She was not in a mood to be around people, but she felt guilty that she wasn’t paying attention to him at all. She figured it might actually help divert her mind.
They went to an Italian restaurant. Clark knew Aria loved Italian food and thought it could cheer her up a little. Aria was still zoned out as they were about to order. “Is that okay?” she was again jolted out of her thoughts.
“Sorry?” Aria realized both Clark and the waiter were waiting for her response.
“I ordered lasagna for you, is that fine? Do you want anything else?” Clark gently asked.
She shook her head. The waiter repeated the order to Clark and left. There was silence.
“Aria? I…” Clark started.
“I am sorry, Clark. I am trying.” She interjected. He looked dejected. Aria smiled at him, “I am here. I am sorry. Tell me about your day.”
Aria tried to stay in the present moment and tune out all thoughts. She focused on Clark’s face, the movement of his mouth, the twinkle in his eyes as he told her about her day. She felt a sudden burst longing for him, to be in his arms and to feel nothing but his touch.
“What?” Clark asked, suddenly self-conscious.
Aria gave him a mischievous smile, “Nothing. Just thinking.”
“About?” he looked at her suspiciously.
“Us.”
Clark smiled instantly. “Yeah?”
Aria giggled. She felt lighter suddenly. Just then, the waiter came with their food. Aria realized she was famished. “Oh God! This looks so good!” she said, looking at the lasagna oozing with melted cheese.
Clark looked relieved to see her like this. They spent a pleasant dinner, digging in their food, and joking around. Finally, thought Clark. He had been trying so hard to be patient and supportive, but it felt things were just getting worse. Until now, he smiled at Aria, who was busy enjoying her food. He ordered a dessert for them to share.
“I am so full!” Aria protested, but she couldn’t stop herself from digging into the cheesecake slice when the waiter placed it on their table. Just when Clark thought the evening couldn’t get any better, he felt Aria’s foot caressing his leg. He gazed at her with a questioning look, and she giggled again.
“Let’s get out of here,” Clark said, gesturing for the bill.
As they were waiting for their car to arrive, Clark grabbed Aria by the waist, pulling her closer and kissed her. Aria felt like she was flying; she kissed him back passionately. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that made her stop.
“What?” Clark asked.
“There was someone…” Aria started, trying to get a better look. She thought she saw someone standing across the street looking at them. She felt creeped out. Their car arrived, and she quickly got in.
Clark looked at her, confused, “What is it?”
Aria craned her neck to see clearly. There wasn’t anyone there now. “Let’s just go home,” she urged Clark to start the car.
“What happened?” he persisted.
Aria sighed. She didn’t want him to think she is going crazy, but she had to confide in him, “Someone was looking at us from across the street.”
Clark was quiet. He said nothing until they reached a stop signal. “Aria…”
“I know what I saw!”
“Yeah. I am sure someone was watching us, Aria,” he said, “I am pretty sure I saw the doorman looking intently at us too.”
Aria gave him a look.
“Aria,” Clark sighed. “We were standing on the street making out. People are bound to stare at us. Some still frown upon public display of affection.”
Aria knew he could be right, but then again, she had experienced this a few times before too. She thought to herself, gazing at the side mirror at the car behind them. She felt Clark’s hand caressing her thigh, and she started relaxing. She closed her eyes, trying not to think about anything else but Clark’s hand. They were almost near their home when she noticed the same car behind them. She instantly sat up straight.
“You good?” Clark asked.
She didn’t want to bother him again, and just nodded but kept her gaze fixed on the car behind them. Just before they turned into their street, the car rushed past them. She let out a sigh of relief. Aria felt she was being too paranoid. Maybe, she thought to herself; she should tell Detective Sanjay how she felt she was being followed before the murder happened.
Clark parked the car in his driveway and got out to open her door. “I will walk you home. You should rest.” They went across the road to Aria’s house. She opened her front door and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind them. “Make me forget,” She demanded.
“What?” Clark took a step back.
“I feel I am going crazy thinking about that night,” Aria tried to explain. “I want to forget about everything… at least for one night.” She moved closer to Clark and started kissing him before whispering in his ear, “Make me forget.”
Clark obliged without any protest. Aria’s cell phone started ringing after a few minutes. “Ignore it!” Clark whispered breathlessly. The ringing stopped for a second and started again. Aria kept her mind focused on Clark’s hands on her body. The ringing continued until they broke away, frustrated.
“Uggh!” Aria snapped, looking at the screen. It was Tanya. “Thirteen missed calls!” Clark came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, sneaking a peak on the screen. “Can’t she take a hint!” he said, trying not to sound annoyed. Tanya started calling again, and Aria rejected the call in irritation. She was about to toss her phone in a drawer when the cell started vibrating with incoming messages.
She looked, confused at the series of texts that started appearing on the screen.
“Aria!!”
“Pick up the phone!!!”
“Where the hell are you?”
“It’s urgent!”
