Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Two days later, Trixie had mostly forgotten about the harrowing events back at the fire in Palisades.
She’d watched the news and saw that it had been contained and extinguished before it did much damage, a fact she was thankful for. But she wished she could know the status of whoever had been in that car.
The news had said there were no fatalities, so she took it to mean the person was okay. Still, she would have liked to have stayed to see for herself.
And to see that hot firefighter who’d rescued her!
But he’d been busy. And for her own safety, they had understandably wanted her to move on.
Oh well.
She had bigger concerns right now. Something every bit as dangerous as that fire was coming for her. And she needed to find a way out of the mess she’d created before it hurt her.
Or worse.
That’s why she sat at the kitchen table in the cute little breakfast nook in Auntie Athena’s house telling her story to the two men who sat across from her.
Their names were Jack and Ace and both were big, strong, and uber-handsome. They already had Littles, so there wasn’t any shot of them wanting Trixie.
She tried reminding herself that life wasn’t just about finding a guy, and she shouldn’t think of every single man she met as her potential Daddy. But sometimes it was hard to get her scattered brain to shut off.
Just focus on the issue at hand, she reminded herself.
“All right,” Jack said. “Why don’t you take it from the top? Throw in any details you can think of. Even if they seem insignificant.”
Ace nodded. “We might stop you to ask questions. But it’s important that you tell us as much as possible. Sometimes, people hold things back, thinking they just aren’t important. In our experience, those little tidbits are what often breaks the case.”
Trixie took a sip of her lemonade. “You’re cops?”
“Used to be,” Jack said. “Now we’re the Daddy Guard.”
Her mind was spinning. She’d heard about the Guard from friends. They were now the stuff of legends—a secret group of guys who Littles could call if they were in trouble.
But could they really help her? She was in a pretty bad situation. Maybe even too much for these tough men.
There was only one way to find out.
She took another sip, wiped her mouth, and then started. “Okay. I’m an accountant for a company in Vegas. Have you ever been to Vegas?”
Both men nodded.
“So many lights there! Night or day, it’s always so bright! My favorite is the old Golden Nugget sign downtown. The Strip is cool, I guess. But I always like the older parts. More history and personality. Know what I mean?
“Anyway, I worked for a company called Vegas Property Management, LLC. I know, it’s not a very imaginative name.
Like they weren’t even trying when they started it.
They being the big bosses and owners—Adrian Coletti and Dante Russo.
Everyone thinks they are wizzes when it comes to investments and getting good returns and all that. ”
She could tell Ace wanted to say something, so she paused.
“Are they investors?”
“Not like Wall Street guys,” she replied.
Ace nodded. “The name of their company doesn’t sound like that’s the line of work they’re in. I’m guessing they, well… manage properties.”
Trixie smiled. “See? The company’s name isn’t very clever or anything. Just states what they do. Or what they claim to do. A good name reflects your values as well as implies bold direction and innovative leadership.
“But yeah, some of these smaller casinos hire them to run operations for them. They don’t just manage the property itself, but even the gaming and the day-to-day operations. But people love them because their casinos and hotels and whatever make so much money. Like profits triple sometimes!”
Jack, who’d been taking notes on a yellow legal pad in front of him, looked up and asked, “As in, they draw more people in?”
“That’s just the thing…” Trixie took another pull from her glass of lemonade and opened her mouth to explain further, but a group of Littles zoomed into the kitchen, laughing loudly as one threw open the fridge and began to rummage inside.
“Juice boxes for everyone!” the woman shouted.
Her four friends cheered and laughed some more. It was obvious the gang was having a good time. Trixie was a tad jealous. She’d love to go play. But this was important stuff she was doing. If she didn’t get this handled, well… she might not be around to play with anyone ever again!
A chill traced her spine.
Don’t worry. This is the whole reason you came to LA. You’re with the Daddy Guard now. They’ll help you.
“Sweeties,” a matronly voice called out. “You know Auntie doesn’t mind you helping yourself to whatever you want. But they are having a discussion in here. Perhaps you can do it just a bit quieter.”
The gentle admonishment came from Auntie Athena, who stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen to the back den.
From directly across the room, Trixie had a good look at her.
She was so beautiful! Curvy and slightly vampish, the raven-haired woman was absolutely stunning.
She almost looked as if she’d stepped out of an old silent movie or something, which was fitting.
The mansion they were now in—the one that was Auntie Athena’s West Hollywood Nursery, the fabled Hollywood Haven for Littles—used to belong to an actress back when the movie industry was just firing up.
“We’re sorry, Auntie,” the Little getting in the fridge said.
She was about thirty, had brown hair fashioned into pigtails, and wore a short pink and white gingham dress that didn’t do a very good job covering the bulky diaper she wore.
Looking to her right, she smiled across the room at Trixie. “Hi! Want to come play with us? We’re going to see how high we can jump on the trampoline in the backyard.”
