughn’s downtown offices by 10:00 AM.
In the morning, I dressed with care. I selected my favorite suit, a feminine lavender color with a fitted cut, but very professional and expensive. I gathered my long brunette curls and loosely clipped them behind my head. That way my hair was pulled back for a more professional look, yet I still looked very feminine. I kept my makeup light and then added the finishing touch – a pair of fashion eyeglasses. My vision was perfect, but I had long ago found the eyeglasses added a touch of intelligence and sophistication to my look. I used my secret weapon sparingly. When I wore the glasses, I felt I could face down the most influential men and women in the world and come out on top. The confidence boost was priceless.
I checked the mirror one last time before heading out and smiled. I looked impeccable. Only the hint of my voluptuous womanly curves could be seen through the armor of my power suit. My hair was absolutely appropriate for the meeting, yet looked stunning. I was very aware of the impression that I always created walking through a door. Men often did a double take and women often sniffed in quiet disdain. I did not fit the mousy accountant mold that they always expected and I enjoyed that tremendously. Usually it only took me about ten minutes to grudgingly win over the respect that they weren’t planning on giving when they first set eyes on me. My analytical brain could usually out compute anyone who dared challenge me quite easily.
While I was a powerhouse in the boardroom, I was a disaster in the bedroom -that is when my relationships ever made it that far. Usually men were scared off closer to the first date. Lately, as I neared my 32nd birthday, this bothered me more and more. The more my personal life seemed to flounder; though, the more my professional career was soaring beyond my expectations.
The meeting was held at one of Jackson Vaughn’s subsidiaries, Venture Corporation, in downtown Dallas. I made it to the lobby of the impressive steel and glass structure with time to spare. I was given a visitors badge and asked to meet a Mr. Thomas on the tenth floor. I was seated in a lush office suite, staring down a lovely spread of fruits and cheeses and an assortment of bakery delights. While I waited for Mr. Thomas I helped myself to a coffee that turned out to be quite good.
Mr. Thomas entered the room in a rush. “Julia Collins?” It was more a question than a statement as he reached to shake my hand.
“Yes. Mr. Thomas, I presume? Very nice to meet you.” His grip was strong and firm.
Mr. Thomas motioned for me to take a seat. “It’s nice to meet you as well. I have heard many wonderful things about your work. Please, help yourself." He gestured to the food.
He seemed to be eyeing the spread hungrily, so I started casually grazing, choosing a few items for myself. I studied him surreptitiously as I scooped some fruit into a bowl. He was tall and thin, mid-forties, not overly handsome but not bad looking. What surprised me the most were his hands. They stood out. They were well used to hard work, rough and calloused, not like the smooth soft hands of a high paid white-collar worker.
While I politely waited for him to finish piling food onto a plate, I asked, “Will there be anyone else joining us today, Mr. Thomas?”
“No, I’m afraid it’s just me today.” He grinned sheepishly. “I work directly for Jackson, er, Mr. Vaughn as a personal assistant of sorts. Mr. Vaughn is determined to keep your investigation completely hidden from anyone. As far as I know, we are the only three who know about it and Mr. Vaughn wants to keep it that way.”
I nodded, “Of course. I understand.”
“Mr. Vaughn has personally reviewed your background check, the one we conducted with your permission. He is also very impressed with your qualifications, Ms. Collins. He is friendly with several of your past clients and you have come to us highly recommended.”
He started stacking the loose papers on the table in front of him. “I have looked over the standard confidentiality agreements that you have signed and the lawyers have informed me that all is in order. I have just one more agreement for you to sign before we get started. This agreement will not go through our legal department, because it will pertain to this specific assignment for you. It is just one more precaution Mr. Vaughn is taking to ensure your investigation remains completely under wraps.” He slid the long document over towards me.
“Before you sign, Ms. Collins, let me explain what you would be getting yourself into.” I glanced at the document before me and then nodded for him to continue.
“Mr. Vaughn is very eager to get to the bottom of this problem before him. He would like you to work for him exclusively until you have solved the problem.”
I had already expected as much. Truthfully, it was the way I worked best. I liked to get fully immersed into the investigations without any outside distractions. “That won’t be a problem.”
Mr. Thomas continued, “Good. Also, because of th
e sensitive nature of the investigation, Mr. Vaughn would like you to work alone.”
