Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Heir Robinson
I should have known when I didn’t text my daddy back that he would call me.
If I didn’t answer, his next move was going to be pulling up to my job.
That was one of the bad things about still living with my parents.
Though I made more than enough money to pay my own bills, they wanted me to stay home until I was married.
I took advantage and stayed home because it allowed me to spend my money on what I wanted.
But on days like today, when work was crazy and I stayed behind later than anyone else, my daddy was the one who called me out on that shit.
He didn’t want me working such a stressful job to begin with, so anytime I worked late, expressed my grievances with the position, or worked with a difficult client, Jeremy Robinson was ready to quit my job for me.
Sitting back in my seat, I massaged my temple and pulled in a deep breath before answering Daddy’s call.
“Hey, Daddy,” I said, closing my eyes as my head throbbed.
I’d taken Tylenol a couple of hours ago and still hadn’t been able to shake this headache.
I was starting to think it was a slight migraine, because the throbbing was getting worse and the bright lighting in my office was painful.
As long as I didn’t start to feel nauseous, I’d be fine.
“I know you ain’t still at that office.”
Smiling, I lowered my head. “Yes, but I won’t be here much longer. If I can’t figure it out today, I’ll start back on it tomorrow.”
He sighed before asking, “Have you eaten today, Heir?”
“No, sir. Maybe that’s why my head is killing me. I planned to go out for lunch but this account—”
“I’m on my way up there.”
“Daddy, I—”
Not bothering to hear me out, he ended the call.
All I could do was laugh. I knew there was no point in me trying to call him back and convince him that he didn’t have to come to my office.
He wouldn’t be able to settle down this evening until I was home, and he knew if he came up here, that was the quickest way to get me to shut down.
I checked the time on my phone, noticing it was almost seven in the evening.
All of my coworkers had left around two or three this afternoon because we closed early on Fridays.
Typically I would be right behind them, but this particular account was working me five times as hard as my usual ones.
A lot of numbers, expenses, and deposits weren’t adding up.
I’d been trying not to think the worst and assume he was into something illegal, but the deeper I dove into his old CPA’s notes and files, the more I realized that may have been the only explanation.
Iman had quite a few transactional red flags, and though that was enough cause for concern, that was something he could easily explain away if questioned.
What I was most concerned about was what looked like money laundering and tax evasion.
If I couldn’t make the structuring of his deposits make sense, figure out why he was making so many large wire transfers to untraceable accounts, and verify a lot of the organizations he claimed to be donating to, I would have to flag his account and report it for internal escalation.
I wasn’t sure how long had passed of me looking over the broken down transactions before Daddy arrived, but my nausea had picked up as he made his way into my office.
He rushed over to me as I gagged and tried not to throw up, though honestly, I didn’t have anything to throw up because I hadn’t eaten.
Grumbling under his breath, Daddy quickly pulled the large fry from McDonald’s out of the bag and handed it to me.
I shook my head but forced a fry down as he shoved a straw into the small Coke.
As I took small sips of the drink, he cut the lights and my TV off in the office, then leaned against my desk.
He watched as I ate one fry after another until they all were gone.
And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I had already started to feel a little better.
My eyes weren’t as sensitive to light, and the throbbing, though still there, had subsided a bit.
“Why do you subject yourself to this, Princess?” he asked softly.
“It’s my job, Daddy. I have to make sure things are on the up and up.”
“At the expense of your health?”
My head shook as I ran my fingers down my neck and looked at Iman’s papers that were scattered across my desk. “It’s not always like this. I’ve gone through this file three times now, and I think that’s why I had a migraine. Headache. Whatever. And I hadn’t eaten. I feel better now.”
His breath came out hard as he stood and cut the light back on. “How long are you going to be here, Heir?”
“I want to look over the file one last time, just to make sure I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing.”
“And what is it that you think you’re seeing?
” he asked, picking up a stack of papers off my desk.
I didn’t mind him taking a look at all. Daddy had his own Registered Investment Advisory firm, and he and my mom were why I’d become a CPA.
I wanted more opportunities, so I trained and became a CFA as well.
While I preferred taking on portfolio clients as a CFA, I’d agreed to operate as Iman’s CPA because of my boyfriend Jay.
