by Marie Astor
I wonder what else she manages, Janet wondered, remembering how unceremoniously Alex had discharged Ham’s former assistant, Ann. But then Ann was neither tall nor blond nor young, which were skills that Alex obviously considered to be vital in an assistant.
“That’s all for today,” Alex concluded. “Thank you all for coming.”
As they filed out of the conference room, Janet caught Alex’s sideways glance. She shuddered to think of the changes that Alex’s reign would bring.
Chapter 4
Alex Kingsley leaned against the back of his luxurious leather chair and surveyed his new office digs. Not bad for a day’s work, he thought. Alex had had the men working overtime, delivering furniture and hanging paintings. The place had been a dump and needed a complete overhaul. Just how had his predecessor managed to stand his crummy office surroundings was beyond Alex, but then his predecessor did not have the favor of the state attorney general.
Poor Hamilton Kirk. Alex smirked: he did not feel the least bit compassionate toward the former head of the Investigations department who had been so unceremoniously discharged. It was survival of the fittest, and those who did not possess keen political judgment were forced out. Ham Kirk had been a loyal and diligent servant of the Treasury, but just like Janet’s principles had not gotten her anywhere at the DA’s office, Kirk’s diligence did not get him any accolades at the Treasury. On the contrary, it had gotten him sent out on early retirement. On the other hand, the chief of Treasury’s Enforcement, Hank Dooley, was a much more reasonable man. Dooley had gotten the drift regarding the Emperial case right way and diligently postponed the hearings in response to Finnegan’s directive. Now, it was rumored that Dooley could very well be destined for Senate or Congress.
Alex rubbed his hands in self-satisfaction. Finally, he was getting where he wanted to be in life. Finnegan trusted him, and Alex was certain that once he got the Treasury Investigations department under control, Finnegan would propel Alex to roles of much greater importance. Finnegan’s name reminded Alex why he had been assigned to his new job in the first place. Today he would have his first meeting with that reprobate Dennis Walker. Alex had requested the background file on Dennis Walker and was surprised to learn that Walker was a former crook himself. A partner of a rogue hedge fund, Walker had been barred from the financial industry but had been spared further prosecution by the Feds for his cooperation. After that, Walker had been recruited by the Feds and had worked for them for several years until he was hired as a senior investigator by Ham Kirk.
Alex contemplated Walker’s track record. Most people were motivated by either greed or ambition, some by both, and some, especially pathetic examples of human character like Hamilton Kirk, were motivated by a thirst for justice and truth. And then there were men like Dennis Walker who were most peculiar. One would think that after what Dennis Walker had been through, he would be the least likely person to be working as a white collar crime investigator. What drove him? Some twisted version of Stockholm syndrome? Perhaps it was desire for redemption? Whatever it was, Alex would find out.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” Alex recalled; it was his favorite quote from The Art of War, a book he perused frequently. While he fought his battles from behind his desk, they were just as vicious as those fought on the battlefield. Enough of this, Alex thought. There would be plenty of time to roll up his sleeves. Right now he was in a mood for some relaxation.
Alex pushed the intercom button. “Georgiana, would you come in here, please?”
“Right away, Mr. Kingsley.”
A few moments later, Georgiana was standing in the doorway of his office. “Here’s your morning coffee, Mr. Kingsley.” Georgiana placed the coffee mug on his desk. Alex took a sip. The coffee was awful, but then he had not hired Georgiana for her coffee making or her secretarial skills.
Alex eyed Georgiana’s ample breasts prominently displayed by the unbuttoned collar of her white blouse. “Close the door, will ya?”
Georgiana smiled slyly, swaying her hips left and right as she sashayed to the door and flipped the door lock switch. “Would you like me to take dictation, Mr. Kingsley?” she asked, tracing her finger along her full, parted lips.
“Come here, you.”
Georgiana perched on Alex’s knee. “I know shorthand.”
Alex laughed at her cluelessness. “Nobody takes shorthand at the office these days, Georgiana. You’ve read too many detective novels.”
“I think you’ll like the kind of shorthand I have in mind.” Georgiana placed her hand on Alex’s crotch.
Alex kissed Georgiana’s neck: this was exactly why he had hired her.
He had known Georgiana for over two years. At first she used to be his diversion from his relationship with Janet; after all, a man could not very well be expected to be confined to the affections of just one woman. A high-class escort girl, Georgiana had provided Alex with the excitement he yearned for. Georgiana told him that before she became an escort she had trained in gymnastics. When she turned fourteen, her breasts grew too large to fit into a leotard and were the reason why she had to leave the sport, but as far as Alex was concerned, Georgiana’s breasts were magnificent.
Alex’s promotion at the DA’s office had given him additional income that he had been happily spending on Georgiana’s affections. Soon, his rendezvous with her became an addiction. It pained him to think of other men claiming Georgiana in his absence. He wanted to possess her completely, but he knew that his demands were impossible to realize. For one, Georgiana was a free agent, and for another, his salary made it impossible for him to be Georgiana’s only client without filing for bankruptcy. If only he were higher up the food chain! Alex saw Finnegan and other top executives at the office charge their meals at expensive restaurants and bill exorbitant trips as work-related expenses. Finally, luck smiled his way.
