Chapter 21 #2
“I mean, no. That’s a different skill set. Plus, I let you win.”
She batted his arm. “You did not. You lost.”
“Hey, here’s a thought. Why don’t we discuss this like adults instead of the entire plan hinging on what I’m assuming is a video game?” Chris suggested.
“Where’s the fun in that, Beam Buddy?”
“Beam Buddy?” Chris repeated.
“Architecto, Pillar Pro, Build-a-Chris…any preference?” Alex asked.
Chris stared at him for a moment before he slid his eyes sideways to Ava. “Is he serious?”
She lifted her mug with a grin. “Sparky. And we don’t need to discuss it like adults. I can easily crush three levels–”
“In a row, Sparky,” Alex interrupted.
“In a row, no problem. Child’s play.”
Alex cocked his head. “Mmm, someone’s sure.”
Chris offered them an annoyed glance. “Exceptionally for a woman wearing Scooby Doo pajamas.”
She drained the last of her coffee, set the mug on the counter, and strode confidently into the living room.
“You’ve got a point, C-Money,” Alex said as they followed behind her. “Those aren’t her lucky pjs.”
“She has lucky ones?”
“The unicorn onesie.”
“Ava has a unicorn onesie?” Chris’s features wrinkled at the detail.
“Does Ava not wear unicorn onesies in Silver Pine?”
Chris stared at him as Ava toggled on the game. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or serious.”
Alex screwed up his face before he shifted his gaze to Ava. “Avs, can you tell Chrispy Cream if you have a unicorn onesie?”
“Can you please stop calling me random names?” Chris asked. “It’s weird.”
“Sorry, Sport.”
“That’s the same…” Chris shook his head. “Never mind.”
“If you two are finished with your discussion, I’m ready to smash through three levels.” She toggled on the game. “By the way, yes. I have a unicorn onesie.”
Her character ran across the screen, jumping over holes and killing off enemies until she reached the end of the level. “One down.”
“Two to go. That level was easy.”
She flicked him a sideways gaze before she raced through a second level. With an eyebrow arched, she launched into the third level.
“Careful, Avs, one false move and you’re back to square one.”
“Thanks for the warning, Ace, but I think I’ve got it.” She made a tricky jump, bounced over the final monster, and raced to the end of the level. With puckered lips, she shot him a haughty glance. “Start talking.”
“Look at how good you did,” he said with a grin.
“Idea, Ace. How are we going to catch the person who did this?”
“Well,” he said with a rub of his chin, “I’m assuming whoever actually did this with the accounts is also our murderer.”
“That’s a safe assumption.”
Chris shook his head. “That’s a horrible assumption. What if the victim had an angry ex? Or was a degenerate gambler?”
Ava shook her head. “There was a suicide note left near her body that claimed she’d been the one tampering with the accounts.”
Alex poked a finger at her. “Which would suggest that she was killed to cover up what was happening.”
“I agree. So, how are you going to draw this person out?”
“We’re going to announce a new project today. Top secret. One that will make the company millions.” Alex grinned at her.
She arched an eyebrow.
“I’m going to craft fake emails, docs, the works. All of it that says this is a game changer.”
“And you think they’ll go after the files?”
“Or the budget for them. I’ll make it sufficiently large. And then we’ll sit back and wait to see if anyone takes the bait.”
“It could work,” Ava said with narrowed eyes. “How are you leaking it?”
“A few well-placed hints dropped in the office today. You up for it?”
She lifted her chin. “Just let me change.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” Chris held up a hand. “This is stupid. You’re going to set up a fake project and just assume the guilty party will come for it?”
Alex shrugged. “Why wouldn’t they? They’ve been after this for years.”
“They just killed a woman to cover their tracks. Why would they stop now?”
“Well, everyone knows or will soon know it was murder,” Ava answered. “So, we’ll all know that it wasn’t Marianne. Or that she didn’t act alone.”
She shifted her gaze to Alex. “I’m in.”
“Fine, I’m in, too,” Chris said as he set his coffee cup on the side table.
“Huh?” Alex said with a scratch of his head.
“I’m in. Let’s set this up.”
“What are you going to do to add to the scenario? Randomly show up at StoneCorp and make an announcement.” Alex wrinkled his nose.
“So… what do you want me to do? Let you and Ava head into the office while I sit here twiddling my thumbs? Ava’s helping you solve this, and the faster we do that, the faster Ava and I can get married. So, I want in. I want to help.”
“Chris…” Ava began.