He told me that his boss had someone handling his business expense accounts and taxes but that he wanted someone different for his personal affairs.
That should have been red flag number one, but I trusted Jay and didn’t think he’d get me entangled in any bullshit.
At the most, I figured I’d need to help Iman keep his business and personal expenses from overlapping before filing his taxes, but that certainly wasn’t the case.
The level of auditing and accounting I’d have to do before he was tax ready was insane.
All of his accounts and expenses were combined.
And on top of that, a lot of what he was doing under the guise of his business was looking more and more illegal every time I took a look.
If his plan was to separate his personal money from his business in case of future tax charges, I wanted nothing to do with this shit.
“If I’m correct, he’s intentionally making a lot of small charges to avoid detection and having to declare them.
On top of that, he’s depositing a lot of large amounts and immediately withdrawing them into suspicious accounts.
The biggest thing I’m seeing is the cash deposits and fake donations.
Well, he said they aren’t fake, but the names and account information doesn’t look real.
I’m going to look into these companies and organizations, and if they’re fake, I’m going to have to escalate his account and bring my manager in on this. ”
“I understand wanting to be thorough, but from what you’ve said to me, you already know what’s going on, Princess. Why are you hesitating?”
Sitting back in my seat, I nibbled on my bottom lip as I stared at the ceiling.
“Honestly... I think I want to be wrong about this. This is Jay’s boss.
I don’t want to cause problems for either of them.
But I also don’t want to cause problems for myself.
What if this is legit and I say something and we lose a client?
That makes me and the firm look bad. But what if I’m right about this and he’s doing some illegal stuff that I get caught in because I overlooked it?
” Groaning, I massaged my temples as my head started to throb harder.
“Hey,” Daddy called softly, lowering my hands and squeezing my wrists.
As he massaged my temples he said, “I don’t care about Jay or his boss.
I care about you. You can’t beat yourself down for this job, Heir.
You’re smart and highly proficient at what you do.
Trust your gut, and don’t let your loyalty to Jay make you question yourself.
You’re not causing problems for either of them.
If this man is doing some illegal things, that’s on him.
It’s your responsibility to help your client, but you are also obligated to report any suspicious transactions or behavior to your CCO or AML officer.
They’re the ones getting paid to handle this bullshit. Not you.”
Nodding, I released a shaky breath. When I first started working as a CPA and CFA, I loved my job.
Now, I hated it. The responsibility and income I wanted I had, but the freedom and time I had to sacrifice to maintain it was taxing.
And don’t even get me started on the long hours and how stressful it was.
It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I only worked as a CPA and held normal business hours, but I handled every account with a level of integrity and excellence that made it difficult for me to invest anything less than my all.
Giving so much and feeling like I got so little in return was starting to make me wish I hadn’t taken the safe route and gone to school for what I really wanted to do.
“You’re right, Daddy,” I said, shoulders slouching. “I’m going to look these companies up real quick, and if they’re fraudulent like I believe they are, I’m going to escalate the account and wash my hands of it.”
“That’s my girl.” He gave me a kiss on the temple before standing upright. “Finish that drink, and get it done within thirty minutes. I’m expecting you to be on your way home by seven thirty, Heir. If you’re not, I will come back up here and carry you out myself.”
I laughed and told him okay before making a list of the names and account information and searching for them online.
Websites, email addresses, phone numbers...
I would settle for anything. Anything that confirmed Iman wasn’t sending this money to himself.
By the time I was done with my research, I could no longer deny the truth.
He was laundering millions and giving himself an exceptionally large payout, and there was no way in hell I’d be able to make this look legit.
If he wasn’t my boyfriend’s boss, I wouldn’t have given him the benefit of the doubt the way I had.
Jay was his saving grace and the only reason I’d worked so hard to disprove myself.
Standing, I called both Iman and Jay to make them aware of the fact that I’d have to stop working on the account.
I wouldn’t go into detail as to why over the phone, but I would at least give Iman that courtesy.
When neither of them answered, I decided to go to Jay’s job and tell him face to face.
We weren’t scheduled to see each other tonight, but I’d have to get this off my mind and chest before I’d be able to rest.