That sure sounded like a good time to Trixie. It was hard being at Auntie Athena’s and not taking part in the fun. But she had to focus here. Now wasn’t the time to let her mind wander.
It was a hard feat. Her mind loved wandering for some reason.
“I’d love to. But I have to talk to Jack and Ace right now. They’re helping me out.”
“We’ll be finished soon enough,” Jack offered with a smile. He shifted in his seat and cast a glance over his shoulder at the Littles. “We won’t keep her long. But this is pretty important stuff.”
“Daddy Guard business?” one of the other Littles asked.
Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Daddy Guard business, honey.”
“You heard the man,” Athena said. “Run along and play. Have fun. Just give Little Trixie and the guys some space to take care of all this.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the Little in the lead said, grabbing the juice boxes for her friends. “Bye, Trixie. We’ll see you soon!”
Trixie waved at the bunch. She didn’t know any of them. The only Littles she knew were Iris and Lana—Jack and Ace’s Littles, respectively—and the other women they lived with at the Guard’s mansion. But everyone else at the Nursery seemed so friendly and she was eager to play.
First things first, though—it was time to finish her story. Then, perhaps the Guard could help her.
And keep her alive.
She gulped and tried to steady her hand as she raised the lemonade to her lips once more.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
After a sip, she nodded and placed the cup back on the table. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. Please, continue.”
Trixie took a moment to re-gather her thoughts and arrange them into a cohesive narrative.
It all made sense to her. But sometimes, when she explained things, her style didn’t quite click with everyone else.
“Well, I work in the company’s accounting office.
That’s what I am—an accountant.” She puffed her chest out proudly.
“CPA. Got my degree from Arizona State University! Did you know we’re in the Big 12 conference now?
We used to be in the PAC 12, but moved a couple of years ago.
Arizona came, too. And BYU, but I don’t think them and Utah were ever in the PAC 12. Well, maybe Utah was. They—”
Jack smiled pleasantly. His tone was patient. “Honey, we love details. But maybe about the people who are after you. For now. Then we’ll talk sports if you want.” He winked.
Trixie giggled but felt a bit embarrassed.
There your mind goes again, Trixie. Wandering all over the place and taking your words with it…
“Sorry, Sir.”
“No need to be sorry, honey. We just want to make sure we get all the information we can so we can help you,” Jack stated.
“Yeah. I’ll try to keep on track.”
Both men just continued to smile, reassuring her with their eyes that she was just fine.
“Okay, as I was saying… actually… what was I saying?”
“You’re a certified public accountant,” Ace told her. “Working for that company in Vegas.”
“Yeah! And things were going well,” Trixie told them. “It was a nice company. Good benefits and all that. They seemed to appreciate my work. Even gave me bonuses several times a year. Until I started noticing some irregularities.”
Trixie watched as the two men exchanged glances and then looked back at her.
“Please go on,” Jack encouraged.
“Well, it was small stuff at first. Just a few discrepancies. Some unreconciled items and such. When I brought it to my supervisors’ attention, they thanked me and said they’d handle it. I trusted them and assumed they had.”
Ace locked eyes with her. “Did they ever provide proof that things were fixed?”
“Yeah. The account statements they gave me—and invoices, payouts, receipts—looked good at a glance. But the account balances never quite matched. Then,” she paused long enough to wince, “the discrepancies got bigger.” Trixie shifted in her seat and cleared her throat.
“I found what we in the field call irregularities indicative of fraud.”
She hated even voicing it. It was a big thing to accuse one’s employer of such unethical practices. But she’d started to suspect financial fraud was the least of the shady things they were involved in, so…
As if reading her mind, Jack gave her a curt nod. “This is serious.”
Trixie nodded back.
“What are some examples you noticed?” Ace asked.
“Well, for starters, there were fictitious entries. Like, they claimed to buy X amount of goods—or services—from various vendors. But none of that stuff was reflected in the inventory or the work was never done.”
“Gotcha,” Ace said. “Could they have been doing that for additional business write-offs? Like they’re cheating on their taxes?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. You see, that’s just the thing: they pay their taxes. Often too much, always getting money back at the end of the year. I think they don’t want to draw the attention of the federal government.”
“So what are those irregularities about?” Jack wondered.
Trixie filled her mouth with more lemonade, swallowed, and then said, “I think money laundering. You two might think I’m crazy, but…”
She shifted again. Rubbing the back of her neck, she thought over what she was about to say.
Would Jack and Ace say she was crazy?
Or perhaps they’d believe her but still wash their hands of the whole mess, not wanting that kind of danger.
There was no turning back now, she decided. She’d come this far. Might as well put all her chips in and lay down her cards, as they’d say in Vegas.
So, she offered the men a smile and then just spit her words out, eager to say it before she chickened out.
“I think the company I worked for is a mafia front.”