“Maybe you can help. I’ll think about it. I have a few breadcrumbs to lay, then we’ll head to the office. Car or chopper?”
“Uhh,” Ava said as she narrowed her eyes, “chopper? You’d have to drive if Chris is going.”
Alex winced as he shook his head. “Chopper, it is. Leave in an hour?”
“That enough time for you to plant your evidence? You’re getting slow in your old age.”
“It’s plenty of time, Sparky,” he assured her.
“Ava, can we talk for a second?” Chris asked as she wandered from the room.
“Sure.”
Alex stopped himself from rolling his eyes as he watched them go. The morning hadn’t been at all what he’d hoped for when Ava had come to the Hamptons. Uptight Chris didn’t seem to know the real Ava. At all.
The only thing their waking hours had done for him was make him even more sure Ava belonged with him. And he had to prove it.
His fingers moved deftly across the keyboard, creating a trail of evidence laced with a poison pill designed to track back to the true identity of the thief.
Pleased with his work, he hurried up the stairs to change into a brightly colored blazer, jeans, and a button-down. He found Chris waiting at the bottom of the stairs as he arrived, in a plain pullover and slacks.
Ava appeared a moment after him in sky-high t-strap heels and a pink business suit with white trim.
“You’re wearing that?” Chris asked, his nose wrinkling. “Are you going to the office or a Barbie convention?”
“I think she looks great. Shall we?” Alex asked, offering his arm. “P.S., Blueprint Buddy, that is next season’s hottest color.”
They pushed into the bright sunshine, heading for Alex’s SUV.
Chris huffed out a laugh as they crossed behind the pink sports car. “You have a pink sports car?”
“No,” Alex said with a shake of his head as they climbed into his vehicle. “That’s Ava’s.”
“You rented that?” Chris asked as he pulled on his seat belt.
“I bought it for her,” Alex answered as he pulled from the drive, heading to the airport while ignoring Chris’s confused expression.
Within twenty minutes, they touched down on the top of his corporate headquarters and headed inside.
“I didn’t realize when you said chopper, you meant we were actually taking a helicopter to commute to your office,” Chris said with a shake of his head as they waited for the elevator doors to open to the corporate level.
“Welcome to the big leagues, Slick.” Alex offered him a wink as the doors whooshed open and he wrapped an arm around Ava before they strode past the cubicles and offices, heading for his office. “And now to lay some of the final groundwork and let word get around.”
Alex pressed a button on his phone, waiting until a voice answered. “Get me a few of the finance folks, please.”
They waited a few minutes before a few people milled inside, led by Miranda. “Alex, I’m surprised to see you here today after the–” Her voice cut off as she glanced at the other two people in the room. “Ms. Collins, and you, too.”
Ava offered her a smirky smile as she wrapped an arm around Alex’s.
Miranda focused on Chris. “And…you are? Is he helping with the investigation, too?”
“No, not really.”
“I’m investing in the new project,” Chris answered.
“Right,” Alex said with a poke of his finger. “He’s…Chris...topher. Christopher Draftsman. And he is very interested in our new groundbreaking project. And I am excited, too, which is why I’m here.
“But before we get there, I just wanted to talk for a minute to acknowledge Marianne’s death. I know we’re all reeling from it, but I think moving forward is something we need to do to recover from the damage that’s been done.”
“I agree. I know all of us are broken up by the news. But we’re here to help with whatever you need, Alex.” Miranda grinned at him as she pumped a fist in the air, her bob swishing as she spoke.
“Right, well, I actually sent a memo to you this morning, but I wanted to make sure, given the circumstances, we’re all on the same page. The numbers are correct. I want money dumped into this project. Because this is going to turn tech on its ear. So, please make certain everything is in place.”
“We will work on it. Umm, is there anything else? Maybe something I can help with on the fraud investigation.”
“No, we have that well in hand, but thank you,” Ava answered, a polite but dismissive smile on her face.
Miranda flitted her eyelashes, obviously displeased. She flicked her gaze back to Alex. “Are you sure?”
He patted Ava’s hand, again annoyed by his CFOs dismissiveness to his wife. “Like Ava said, we’ve got it well in hand. Thanks.”
“Of course. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know. Otherwise, I’ll oversee this project funding and we can move forward as soon as it’s in place.”
“Keep me informed.”
The woman nodded before she led her team from the office. Alex narrowed his eyes after them as they left. “Well, there’s the groundwork laid. Now, we just have to wait to see who makes a move.”
He glanced at his wife, worry and excitement coursing through him. Would they catch the culprit behind this? And if they did, would it be the end of his marriage?