by Sandi Lynn
“He’s my boss. You know, the one for whom you made me the fake resume?”
“Oh shit. She is wonderful, though, right?” He grinned.
“She certainly is,” Wes replied.
“So what do we got?”
“I need you to check out these invoices, find out if these companies are real or shell companies, and then trace these account numbers.”
“Is someone being bad and fraud-ing a company?”
“We suspect my ex-fiancé is,” I replied.
“Oh. The one you left at the altar? By the way, what a beautiful escape. I saw the video. You should be so proud.” He grinned from ear to ear as he placed his hand on my arm.
“How long is this going to take?” I asked with irritation.
“Perfection takes time, darling,” he spoke as he set up his high-tech laptop on the table.
“I thought quick was your specialty?”
“It is, and if you were to give this to anyone else, you’d wait hours, maybe even days. I’ll need about an hour. So go about your business and let me do my work.”
“You don’t by any chance have any cheesecake left, do you?” Wes asked with a smile.
“I do. Would you like a piece?”
“I would love a piece.”
I went into the kitchen and took the cheesecake from the refrigerator. After cutting a slice, I brought it over to the couch where Wes was sitting.
“Thank you.” He kissed my lips.
“Hey, Anna, it looks like your ex is a thief.”
“You found something?” I asked as I got up from the couch and walked over to where Lars sat.
“All these invoices are fake, and these businesses are all set up as shell companies. Basically, they don’t exist, and if they don’t exist, they can’t provide services. Now I’ve traced the account numbers to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands all registered to Matthew James Bondi. Oh look, MJB Supplies. Coincidence? I don’t think so.” His brow arched.
“How much does he have in the accounts?” I asked.
“Well, darling, that’s going to take a little bit of time for me to hack into them.”
“Then get hacking!”
About thirty minutes later, Lars called me over. Wes and I got up from the couch and walked over to the table.
“Can I just say that I’m so happy you ditched that little thief,” Lars said. “Between the four accounts, he’s stolen over a million dollars of your daddy’s money. Look, all of the money transfers came from Young Vine Enterprises.”
“Damn him. Is there a way to transfer all that money out of his accounts and back into the company?”
“Darling, if I did that, then he’ll know we hacked into his account, which is illegal.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Anna
I packed an overnight bag and Wes and I headed back to his penthouse for the night.
“I really don’t want to deal with all this,” I spoke as my head rested on his chest. “To be honest, it’s not my problem.”
“He didn’t just steal from your father, he stole from you too. You’re still a part of that company until you sign papers that say otherwise. Don’t forget that. Do you really want to let him get away with what he’s done? I know you’re thinking right now that your dad deserves it for trusting him so much, but this affects you. You need to fight for what’s yours. Look at me, Anna.”
I lifted my head from his chest and stared into his eyes as he ran his finger across my cheek.
“Wouldn’t it give you great pleasure and closure to let your father know that the man he invested time in and chose over his own daughter screwed him over?”
“It would.” I smiled.
“Then that’s why you need to go back to California and tell him.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Good, we’ll fly out tomorrow.”
“We?” I asked.
“You really don’t think I’d let you go alone, do you? I’ll admit, I’m anxious to meet the man who hurt the woman I—” He paused.
“You what?” I asked.
“I think I’m falling in love with.”
The corners of my mouth curved upwards as I reached up and softly brushed my lips against his.
“I think I’m falling in love with you too.”
“Really?” He smiled.
“Yeah. Really.”
His grip on me tightened as our lips locked in a passionate kiss.
The next afternoon, Wes rented a private jet that flew us to California. I sat in the seat by the window and stared out as the plane sifted through the clouds.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Not really. I don’t want to see my father or Matthew.”
“I know you don’t, but don’t forget, they made you who you are today. A strong, independent woman. I’ll be right there with you. If anything happens, I have your back.” He brought my hand up to his lips.
“Thank you.” I glanced at him with a small smile upon my lips.
We landed in L.A. and climbed into the car I had waiting to take us to the Four Seasons Hotel.
“It’s nice to see you again, Miss Young,” Xavier spoke.
“Thank you, Xavier.” I smiled.
“Here is your room key to the Presidential Suite. I will have your bags brought up. As always, it’s a pleasure having you stay with us.” He nodded.
“How often did you stay here?” Wes asked with an arch in his brow.
“Enough.” I grinned. “I actually lived here for a while after I graduated college. There was no way I was moving back in with my dad and step-monster.”
We entered the Presidential Suite and Wes was kind enough to tip the bellhop who brought up our bags.
I sat down on the couch for a few moments to collect my thoughts before heading over to the company, because once I got there, the war would have begun.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Wes asked.
“No. I’m just preparing myself.”
“Do you need sex first?” He winked.
A smile crossed my lips.
“I think you gave me exactly what I needed this morning, Mr. Carter.”