Alone! Without my team? My team of various experts was the reason for more than half my successes. They saved me hours and hours of exhausting but necessary legwork. They could find the proverbial needle in the haystack when necessary. It freed me up to work on the higher-level complexities of a case. I couldn’t even begin to fathom conducting an investigation of the size I expected this one to be without my team.
Mr. Thomas must have seen the look of incredulity on my face because he held up his hand, stopping the words from tumbling out of my mouth. “Wait. Mr. Vaughn knows this is a highly unusual request, but he only fully trusts you to do this job.”
I flashed him my best persuasive smile, “Mr. Thomas, my team consists of the utmost professionals in the field. I can assure you…”
He interrupted me before I could fully get my pitch going. “I’m sorry, but this is a deal breaker for Mr. Vaughn. You must do all the work in this investigation without any help. Mr. Vaughn has anticipated your very understandable reluctance and he is willing to compensate you for your cooperation on this matter. I have been authorized to triple the wage and completion bonus that you were originally offered.”
My mouth about hit the floor. The original offer was beyond generous. This new offer was too good to be true. I saw Mr. Thomas’ wry smile. He knew he had me. “But, if I work alone, depending on the situation I run across, it could take months and months of continuous work to uncover the truth. It could even take up to a year, I just don’t know. My team would cut that time by more than half.”
Mr. Thomas nodded. “Mr. Vaughn was expecting that answer. He is more concerned with uncovering the truth and keeping everything confidential. He is prepared to wait the additional time.”
I felt my head spinning. I loved my job and loved digging into the nitty-gritty world of number crunching. I felt my brain responding to the challenge before me. I would be alone, doing all the dirty work myself, like in the old days. Except this time, I had a feeling the case would be much more stimulating.
“Well, then, I accept.” I spent some time reviewing the contract, while Mr. Thomas chewed heartily on his breakfast, before signing.
“Congratulations, Ms. Collins and welcome to the team. Now, let me get down to the basics.”
He rummaged through his files and located a manila envelope. He reached into the unmarked envelope and produced a key dangling from a silver key chain. "This key will get you into an office located in Mr. Vaughn’s private local residence. Mr. Vaughn has been making copies of files that he thought might be related to the issue and he has been sending them to his residence for months now. Also, you will be able to connect into his server through the computer in his office. All security passwords will be left for you there. You are to have complete access to all the many companies’ electronic records. Paper records are filed in boxes located in his residence. If there are any other paper records you find that you need, you are to contact me. Please do not make any contact with any other employees at his companies.”
Mr. Vaughn dropped the key back into the envelope and passed it to me. “Also in the envelope are the security codes to open the estate’s gate and to enter the residence through the side service doors. The staff will be told that you are working on a project for Mr. Vaughn. Your presence will not be questioned. Mr. Vaughn would want you to make yourself at home at his house. The staff will provide any meals that you should wish, please let them know of any preferences that you have. You have free access to the pool, the grounds, the media room, the kitchen – any common area. You may set your own hours and come and go as you wish. If you would like to stay at the estate during any part of your work, let the staff know and they will prepare a room for you. I suggest you do so, even if you plan to return home every evening, just so you have a private place you can go to or a place to sleep if you decide to work late. Do you have any questions so far?”
“No. Everything sounds great so far. But I still don’t know what I’m investigating exactly.” The perks of this job were sounding great. Jackson was certainly one man I wanted to leave a favorable impression of myself with. If I aced this job, I would be set.
Mr. Thomas tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “Yes, we’ll get to that in a moment. Mr. Vaughn wants you to contact him personally if you find out any important information pertinent to the case. I’m going to add here, although I’m sure you’re astute enough to realize this yourself, that it would be best not to bother Mr. Vaughn with anything trivial. His time is very valuable. If you have any doubts, please contact me first. Here is our private contact information.”
He handed over a small leather cardholder that I assumed contained their business cards with contact information. “Now, before I get into the specific case – when would you be able to start?”
“Well, I will need a couple of days to review my current caseload with my assistants and readjust assignments. I’ll need to prepare them to work without me for at least six months for now. I can adjust that down the road if need be. Luckily, I just wrapped up a big case, so I am relatively freed up. I could begin working full-time on your case starting next week if that’s okay.”
