Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
EMIL
“We need to speak with you. Now.” John’s announcement came as he barged into my office, followed by his mother, I assumed representing HR, and two people from finance.
John was less polished than I’d ever seen.
Usually, he had slicked-back hair and polished shoes.
Today, his suit was rumpled and his shoes were dull.
“Come on in,” I said dryly. John’s mouth was twisted into its usual nasty smirk. His mother looked self-satisfied, but the two finance people looked concerned. I decided to start with them. “Is there a problem?”
When John began to speak, I held up a hand and nodded for the finance people to go ahead.
“There are serious discrepancies in the files, and it appears to be linked to a single login. Money has been moved around in what appears to be a pattern designed to evade notice. Funds have also been withdrawn or transferred to an unusual account.”
“Do you know who owns that account?”
The man from finance glanced at the other representative. She cleared her throat before she answered, “We think so. It’s someone who works in accounting.” She glanced at the open door but didn’t speak or give a name. While John and his mother sneered, the finance people looked ill.
I pushed myself away from the desk with the intent to close my office door, but I hadn’t even stood up before John shouted, “Anders. Sweet little Anders has been robbing this company blind. It’s absolute bullshit after everything my family has done for him.
He’s been fucking stealing from us, from this company, running our asses into the ground, and the whole time pretending I’m so mean to him.
I ought to call the fucking cops on his ass. ”
What. The. Fuck?
“Shut that goddamn door,” I said to John’s mother. “You’re in HR. Can you not manage some discretion?” She had the decency to flush red, but didn’t move fast enough to suit me. “Move.” That was enough to send her scurrying across the carpet.
John had said it loudly enough that I had no doubt half the office heard the accusation. I turned my gaze back to him. “Don’t say one more fucking word.”
Then I turned to the finance team. “How are you so sure it traces back to Anders?”
“First, let me say I’m shocked that Anders’s name came up. To the best of my knowledge, he’s been an outstanding employee who goes above and beyond for this company.”
“Noted.”
“We started noticing discrepancies. The logins were at odd times. Not during business hours. They were coming late at night or on weekends. When we traced the account, no receivables were coming in from the address provided or the phone number.”
“We were able to trace the address but not the phone number attached to the payments,” the man added.
“So where’s the address?”
“It’s a post office box. The registered user is S. Redna.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? No one is that dumb.”
“I wish I were kidding, Mr. Magnuson. Please understand that I checked these numbers incredibly closely before bringing this to anyone’s attention. I didn’t want to believe it either.” She paused, then added, “The losses are significant, and most of them are related to one specific area.”
“Which one?”
“It’s for community giving. A few years ago, we created a dedicated stream of community giving.
Anders championed the idea. He was the point person for it and spearheaded a project.
Most, well, some projects have been funded, but what’s being paid out is significantly more than the grants being paid into the community.
They are being split. The community organization gets something, but then double or triple the amount goes to this other account. ”
“When did this start?”
“It wasn’t discovered until recently.”
“Why now?” I asked.
“We accepted Anders’s numbers because we had no reason to think anything was off. The books were clean. The…uh, merger brought it to our attention.”
I silently scoffed at her choice of words. However, this was the type of paperwork shenanigans my accountants had already flagged. No one in this room needed to know we’d already discovered the discrepancies in the accounting process.
“This is fucking bullshit. That asshole has been robbing my family, and don’t think I didn’t notice how the minute you walked into this office, our relationship was suddenly in trouble, but he’s all over your ass—”
“If you do not shut your goddamn mouth, you won’t have a job here, and I don’t give a blessed goddamn if it’s your family’s company,” I bit out. “This isn’t going any further until we speak to Anders directly.”
I turned to my computer and sent a quick message to Anders. I got an immediate reply saying he was on his way, less than thirty seconds out.
There was a hesitant knock on my door. I invited Anders in, and the room’s tension increased tenfold. John and his mother were in the corner, looking like cats with a mouse to torture, and the finance people looked like they’d prefer an IRS audit to talking with Anders here.
