Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Anna
I walked out of Wes’ office and glanced at Tori’s desk, where she gave me the evil eye. I rolled my eyes and sat down at my desk. A few moments later, I saw Becca walking down the hall.
“Becca!”
“Anna. It’s so good to see you again.”
We gave each other a hug.
“It’s good to see you too.”
Becca looked at my desk and then at me.
“So what’s your position here?”
“Don’t laugh. I’m the CEO’s personal assistant.”
She laughed anyway and placed her hand on my arm.
“Stop it, Anna. You are not.”
“Actually, I am. It’s just a temporary thing.”
“Hello,” Wes said as he walked out of his office and extended his hand to Becca. “You must be Becca. I’m Wes Carter, Anna’s boss.”
She placed her hand in his and looked him over from head to toe.
“Well, hello, Mr. Carter. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She grinned.
“I think the two of you will be more comfortable in the conference room. Follow me.”
“Oh my God,” she mouthed as she gripped my arm. “Tell me you’ve slept with him?”
A smile crossed my lips as I nodded my head. We entered the conference room, and the three of us took a seat.
“I told Wes he could join us. He knows about Matthew and my father.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“So what’s going on?” I asked.
“Do you remember signing off on some invoices from MJB Supplies?”
“Yeah. They’re a new vendor that Matthew found about a year ago. I signed the first few, and then he asked if I could just give him the authority to sign off on them because I was so busy doing other things. Why?”
“He’s been signing off on other invoices lately. New vendors, distributors, and a PR Firm.”
“Did you or Frank confront him?”
“I did, and he told me that the company is changing with the times and upping its strategy. He said he and your father had a meeting about it, and your father was on board. He also said that he and your father talked about reorganizing the company, and certain positions would be cut out. And if I were to question his authority again, he would make sure my position was eliminated.”
“Did you tell my father that he pretty much threatened you?”
“No. You, of all people, know how much that asshole means to your father. Frank and I wanted to come to you first, especially since we overheard that he wanted to buy back your shares and give them to Matthew. Anna, something shady is going on.”
“It sounds to me like Matthew might be embezzling money from the company,” Wes said.
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” I glanced over at Wes. “But it’s really not my problem, Becca. My father fired me.”
“I know, and trust me, everyone is highly upset over that. But you are still a part of that company; if anyone can do something, it’s you. You know we can’t go to your father with this. Not without proof. We’ll all lose our jobs.”
“Okay. I’ll need to see the invoices that he’s signing off on.”
“Frank said you’d want them.”
She reached into her bag, pulled out a file folder, and slid it to me.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Anna. I need to head back to the airport. I have a flight I have to catch to Maine.”
“I’ll have my driver drive you,” Wes spoke.
“Why thank you, Mr. Carter. Oh, Anna, by the way, have you seen YouTube?”
“No. Why?” I narrowed my eyes.
“I’ll send you the link.” She gave me a hug.
Wes and I stepped into his office after walking her down the hallway and saying goodbye.
“I think you’re going to need someone’s help with those invoices,” Wes spoke.
“I know just the person who can help me.” I smiled.
“Who?”
“Criminal Lars.”
“The one who made your phony resume?”
“Yep.”
I pulled out my phone and sent Franco a text message.
“Can you please send me Lars’ phone number? I need his help.”
“Of course? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Just as I was sending Lars a text message, an email came from Becca. When I opened it, I placed my hand on my forehead.
“What’s wrong?” Wes asked.
I handed him my phone and watched the reaction on his face as he watched the video of my wedding and me running up the aisle with a wide grin across my face.
“Look at that.” He chuckled. “This video got over two million views. You’re a YouTube sensation.”
“Shut up!” I grabbed the phone from his hand, and he let out another chuckle.
“If it makes you feel better, you look beautiful.” He smiled.
Later that evening, Wes and I went to my apartment and waited for Lars while I explained what Becca had told me to Franco.
“I knew that guy was a snake,” Franco spoke.
There was a knock at the door, and when I opened it, Lars hugged me tightly.
“Hello, baby doll. Somehow, I knew you’d be needing me again.” He grinned.
“Lars, this is Wes Carter. Wes, this is Lars.”
“Nice to meet you, Lars,” Wes spoke as he extended his hand.
“Trust me. The pleasure is all mine, Wes.” He winked before placing his hand in his.
“He’s my boss. You know, the one for whom you made me the fake resume?”
“Oh shit. She is wonderful, though, right?” He grinned.
“She certainly is,” Wes replied.
“So what do we got?”
“I need you to check out these invoices, find out if these companies are real or shell companies, and then trace these account numbers.”
“Is someone being bad and frauding a company?”
“We suspect my ex-fiancé is,” I replied.
“Oh. The one you left at the altar. By the way, what a beautiful escape. I saw the video. You should be so proud.” He grinned from ear to ear as he placed his hand on my arm.
“How long is this going to take?” I asked with irritation.
“Perfection takes time, darling,” he spoke as he set up his high-tech laptop on the table.
“I thought quick was your specialty?”
“It is, and if you were to give this to anyone else, you’d wait hours, maybe even days. I’ll need about an hour. So go about your business, and let me do my work.”
“You don’t, by any chance, have any cheesecake left, do you?” Wes asked with a smile.
“I do. Would you like a piece?”
“I would love a piece.”
I went into the kitchen and took the cheesecake from the refrigerator. After cutting a slice, I brought it to the couch where Wes sat.
“Thank you.” He kissed my lips.
“Hey, Anna. It looks like your ex is a thief.”
“You found something?” I asked as I got up from the couch and walked over to where Lars sat.
“All these invoices are fake, and these businesses are all set up as shell companies. Basically, they don’t exist. If they don’t exist, they can’t provide services. I’ve traced the account numbers to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, all registered to Matthew James Bondi. Oh, look, MJB Supplies. Coincidence? I don’t think so.” His brow arched.
“How much does he have in the accounts?” I asked.
“Well, darling, that’s going to take a little bit of time for me to hack into them.”
“Then get hacking!”
About thirty minutes later, Lars called me over. Wes and I got up from the couch and walked over to the table.
“Can I just say that I’m so happy you ditched that little thief,” Lars said. “Between the four accounts, he’s stolen over ten million dollars of your daddy’s money. Look, all of the money transfers came from Young Vine Enterprises.”
“Damn him. Is there a way to transfer all that money from his accounts and back into the company?”
“Darling, if I did that, then he’ll know we hacked into his account, which is illegal.”