“Okay. Just asking.”
We left the hotel and climbed into the black sedan at the curb. When we entered the Young Vine Enterprise building, Roland, the security guard, stopped me.
“Anna,” he spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see my father, Roland.”
“You’ve been banned from the building.”
“Of course I have.” I smiled. “This is really important.”
He took hold of my arm, looked around, and walked me over to the corner.
“Your father isn’t here. He and Mr. Bondi are at a golf outing and won’t be coming back. Your best bet is to catch him at home.”
“That’s right. It is that time of year for the annual golf outing. Thanks, Roland.”
“I just want you to know you did the right thing. I don’t like that Mr. Bondi.”
“I don’t either.” I smirked. “Come on, Wes. It looks like we’re paying a visit to my childhood home.” I sighed.
The car drove up the long winding driveway and pulled up in front of the Young Mansion.
“How do you know when your father is going to be home?” Wes asked.
“He’ll be here in a couple of hours. He and Matthew will walk through the door, laughing like they always do and then they’ll go into the living room for a drink until Clarissa tells them dinner is ready.”
“And what about your stepmother?”
“Nina is most likely at the spa like she always is when there’s a golf outing.”
We walked up the paved steps that led to the front door. Placing my hand on the handle, I took in a deep, cleansing breath. Opening the door, we stepped inside the large marbled space with the oversized Persian rug Nina bought when they were on vacation in Peru. I always hated that rug.
“Oh my gosh! Anna.”
Clarissa smiled as she emerged from the kitchen holding out her arms.
“Hi, Clarissa. It’s good to see you.”
“Oh my. I’ve missed you.” She placed her hands on each side of my face.
“Clarissa, this is Wes Carter. Wes, this is Clarissa. She’s been with us since I was a child.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Carter.”
“And you as well, Clarissa.”
“Anna, does your father know you’re here?” she asked with a concerned voice.
“No, and I don’t want him to. I want to see the look on his face when he sees me. Where’s the step-monster?”
“Mrs. Young is at the spa. She’ll be joining your father and Mr. Bondi for dinner.”
“Told you.” I smiled at Wes.
“Anna,” she took hold of my hand, “your father is very angry.”
“I know he is and he’s about to get a whole lot angrier.”
“Oh dear lord.” She made the sign of the cross. “Can I get the two of you anything?”
“No. We’ll just help ourselves to the bar.”
“Very well. If you need anything, just ask.”
I led Wes into the living room and walked over to the bar.
“Neat martini?” I asked him. “We’re going to need it.”
He let out a chuckle. “Sure.”
I made the martinis and took them over to the couch, where I handed Wes his. As we were talking, the front door opened, and I heard the voices of my father and Matthew. Instantly, my stomach felt sick. I took in a deep breath as I looked at Wes.
“What the hell are you doing here?” my father asked as they walked into the living room.
The look on both of their faces was priceless.
“Hello, Dad,” I spoke. “Matthew.”
“You have some nerve showing up here,” Matthew spoke. “If you came here to beg for my forgiveness, you can forget it. I will never forgive you for what you did.”
“Please, get over yourself. You aren’t worth begging for forgiveness from.”
“Anna, I’ll ask you one last time, what the hell are you doing here?” my father commanded.
“I need to talk to you about the company.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Anna
“The company is none of your concern anymore. In fact, I’m glad you’re here. I have papers for you to sign. I’m buying back your shares of the company. Don’t even try to fight me on it, because in the contract, I made sure to include a buy-back clause.”
“Who is this guy?” Matthew harshly asked as he pointed to Wes.
“This is Mr. Westin Carter. I picked him up in Paris while I was on our honeymoon.” I smirked.
“Why you—”
My father put his hand up.
“Stop, Matthew.”
“Dad, I need to talk to you in private.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Anna.”
I sighed. “Okay, then. I guess we’ll just hash it out right here. There’s an employee in the company who is embezzling money.”
“That’s ridiculous. Nobody that works for me would ever do that. And how do you know this?”
“Yeah, Anna?” Matthew nervously chimed in. “How do you know this?”
“I was tipped off by one of your concerned employees, Dad.”
“Who?” Matthew angrily shouted.
“Why are you getting so worked up, Matthew?”
“What is going on in here?” Nina asked as she walked into the room. “What is she doing here?”
“Hello, Nina.” I grinned.
“That’s your stepmother?” Wes asked.
“Shut up.” I slapped his chest.
“She’s here on business, Nina. Go see if dinner is ready.”
“What business could she have? She doesn’t work for the company anymore. Clarissa will let us know when dinner is ready.”
“Anyway!” I loudly voiced. “Since Matthew won’t fess up about embezzling money from the family company, I guess I’ll just have to show you, Dad.”
“What? You think I’m the one?” Matthew nervously laughed.