All from Tanya. Surprisingly, a few more texts appeared from a few colleagues, even one from Wayne! “What on earth!” Aria whispered as she read the messages.
“Did you know about this?”
“Have you heard the news!!?”
“Will things be okay at work?”
Before she could make sense of these texts, Tanya started calling again. She instantly received her call this time, her heart pounding.
“What the hell, Aria!!! Why were you ignoring my calls??” Tanya yelled at the other hand.
Aria ignored her question, “What is happening? Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not! Why do you think I was calling you like crazy?!” Tanya bellowed.
“Stop screaming and tell me,” Aria replied.
“Switch on your TV and watch the news,” her friend plainly instructed.
“But...” started Aria but was cut off by Tanya, “Just do it!”
Aria gestured Clark to turn on the TV, who complied immediately. He could clearly hear Tanya screaming on the phone. He flipped a few channels and stopped at the news channel. Aria’s jaw dropped open. There on the screen was Coons’ picture, with a headline “Head of a leading financial company found to be involved in shady business. Is this why he was murdered?” flashing across the screen.
“What the hell!” she whispered as she stared blankly at the screen.
Chapter 6: Filling in the Gaps
It was chaos at work the next day. Everyone was talking about the latest news instead of working. Groups of people were huddled in different cubicles, around the water cooler, and in the dining area, whispering urgently, sharing their views, and wondering who else was involved in the scandal. Many of them surprised that Coons could do such a thing, some convinced it was a misunderstanding. Others were loudly telling others how they always knew Coons was a shady character. All of them were worried about their jobs.
The news channel claimed that their source unearthed evidence that Coons was stealing money from the clients of the company and transferring it to an overseas account. There was even an indication that he was also fundin
g a local drug gang. The newscaster hinted that the affiliation with the gang might have been what got him killed. Since the news aired last night, multiple news channels had picked it up. The telephone lines were constantly ringing, and there were a few news vans parked on the street.
Aria thanked her lucky stars that no one stopped her for questions as she made her way to the car parking. They guard gave her an exasperated look as her car entered through the gate. She felt sorry for him as he had to deal with the nosy reporters and prevent them from entering the building. The minute she stepped out of the elevator, everyone went silent. The buzzed started again after a few seconds. Everyone was talking amongst themselves and gave her an occasional glance.
She averted her gaze and was about to head to Coons office when she caught a few snippets of the conversations around her.
“Can’t believe Coons was involved with a gang?”
“I heard he stole millions from the company!”
“Do you think she knew about this?”
Aria instantly turned around. “Don’t you guys have any work to do today?” she shouted. Everyone turned to look at her. Groups started dispersing; a few mumbled apologies. Aria stood there until everyone had gotten back to their seats, then she went inside Coons' office and slammed the door shut. She sat down the chair and buried her head in her hands.
There was a knock on the door a few minutes later. It was Tanya. She placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of Aria and said, “What now?”
Aria was grateful that her friend wasn’t here to share some conspiracy stories or to gossip. She was already looking for solutions. That was one of the many reasons Aria admired her. “We have to wait for Whitney. There will probably be an investigation, but until now, I am sure someone from PR will be speaking to the media,” explained Aria.
“The phones haven’t stopped ringing ever since I came in,” Tanya informed her.
Aria let out a frustrated sigh. “This is such a mess! Why would someone make such allegations without investigating first?”
Tanya sighed, “Apparently, one of their reporters had found some evidence. It could be some new reporters. They are always the ones trying to dig up something controversial to make it big.” Tanya hugged Aria, “Don’t worry. I am sure things will get sorted out soon. This will all blow over before you know it.”
“I hope so,” Aria replied.
“But…” Tanya started. Aria instantly looked up at her friend, “What?”
Tanya sighed. “You will have to conduct a meeting soon. Everyone is getting anxious,” Tanya nodded her head towards the door.
“Yeah, I know, I know. But I don’t know what is happening. I have no answers,” she looked helplessly at Tanya.
“Just reassure them things will be fine and that it is all a misunderstanding,” Tanya shrugged.
Aria nodded. “Let’s have a quick meeting in the conference room in an hour.
Tanya nodded and stood up, “I will send an email to everyone.”
After an hour, Aria walked into the conference room. She still had no idea what to say, but she knew she had to sound assuring and increase the morale of the workplace. She feared the clients are going to start panicking and may want to leave the company. If the employees weren’t confident enough about their own company, there was no way they would be able to convince the clients.
She was silent for a few minutes as she composed herself. Aria could sense everyone’s eyes on her. She reminded herself that she was leading this department now and what she said would make an impact. She was furious that her mentor and former boss was being accused of such absurd things - especially after being brutally murdered. She looked around at the familiar faces and resolved to do whatever she could to make things better for them and to clear Coons' name.
“I know this is a very confusing time for all of you. I know you are scared. But you don’t have to be. Most of you have been in this company for years and have interacted with Coons enough to know this is just some allegations someone is throwing at him… at us. It could be any of our rival companies,” Aria paused and looked at everyone.
