Chapter 14 Liam
Chapter fourteen
Liam
I’m startled awake by Hamlet swatting my face. When I crack my eyelids, his seafoam eyes have a murderous look in them.
He wasn’t happy with me last night when I came home for two minutes to feed him before leaving again.
When I finally left Madison’s cabin after midnight, I could hear his irritated yowling from across the gravel path.
He gave me the cold shoulder as I changed clothes for bed, then he chose to sleep on the small loveseat instead of on the pillow above my head like usual.
I was too tired to go for a run this morning, so I’m late filling his food dish.
Clearly, a swat to the face is what he thinks about my tardiness.
Propping up on my elbows, I look Hamlet in the eye.
“You still upset with me?” I ask. He meows in response, and I reach a hand to try to scratch his chin. He hisses and scampers off the bed.
“I guess that’s a ‘yes,’” I mumble, throwing the covers off.
After giving Hamlet breakfast, I take a shower and try to wash away thoughts of Madison.
We accomplished a lot last night getting her website finished and creating social media profiles.
She tried to claim everything as her own productivity for our competition.
But I insisted that half the credit was mine since I was coaching her through how to optimize the flow of her website to entice clients.
I also helped her update her LinkedIn account and strategize a series of social media posts to introduce herself and her editing services.
It was a ton of fun.
It was also gratifying to watch her confidence slowly grow with each task we accomplished and strategy we outlined. Then again, that could have been the lateness of the hour contributing to her loosened-up mindset.
Now, I need to center my thoughts on pet food production. And suspicious former plant managers.
I style my hair and pair a pale pink button-up shirt with black pants, dressing as quickly as possible. After I tie my dress shoes, I bend down to one knee to give Hamlet some attention. He allows me to run my hand down his back and scratch his chest. “I promise I’ll be home tonight, okay?” I say.
Meow.
He blinks slowly at me before jumping onto my shoulders.
I guess I’m forgiven.
Giving him a quick scratch under the chin, I pull him off and nuzzle his face before setting him down on the floor. After lint-rolling my shirt, I slip my arms into the sleeves of my blazer and head out the door.
I’m thankful that Madison isn’t sitting in the Adirondack chair this morning because I don’t think I’d have the willpower to leave straightaway. And I need to leave—both this morning and, eventually, forever.
CAL
Where’s my update?
I stare at the text as I set my bag down in my office. I’ve been inside the building for less than sixty seconds and already have an impatient message from Cal.
Scrubbing a hand across my jaw, I pause to think before responding.
I’ve screwed up.
Normal Liam would have spent three hours at home last night poring over the reports I printed off. Combing through the information I’ve compiled to find the through lines that explain everything.
Normal Liam would have had answers for Cal this morning.
Instead, Madison has a website, and I have nothing.
Taking a deep breath, I dial Cal.
“I expect something good, Liam,” Cal says without preamble.
I clear my throat, then wish I could retract the sound. It’s nothing but a stall tactic.
“I’m afraid I don’t have an update yet, Cal. I wasn’t able to review the information from yesterday to draw any conclusions yet, but I should have something for you by end of day,” I state.
I’m met with silence. It makes my blood itch.
“See that you do,” Cal finally says before ending the call.
I close the door to my office and lightly pound my head against it.
What are you doing, Liam? Why are you letting yourself get distracted by a woman you’re never going to see again when this job is done? This job needs to be your focus. Not Madison’s business. Not her piercing eyes, or her shiny hair, or her sharp wit.
“Do your job, Liam,” I say aloud.
And I do.
By the time Beau pokes his head into my office to say he’s leaving for the day, I’m shaking my head at my laptop in utter dismay.
“Everything okay, Mr. Park?” Beau asks.
I bark a laugh. “Uh, no, everything is not okay.”
“Anything you need from me?” he asks. I appreciate his response—not pressing me to share more while still offering up his assistance.
“I’m sure I will eventually. But for tonight, no. You can head home,” I say. Beau gives me a nod and retreats. I double-check to make sure that Amanda is also gone and close the door before I call Cal.
When he answers, I ask, “Hey, you have a few minutes? Because you’re not going to believe what I found.”
What I found is that John Wilson was embezzling money from the company.
I’m not a police detective (as Madison so kindly pointed out), so I don’t have the authority to dig into his personal finances to discover why he was embezzling money.
But I do know exactly why this plant has been underperforming and overspending.
“It started with doctored expense reports that he submitted using receipts he created with generative AI,” I explain to Cal.
“Those were for smaller amounts the first few weeks that the facility was open.
But then things start to get really wild.
They had a forklift driver who quit in November, but the offboarding paperwork was never filed.
The bank account for paycheck deposits was changed the week after the employee quit—and I think we can safely assume the new bank account is tied to Wilson.
“Apparently, getting away with that move made him even bolder. When the floor manager quit at the beginning of December, his offboarding paperwork was also never filed, although the direct deposit account was changed. That’s around the same time that Wilson fired the HR and finance positions, replacing them with his new buddy from Bentonville, Mark.
While Mark is receiving the salary due to the finance position, the HR paychecks are still being deposited to—you guessed it, a new bank account. ”
The personnel files I received didn’t indicate that the floor manager position was sitting empty—as far as I know, those “fake” employees’ bank accounts are still receiving bi-weekly paychecks.
Which means the company has been paying three salaries to employees who don’t work here anymore.
And because they were never replaced, their workload was never picked up, resulting in disarray on the production floor.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cal growls.
“You know I have a knack for uncovering messes and broken systems, but I have to say, this one’s next level, even for me,” I say. “I can’t believe that no higher-ups at Pure Fur All took the steps to investigate what was happening here. Do they have any contact with Wilson?”
“Not that I know of, but we’ll be turning this information over to our lawyers to get some legal action started. That will track him down,” Cal says. “This is good work, Liam.”
“I know it is,” I reply. It’s not arrogance—just facts. Which Cal understands.
He says, “I’m not sure how much I trust the decision-making of any of Pure Fur All’s leadership right now.
Are you okay staying there as acting plant manager for a little while to get things whipped into shape?
I’d prefer our company not bleed out any more unnecessary cash.
Investors tend to get prickly about things like that. ”
A jumble of feelings churns in my gut.
On the one hand, I came here ready to get out as quickly as possible. I should be chomping at the bit to leave ASAP.
On the other hand, my time has been shockingly brightened by the brunette living across from me.
Which presents a different challenge—how to resist getting pulled under by my fascination with Madison.
I’ve already spent too much time distracted by her, so am I asking for trouble by agreeing to stay longer in her proximity?
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be around her a little longer.
I might be playing with fire, but I can handle the heat. I just need to create some boundaries to keep the alluring flames confined to the fireplace.
“Not a problem, sir,” I answer.