Chapter 12 - Sophia #2
Smiling back at him, I couldn’t help the enthusiasm coming through in my tone as I explained. “Actually, I am enjoying it. It turned out to be more challenging than I thought. I’ve also come up with quite a few solutions. Legal ones to most of the issues you appear to be having.”
“Well then, maybe we should have lunch and talk about these solutions?” Kolya suggested.
“Yes, thank you. That would be nice,” I replied. Being busy kept my mind off the things he may be involved in. It also gave me a better sense of who he was. It was calming, in fact.
Kolya pointed at the stack of files to my side. “These are the files you’ve finished with?” he enquired.
“Yes, these are the ones,” I replied, moving the files closer to him.
“Well, bring your notebook. Let’s see what you’ve got,” he added as he took the files and walked out. Following close behind him, we headed to his office. As we entered, I saw our lunch was waiting. He had already ordered.
He sat down on his side, waving for me to sit down opposite him. “I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of ordering our lunch,” he said, grinning at me.
I smiled, rolled my eyes, and replied smoothly. “No, it’s fine, thank you.” I had never been fond of Chinese, but I would give it another try.
The smell of soy and garlic hits me the second I pull open my container. Crispy orange chicken glistened under the lights. Kolya smiled across the table. “Trust me,” he said. “The flavors grow on you.”
Raising an eyebrow, I replied hesitantly. “I doubt it.”
His smile grew, the corner of his mouth tilting just enough to make my chest tighten. “That’s why you need to try it first,” he huffed.
I picked up a piece cautiously. The sticky sauce clung to the chopsticks. Tentatively, I open my mouth and take a bite. The flavor hits me differently than I expected. Sweet, tangy, with a subtle heat exploded in my mouth. My brows lifted. “Huh,” I mumbled in pure surprise. “Not terrible.”
Kolya leaned forward, his eyes locked with mine. “Not terrible?” he asked teasingly. “That’s the best compliment I’ve ever heard from you.”
Laughing softly, I covered my mouth as I tried to swallow before the food popped out of my mouth. Shaking my head at him, I could feel some of the tension leaving me. I was surprised that I was enjoying having lunch with him.
I tried another bite, this time savoring the texture and balance. I found the food actually enjoyable. By the third bite, I was hooked. A small grin played on my lips. I wasn’t about to admit that to him.
“So,” K0lya asked. He leaned back a tad, placed his elbows on the edge of the table, and played with his chin. “Let’s talk business. The issues you found with the company’s recent transfers. Give me your opinion.”
Pushing my hair behind my ear, I played with the chopsticks in my hand.
My mind sharpened as it always did when I thought about legal issues.
“Well,” I replied carefully. “Those offshore accounts. If the regulators started digging, they would likely find a pattern. It’s a risky move.
You need a way to justify the transfers internally. Something a tad more legitimate.”
Kolya’s eyes narrowed. I knew he was impressed as he spoke. “And what do you suggest?”
Biting the corner of my lip, I watched him lean in.
He waited patiently for me to reply. Sparks of energy passed between us as I gave my opinion.
“You could use real businesses and operations, like say, the legal office and restaurant. Created an offshore account for each. Then transfer small amounts there, make some purchases from that account to show its need.”
Raising my hand as I took another bite, I told him to just wait a second.
Once I swallowed the bite, I continued. “The amounts must be small enough not to raise suspicion, but large enough for a plausible income. Rotate between them. Keep the paper trail. But most important will be to keep the staff in line. They must know their limits.”
Kolya sighed, making a soft humming noise. He lifted his hand and turned one finger in a circle. “Hmm… you really do have a brilliant mind. I see why Melody relies on you so much,” he added.
I felt the heat spread across my face, landing on my cheeks. “Thank you,” I replied. Suddenly, I felt shy but also thrilled that he thought so highly of me. Lowering my gaze, I pick at my food, pretending not to care, trying to keep my look casual. My mind swirled with ideas.
Kolya smirked as he pushed his hands through his hair.
He was surely an attractive man. I felt my stomach turning as I looked at him.
Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest. “And what about the fake client accounts? Don’t they do just that?
It’s messy, but it works. Any thoughts on that? ”
Staring, I felt a surge of energy run through me as I accepted his challenge.
I tapped lightly against the rim of the plate with my chopsticks as I considered it.
“Multiple accounts, contracts that only exist on paper. You stagger payments and disguise the purpose. It’s risky, but yes, it keeps the auditors chasing shadows for now,” I replied smoothly.
He laughed, shaking his head from side to side. “You’re terrible, Sophia. But I like that.”
Grinning, I wasn’t sure what he meant. “Terrible in what way?” I questioned.
“Intelligent, sharp, and unpredictable, you are,” he murmured.
The warmth radiating from him made it impossible not to notice all of him.
My pulse quickened as I scanned his upper body.
Swallowing hard, I tried to refocus my energy.
“You’re not so bad either,” I admitted. That’s when I realized I had grown accustomed to him. Maybe I even fancied him somewhat.
After lunch, I headed back to the filing room. There were a handful of files left from the ones he gave me. We had an interesting conversation about the ones I had finished. Kolya appeared pleased with the solutions I offered. It was strange, but I felt good about helping, even happy.
Opening the door, I stepped inside the filing room and switched on the light. Before I could even sit down, my phone beeped. It was a text from Melody. “Update, now! Send me the dirt!”
Taking my seat, I glanced at the cabinets and drawers.
There were so many. Where would I even start?
Then I wondered if it was a good idea. I had gone through most of the files he handed me, and there was nothing shady in them.
Some differences, which brought up questions, but nothing that one could use against him.
Breathing out heavily, I sent a quick reply, “Hi, Melody. Nothing solid yet. Still looking. I’ve been a bit busy, will get to it.” After sending the text, I wondered if I should dig into the other files. What would I find? Before I could make up my mind, I received a message back.
A grin formed on my lips as I imagined her standing before me. I could already hear her screaming in her own soft voice, stomping her foot on the ground. “You need to move quicker! We need concrete proof of his dealings. Please, don’t delay any longer. What else can you be busy with?”
I replied by sending her a thumbs-up emoji.
Getting up, I moved to the filing cabinet.
Gently, I tugged at the drawers, feeling if any of them were accessible.
There were quite a lot of them locked. But there were open ones as well.
Scanning the content of the files, I noticed some appeared incorrectly labeled.
Moving to the door, I peeked outside and scanned the hallway.
It was quiet. There was no one in sight.
Moving back in, I softly closed the door.
After extracting the files from the drawers, I sat down at the table.
I couldn’t believe my luck as I read through them. I found it. All the illegal dealings.
But that wasn’t all I found. There were many errors. I felt sure they had to be errors. Opening some more, I found similar errors. The more I read, the more I learned.
It made me doubt whether he actually was a criminal. Maybe he wasn’t. I didn’t want to place an innocent man in jail. I had discovered that a lot, like more than half, of his under-the-table dealings' profits go to assisting orphans, women’s shelters, and more. I found this odd but interesting.
I decided not to give Melody anything yet.
This new information I found made me wonder.
I wanted to do some more digging. I had to see what was happening, assure her innocence before moving ahead.
I had developed doubts, but wasn’t going to tell Kolya that.
I had to know what was happening around me first.
As the workday came to an end, Melody sent me another text. I ignored this one. I just wanted a peaceful, calm evening. Which was what I got. There was no work talk, just dinner, a bath, and then bed.