“We have been among the top companies in this industry, and after securing Cooper’s account, there is no doubt that we are the leading company. Anyone of our competitors could have started this rumor just to get a chance to steal our clients,” she continued as many people nodded. “We have to stand our ground. It is time to stand by your company and a boss who always had your back.”
Someone shouted, “Yeah!”
Aria smiled before she continued, “Avoid speaking to anyone. I am sure the board members and the PR department will get in touch with us to tell us how to proceed. There will be a thorough investigation to find out who was behind this rumor. Until then, however, some of the clients might start panicking. It is our job to reassure them that things are fine. To show them that our clients are our top priority and no one is stealing from them.”
Aria looked at Tanya, who was standing at the very back of the conference room. She gave her a smile and a thumbs up. Aria felt relieved. “Let’s get back to work. We will not let them get to us. We will not let them bring us down like this. I promise you all that we will come out of this stronger than before.”
Everyone started applauding. Aria noticed Wayne glaring at her. She waited for everyone to leave the room until it was only Wayne and Tanya left.
“What is your problem?” Aria glared at Wayne.
“You really are naïve, Aria,” said Wayne.
“Seriously?” Tanya interrupted. “She is trying to protect this company and Coons, while you are still sulking around because you didn’t get the account…”
Wayne ignored Tanya and came closer to Aria, “Open your eyes. You are delusional to think that everyone is clean.”
Aria was taken aback, “What do you mean? Coons would never…”
Wayne interrupted her, “You really think a major news channel would break such news without a shred of evidence? He must be involved in something, why else would they go after a dead guy?”
Aria was silent. Her thoughts conflicted. He has no idea what he is talking about, she thought, watching Wayne leave the room in a huff. There is no way Coons was involved in anything; she kept repeating in her head. She looked at Tanya, who was deep in thought.
“Are you going to the dark side too?” Aria gave her friend a weak smile.
Tanya smiled back and shook her head, “No. But there must be some reason why someone is throwing Coons under the bus. Maybe someone is trying to save themselves.”
They collected their things from the table and headed to their office. Aria was thinking the same thing. She had known Coons for more than five years now. Surely she would have sensed something. The terrified eyes of Coons flashed before her eyes. She stopped in her tracks. Was it possible that Coons find out something and he was killed before he could tell her anything. Aria looked around the office. Everyone was hard at work again. Her speech had worked after all. Her thoughts wandered back to Coons. He might have known someone was after him. She wished he had come to her sooner and told her what was happening. They could have figured out a way, and Coons would have been alive.
Aria thought she should go through Coons' things in the office to find a clue. There must be something in there. She hurried back to Coons' office and closed the door behind her. She looked around the room and wondered where to start. Her eyes fell on the desk. Of course, that’s the best place to start, she said herself. She made her way towards the desk but stopped when there was a loud knocking on the door. She turned around just in time to see Sergeant Walker opening the door.
Aria looked confused as he entered without waiting for her response. He was followed by Detective Sanjay and a few other police officers.
“What is happening?” she inquired.
“You need to step out of the office,” said Sergeant Walker.
Aria instantly asked, “Why? What are you doing here?”
Detective S
anjay cleared his throat, “Aria. We have a warrant to search this office. It would be better if you leave the room.”
“What do you mean!” Aria was confused.
They started opening cabinets, taking out files, and going through them. Aria stood there with her jaw open, unsure what to do. Detective Sanjay placed his hand on her shoulder and gently steered her towards the door. Aria got more frustrated when she stepped outside and found officers all over the room, going through every cubicle. Her team was looking around, confused, and angry.
She knew they needed a leader right then, “Listen up everyone. This is just a part of their investigation. Let them go through the files and be cooperative. Call up your clients to assure them things are fine. If there are any deadlines, deal with them urgently. After that, you may leave for the day. We can start fresh tomorrow.”
Aria tried her best to help the detective. She believed this was the quickest way to get the entire thing sorted out. She sat in an empty cubicle with Tanya silently watching the police digging up papers and files all around them. She noticed a few of them bagging some papers from Coons' office. “What do you think they have found?” She asked Tanya.
She shrugged, “I am sure it is nothing. They are just doing their job Aria,” she paused before she continued, “I am surprised that Whitney isn’t here. None of the board members are here. This is something huge and they have done nothing so far.”
“We don’t know that Tanya,” Aria replied quickly, “They might not even know that the police have a search warrant for our office. I am sure they are dealing with the situation from their end. We will hear from them soon.”
Since people couldn’t work with so many distractions, they started leaving. The office emptied out slowly. Tanya left after a few hours, but Aria stayed. Detective Sanjay came and sat next to her.
“Did you find anything?” she asked.
“Maybe. But we can’t be sure until we take everything back to the precinct and assess everything one by one,” answered the detective.
Aria nodded. “You still haven’t found the knife?”
Detective Sanjay sighed and turned his face to Aria. He was silent for a few seconds as if deciding what to say, “No. Not yet.”
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