When the job at the Treasury was offered to him, Alex saw his golden ticket. He carefully questioned Finnegan whether he would be able to select his own assistant, reasoning that Kirk’s assistant would be unreliable because of her loyalty to her old boss. But Finnegan was no fool. He glanced at Alex shrewdly and laughed heartily, saying that yes, Alex could pick an assistant of his choice and that he could be quite liberal with the salary. There might even be room for a discretionary bonus. When Alex popped the question to Georgiana, she accepted his offer with delight, and now Alex had her all to himself.
His eyelids heavy with pleasure, Alex glanced at his watch. His next meeting was in twenty minutes. Georgiana would surely be done by then. After all, having sex in the office was one of the perks of a high-ranking government job. Even the president had done it. Alex slid lower in his chair and closed his eyes.
The ecstasy of Alex’s climax was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door of his office. “Who is it?” Alex strained to keep his voice controlled.
“Dennis Walker. We have a ten o’clock.”
“Just a minute.” Alex motioned for Georgiana to get up as he hurriedly zipped his fly. That damn Dennis Walker was turning out to be an even greater nuisance than Alex had anticipated.
After he had made sure that he looked presentable, Alex whispered to Georgiana to open the door.
“Thank you, Georgiana. That will be all,” said Alex as Georgiana ushered Dennis into the office.
Dennis’s eyes shifted from Alex to Georgiana in an impertinent manner that Alex did not like at all. “Am I interrupting? I could come back.”
“That’s quite all right, Dennis. I was on a confidential conference call with the DA’s office, but it’s finished now. You can come in. We have a meeting at ten o’clock, don’t we?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Dennis confirmed with his eyes still fixed on Georgiana.
Alex found Dennis Walker’s demeanor vexing. Of course Georgiana was not helping matters either, standing there like a transfixed idiot. Could it be that she fancied Walker? The mere thought mad
e Alex’s blood boil. “Thank you, Georgiana, that’s all for now,” Alex repeated.
“Yes, Mr. Kingsley.” Georgiana finally got the hint and left the office.
“Now, let’s get right to it, shall we?” Alex cracked his knuckles and motioned for Dennis to take a seat.
“Which case would you like me to start with?” Dennis asked. He had several thick binders under his arm, which he placed onto an empty chair next to him.
“Let’s see here.” On his desk Alex had a list of cases that had been assigned to Walker. The only case he really cared about was the Bostoff Securities / Emperial case. “Why don’t we start with the Bostoff Securities / Emperial case?”
Dennis selected one of the heftier binders. “As the name of the case suggests, the investigation involved two entities, Bostoff Securities and Emperial hedge fund. Emperial hedge fund was one of Bostoff Securities’ top clients. The Treasury Investigations department had been investigating Emperial hedge fund for several months when an opportunity for an undercover operation presented itself at Bostoff Securities, and I was selected to assume employment at Bostoff Securities as an undercover investigator.”
“Had the court order for the undercover operation been obtained?” Alex asked sharply.
“Yes, all the supporting documentation is in the file.” Dennis placed the binder on Alex’s desk.
Alex pushed the file back in Dennis’s direction. “Then perhaps you will be able to explain to me who at the Treasury sanctioned your drugging of Tom Wyman, Bostoff Securities’ retained legal counsel, as well as abducting Wyman’s laptop and stealing privileged and confidential documents from said laptop?”
“I am not certain which incident you are referring to,” Dennis replied. “It is true that I was able to obtain documents from Mr. Wyman’s laptop, but I was able to obtain said documents through the technology tools that I had as part of IT at Bostoff Securities. Gaining access to Wyman’s files was part of the assignment.”
Alex clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. That maggot Walker had some nerve! Not only had Walker been impertinent enough to interrupt Alex’s pleasure that was being so expertly delivered to him by Georgiana, the bugger had the audacity to sit there and lie straight to Alex’s face.
Alex placed his fists on the table and leaned forward. “Now, I think you know exactly what I’m referring to, Mr. Walker. I am going to cut right to chase here. I do not know what kind of operation the former department head was running here, but I will tell you this: there will be zero tolerance of protocol violations under my watch.”
“With all due respect, sir—” Dennis began, but Alex cut him off.
“Precisely my point: I am your new boss and you will respect me. There will be none of that vigilante nonsense that you used to pull under the previous management. We are here to enforce the law, which means that we too are bound by law.” Alex paused, studying the expression on Dennis’s face. He had hoped to spot a glint of fear but came up empty. The man seemed to have nerves of steel. “Considering your past record, I can understand how you could think it justifiable to use unsanctioned means during an investigation. I will even give you the benefit of believing that you were acting out of your best intentions, but that does not absolve your wrongdoings. Because of the illicit manner in which the evidence was obtained, all allegations against Emperial have been dismissed.”
Finally, Alex got a reaction out of Dennis. “But, sir, this is ridiculous. There is concrete evidence against Emperial. If you let Muller off the hook for what he did at Emperial, he will simply reopen another company to continue his fraud.”