“Anna, you’ve gone too far this time,” my father shouted. “First you broke this man’s heart and humiliated him in front of our family and friends and now you stand there and accuse him of stealing from me?”
“Damn right I do.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the file. “Here are all the bogus invoices he created and signed off on for services and supplies that the company never received. And these are the account numbers to which the company deposited the funds. The account numbers were traced to a few offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, with over a million dollars total. A million dollars of your money, Dad.”
He hastily grabbed the file from me and thumbed through the invoices.
“I’ve never even heard of these vendors.” He looked at Matthew. “Why wouldn’t you have run these by me first?”
“I—I didn’t want to bother you. They’re legit companies. I checked into them myself,” he nervously spoke. “I would never steal from you. I can’t believe you’re standing here believing what she’s saying. Especially after what she did to the both of us.”
I stood there and rolled my eyes.
“Maybe you should have him check his accounts,” Wes leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I had the money transferred out of those accounts and placed back into the company account.”
“What?!” Matthew shouted as he pulled out his phone and started typing away.
“Matthew?” My father cocked his head at him and then grabbed his phone from his hand. “What the hell?”
“What is it, Dad? Did someone get caught with their hand in the cookie jar?” I smiled.
“YOU BITCH!” Matthew came at me and Wes stepped in front of me.
“I suggest you back the fuck up now,” Wes sternly spoke.
Matthew stopped and then turned and looked at Nina, who was slowly walking out of the living room.
“Oh no you don’t, Nina. If I’m going down, you’re going down with me. This was all your idea!” he shouted.
“Oh shit.” I laughed. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Neither did I,” Wes spoke.
Suddenly, there were police cars with their sirens and flashing lights in the driveway. Clarissa opened the door and two police officers stepped inside and handcuffed Matthew.
“Take her too. She was a part of this,” my father spoke to the officers. “How could you, Nina? How could you do this to me after everything I’ve given you?”
She just stared at him as the officers hauled her and Matthew away. My father stumbled into the wing-backed chair and placed his face in his hands. I wished I could say that I felt sorry for him, but I didn’t. This was his punishment for the way he treated me since the day I was born.
“How did you know, Anna?”
“I didn’t know about Nina, but Becca paid me a visit in New York. She and Frank suspected something was up.”
“Then why didn’t they come to me? Why the hell would they go to you?”
“Because they knew you would never believe them. Plus, when Becca confronted Matthew, he gave her some spiel about how the two of you talked and wanted to take the company in a new direction. And then he threatened to fire her. Becca had no choice but to come to me.”
“How on earth did you find out about those accounts?” he asked.
“I’m not at liberty to say. But I knew I had to put a stop to it.”
“Thank you, Anna.”
That was the first time I’d ever heard those words escape my father’s lips.
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for you. He was stealing from me too. My work here is done. Come on, Wes, let’s go.”
“Anna, wait,” my father said. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Never being a father to me? Never loving me? Never trusting in me enough to make the right decisions for myself? Sorry that I was ever bor
n?”
“Stop it!”
“No, Dad. I won’t stop it. Because all of it is true. You chose to love and trust a man more than your own daughter and that is something I can never forgive you for,” I spoke as tears filled my eyes.
“Anna, don’t do this.”
“It’s too late, Dad. This can’t be undone. There’s too much damage. Send the papers to Franco’s apartment in New York. That’s where I’m staying. I’ll sign over my shares to the company.”
“No!” He stood up. “You are my daughter and part of that company belongs to you.”
“I was never your daughter, Dad.” I wiped my eyes and walked out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Two Weeks Later
Wes
Anna and I walked into the room at the Hudson Terrace and I could say that I was highly impressed. She did an excellent job of getting everything organized and set up.
“This looks great, Anna.”
“Thanks. Actually, it was kind of fun. I think I like being on the other side of business things.”
I gently kissed her lips and then walked over to Christopher, who was grabbing a drink at the bar.
“Anna did a good job.” He smiled.
“She sure did. I’m very proud of her and I love her.”
“That’s great, man. I’m happy for you. Who would have thought that your one-night stand in Paris would become the love of your life?”
“I know.” I laughed. “It’s weird how things work out sometimes.”
People started to pile inside the room and I walked up to the microphone and welcomed everyone and gave a short speech. Anna and I walked over to the buffet, grabbed some food, and then took our seats at the table where she had arranged for me to meet with the hopeful candidates that I would invest in their company.
“Hello, I’m Wes Carter.”
“I’m Francine Lutz. Cupcake?” She smiled.
“Oh. I love cupcakes.” Anna grinned as she reached over and took one. “These are beautiful. Did you bake them yourself?”
“Yes,” she shyly spoke. “Cupcakes are my life and I’ve always wanted to open a cupcake store. I had been saving money for a couple of years and then my husband left me for another woman, and he stole the money I had saved.”