“You wanted to see me?” Anders asked.
It was a question, but the dread in his voice was obvious. He looked as he always did: braids in a bun, slacks, pressed shirt, tidy. The bags under his eyes were pronounced, the kind no amount of concealer could hide. He was exhausted, and I was about to make things worse.
“Yes. Come in. Please shut the door behind you.”
He followed the instructions, then came forward and stopped by my desk.
There wasn’t anywhere for him to sit. I got up and dragged a chair from the other side of the room, intentionally ignoring John’s raised eyebrow at my solicitude.
It meant nothing more than wanting Anders to have a place to sit, and I knew damn well he wouldn’t take it upon himself to move a chair in my office.
I might not know him well, but I knew that much.
Anders looked between me, the finance people, and John. After traveling the room, his gaze settled back on me. The concern was evident. “Is everything all right? Is something wrong?”
I waited a beat and studied the faces in the room. If Anders was lying about not knowing why he’d been called into my office, he was wasting his talent working here. The finance people looked genuinely uncomfortable. John had landed somewhere between a smirk and a sneer.
“Yeah, we’re here to talk about all the fucking money you’ve been stealing from us.”
John was the first to speak, and I kicked myself for allowing him that opportunity. “One more fucking word and you’re out of this goddamn office. Do you understand me?”
Silence.
“You will answer when you are asked a question.”
I knew we were in a dick-measuring contest, and I was going to win.
“Yes.”
Satisfied, I turned back to Anders. “An accounting issue has been brought forward.”
I studied Anders, searching for a clue, but the only thing on his face was confusion.
No guilt. Certainly no remorse. “Money has been improperly funneled from the community-giving accounts into a private account with a PO box address.” Anders’s expression remained steadily confused. Not even a shadow clouded it.
“And you think I did it?” An edge of panic was plain in Anders’s voice. “Is that what John meant?”
“Your login was used to process the payments and alter the payment registers,” I said simply. Anders’s shock was visceral.
“No, that’s not possible.” Anders’s voice was firmer than I’d ever heard it. “That’s…that’s just not… No. I’m the one who told Lacey the records were messed up. And I told her to put the files in read-only. Why would I do that if I were the one stealing?”
“No one buys your sweet little innocent act, Anders. We all know what you are now. The only option available is to fire your ass, although I’m sure Mr. Magnuson doesn’t want the authorities involved since it would look bad for the company.
” John’s mother was unable to keep the glee from her voice. It rang through loud and clear.
Anders’s eyes bounced between John and his coworkers, who absolutely refused to meet his gaze.
Anders wasn’t saying anything, but I heard the sputtering noises, like he couldn’t make his brain stop racing long enough to form words.
After his passing out the other day, I didn’t want a repeat in my office. It was time to end this.
“All right. We’re going to lock down the files. No further expenditures will be approved unless they come directly through me. I’m going to have my people audit the files and my IT team take a look at the logins.” The finance people continued to send wary glances at Anders.
“Anders, as of now, you are suspended from your current position.” His shock reverberated around the room.
“I don’t want this discussed outside of this room with anyone, for any reason, under any circumstances, unless it comes from my home office.
If this leaks, I will know where to look, and there will be consequences.
They will be swift and painful. Am I making myself clear? ” I kept my voice even and firm.
I got quick assurances from Anders’s coworkers and reluctant ones from John and his mother. Either way, it didn’t matter. I got what I wanted.
“Everybody out except Anders. I’ll deal with him myself.”
The group left my office with varying degrees of reluctance.
John and his mother were practically giddy, while Anders’s colleagues looked shocked.
Anders himself looked heartbroken. He started to speak, but I held up a hand to silence him until everyone was gone and the door was shut.
Then I turned and focused all my attention on him.
We might not know each other well, but I knew what a man looked like when he was holding on by a thread, and he looked exactly like Anders.
I needed to get him out of here.
“Mr. Magnuson, I swear, I swear I didn’t take anything. I would never… I’m not…”