“Concrete evidence?” Alex raised his eyebrows. “I have already familiarized myself with the case, and the legitimately obtained evidence indicates that all of the infractions were the fault of Bostoff Securities.” Here Alex had to struggle to keep a neutral face: compared to Emperial, Bostoff Securities was an exemplary firm, but unlike David Muller the owner of Bostoff Securities did not have the protection of Cornelius Finnegan.
“But sir, there are numerous records—”
“Listen to me, Dennis. Bostoff Securities was fined for its corrupt operations. The case is now closed. There is no legitimate evidence to support the allegations against Emperial or Muller, and I do not want you wasting the resources of this department on this matter any further. Is that clear?”
Dennis nodded. “Crystal.”
Alex thought he detected freshness in Walker’s voice, but decided to let it go for now. “Good. For our next meeting, I would like you to think about how you could better reallocate your time to be more involved in data analytics. More attention should be paid to the leads that we receive through our surveillances. I am very impressed with Peter Laskin’s work. I’d like you to work more closely with him. There are many things you could learn from Laskin, like how to gather evidence the legal way. That will be all for now. Thank you.”
Watching Dennis Walker leave his office, Alex could barely resist bursting into laughter. He had met with Laskin yesterday. Their meeting had been brief, but it had been long enough for Alex to understand that Laskin spent countless hours behind the computer screen, sifting through data, while Walker reaped all the accolades. Divide and conquer had been Alex’s motto since he had been old enough to walk, and from kindergarten to college to law school to the DA’s office, this strategy had never steered him wrong.
Chapter 5
Janet stared at her computer screen, doing her best to appear busy. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of Alex. Even though she had not seen Alex all day, she felt as though she could sense his noxious presence seeping through the walls of her office. The man she had hoped never to see again, was now in the same building, watching her, waiting for his chance to ruin everything she had worked for, just like he had done before.
Janet’s thoughts were interrupted by Dennis Walker bursting through the door of her office. “We need to talk.”
Dennis shut the door behind him and plunked himself into a chair opposite Janet’s desk. “I need you to tell me everything that happened during your meeting with Kingsley.”
“Hello to you too.” Janet crossed her arms on her chest. She had not seen Dennis all day.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so abrupt,” Dennis replied with mock politeness. “It’s only that our new boss ripped me a new one this morning, and I would like to know why. Since you have a history with the man, I’d sure appreciate some insight.”
Janet blushed. Her history with Alex had been extensive to say the least, but she certainly did not care to share it with Dennis.
“I tell you what,” Dennis said, slapping his knee, “how about a drink after work? My treat. I think we could both use a night on the town.”
Janet hesitated. A night out with Dennis Walker could lead to all sorts of risky outcomes.
“Come on, I know you want to say yes.”
That was the trouble: she did want to say yes, just like she did every time Dennis asked her for a drink.
“All right,” Janet replied brusquely. “It’ll be nice to get out. Five thirty at the Bull and Bear?” She named the neighborhood bar where they usually went for a drink after work.
“Save the time, but change the venue,” Dennis replied, eyeing her meaningfully. “How about The Vine instead? It’s on Houston and Mercer in the Village.”
“Meet you in the lobby at five?”
Dennis merely stared back at her, and Janet understood her mistake immediately. With Dennis Walker things were never simple. Apparently, he considered their meeting to be worthy of undercover protocol. “I’ll meet you there,” Janet corrected herself.
“I’ll be waiting at the bar.”
Great, Janet thought after Dennis had left her office, another meaningless pseudo-date with Dennis Walker. The man was a womanizer and a flirt, but somehow Janet’s knowledge of Dennis’s flaws did not make it any easier to resist him.
***
At five twenty p.m., Dennis Walker w
as seated behind the bar stand of The Vine. As he waited for Janet, Dennis eyed the crowd, looking for pretty women. This was a habit of his, and even though at the moment his heart really was not into flirting, he thought the distraction would do him good.
His attention was drawn to an attractive brunette surrounded by four suits pawing for her attention like eager puppies. Junior associates, Dennis thought, probably marketing or consulting of some sort, but she’s way out of their league—she’s the kind of girl who goes for the top brass.
The brunette seemed oblivious to her companions’ inept attempts at conversation:
“You nailed that account today, Roxanne.”
“Hugh is going to be thrilled.”
“I bet you’re going to get an office soon.”
Dennis’s assessment had been correct. He spotted two middle-aged men making a beeline for the brunette siren. One was rail-thin with sour complexion, and the other had ruddy cheeks and a chubby stomach hanging over the belt of his pants. From the pompous and proprietary way the two carried themselves, it was clear that they belonged to that highly coveted club called Senior Executives.
At the sight of the older men, the puppies obediently dispersed their circle, disappearing into the background. The two old goats practically dribbled when the young beauty didn’t reject their oily gazes.
The thin one droned on, “Yes, surely, teamwork is important, and today you have proved just how important it is, Roxanne.”
“A job well done,” the fat one chimed in.