Mr. Thomas looked relieved. “Perfect. Mr. Vaughn will be pleased. Now, Mr. Vaughn wanted to meet with you personally, but he is tied up for weeks. He is hoping to catch up with you sometime next month. Maybe you will have a better grasp of the situation at that time anyhow. So for now, I will have to give you the basic rundown of the situation. It is a very delicate matter. You see; Mr. Vaughn’s son, Derek, has his own dealings mixed into much of his father’s businesses. And Mr. Vaughn has the sinking suspicion that his son may be involved in the irregularities he has been encountering.”
Mr. Thomas spent the next hour going over certain odd details that began grabbing Jackson Vaughn’s attention over the last year or so. With so little to go on, I could not be sure that something illegal was going on; however, enough red flags had been raised to warrant further investigation.
I left the meeting with my suspicions raised and it looked likely the son could be involved. Mixing family and business was always a risky proposition. Unfortunately it seemed that Mr. Vaughn would soon find out just how risky a venture it was.
It was five weeks later, and I was no closer to solving the case than when I started. Despite putting in a backbreaking amount of hours, I had come up empty handed so far. The numbers in the ledgers were beginning to blur after staring at them for six straight hours, so I decided to take a break. I had settled into a nice routine of breaking mid-afternoon to swim a few laps in the pool and soak up some sun. The swim left me recharged to work well past dinner time, if not longer. I stood from the desk and stretched. I grabbed my canvas bag with my swim items and headed for the poolside cabana.
In the five weeks that I had been working there, I had never encountered anyone at the pool, or anywhere on the estate for that matter. I had become friendly with most of the full-time staff, but never ran into anyone else.
Not for the first time, I thought it was a shame that the pool was left unused. It was surrounded by a tropical paradise. I could easily lounge in the infinity pool, soaking up the gorgeous views for hours, but I usually limited myself to one hour a day. After I had used up my allotted time, I headed into the opulent cabana to shower off and change back into my clothes.
I finished my shower and then reached outside the fabric curtain, searching for my towel. I groped around for several moments, before popping my head out to locate the elusive towel. The hook was empty. And my canvas bag with all my clothing was missing too! In fact, there were no clothes or towels in sight. Even my wet bathing suit had disappeared. I carefully peeked around the interior of the cabana, staying behind the shower curtain, but it appeared to be empty. Now what?
I tried to remove the shower curtain, but it was affixed with fancy fasteners and it wasn't budging. Maybe there was a phone in the kitchenette that I co
uld call the house staff with? I tiptoed out of the shower enclosure, dripping wet, to the kitchenette. No phone. Not even a dishtowel in sight to try to cover up with. I took a deep breath, trying not to let panic set in. Think, Julia. There has to be an easy way out of this ridiculous situation. I began rummaging through every drawer or cabinet I could find. I found bottle openers, matchbooks, pens and suntan lotion, but not a single towel. Not even a scrap of paper! My heart began pounding furiously as I felt I was left with only one choice: a naked dash back to my room in the estate. What if someone sees me?
Just as I was contemplating the best route, I heard a woman's tinkling laughter getting closer. Thank goodness. I could yell out to the woman for some help. I hesitated for a moment, only because the situation was so embarrassing. Then I heard a man's laughing reply. Oh no! I slowly eased over to the pass-through bar window in the kitchenette and carefully peeked out the corner of it. A stunningly handsome man, with a bikini-clad blonde on each arm, was heading right for the cabana. Panic gripped my insides. I ran back to the shower to hide. It took a few minutes of nervous anxiety to finally realize that they were not coming into the cabana. I could hear their voices close by though.
Quiet as a mouse, I crept out of the shower stall and headed toward a side window where the voices seemed to be coming from. I carefully poked my head up to peer out the open window and gasped in shock.
The two women had both removed their bathing suits and the man was stripped down to his boxer-briefs! Oh my God! They were going to have sex right there! It was too late to call out and stop them. I focused on the man, sprawled out on the chaise lounge, not ten feet from me. The nude women were climbing all over him intermittently blocking my view, but I was able to see sculpted muscles, well-defined abs, and a distinctive bulge in his briefs. I had seen his jet-black wavy hair and piercing eyes before. My heart sank as my suspicions were confirmed. It was bad boy Derek, Jackson Vaughn's son.
The Billionaire's Son Page 1