Fare Game

by Cade Haddock Strong

  “Riley, are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

  She tried to keep her voice even. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a leg cramp from sitting too long.” She glanced up at him, praying the panic coursing through her was not manifested in her expression. Somehow she managed a smile, but it didn’t last long. The 1Q2016 Excel spreadsheet was still up on her computer screen, and even she, who was so well practiced at the phony southern smile, could not hide the shock from her face.

  She scrambled for her mouse and clicked the file shut. It was hard to tell if Gabe had seen it, but given the way her computer screen was positioned on her desk, there was a good chance he had not. She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. If Gabe was corrupt, he had absolutely zero reason to suspect she knew what was going on at Logan. “What is it you wanted to ask me,” she asked as calmly as she could muster.

  Gabe gave her an odd look but didn’t comment on her strange behavior. Instead he said, “Oh, I had a question about one of the projections in the Kamadori agreement. Would you mind opening the file with the final numbers?”

  As soon as Gabe left her office, Riley snatched up her phone and shot Kay a text. I think I found a smoking gun. Call me.

  While she waited to hear from Kay, Riley frantically downloaded as many files as she could from the Finance department’s shared drive, praying she could find more Excel files in the CNCRDIA folder that were not password protected. She cursed the fact that she had meetings all afternoon and a softball game that night. At this point, she was obsessed, and she wanted to keep digging. She needed to find out just how broad and deep the fraud at Logan really was.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Kay said when she’d finally called and heard what Riley had discovered on the shared drive. “Why don’t we go to New York this weekend and sort through everything we have so far. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.”

  That evening, Riley printed out as many of the quarterly reports as she could, stuffed them in her bag and rushed off to her softball game. Playing softball did nothing to keep her mind off the potential landmine she’d uncovered at work that day, and the coach pulled her out of the game in the third inning after she walked the fifth batter in a row.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The following afternoon, Kay and Riley boarded their flight to New York and settled into their first-class seats, one of the many perks of being a VP for an airline. After a flight attendant appeared with two glasses of bubbling Champagne, Kay raised hers and said, “Here’s to a productive weekend in the Big Apple.” She took a sip and then reached over to capture one of Riley’s hands in her own. “I know it will be a working weekend, but I’m still really looking forward to it.”

  Riley held her gaze. “Me too Kay. I’m—”

  “Hey, Riley. How’d you score a seat in First?” a male voice asked.

  Riley looked up and slowly pulled her hand from Kay’s. “Oh, hi, Wayne,” she said, cringing slightly.

  A sinister grin crossed his face as he glanced at Kay sitting in the neighboring seat. “You two, uh, headed away together for the weekend?”

  Riley didn’t answer his question. Instead, she nodded toward Kay. “Have you two met?”

  “Not formally.” Wayne eagerly stuck out his hand. “Wayne Jones.”

  Kay put on a practiced smile and shook his hand. “Kay Corbett.”

  Wayne was holding up the boarding process and the flight attendant prodded him along to find his seat.

  “Who was that?” Kay asked once he was out of earshot.

  “A guy I work with in Finance. He’s a complete tool.”

  Kay laughed. “Yeah, I got that sense.”

  The rest of the flight was uneventful, and even though there was a fair amount of turbulence, the plane touched down at LaGuardia (LGA) right on time, no small miracle for an airport that was notoriously congested—the smallest operational hiccup or weather event often had a major domino effect, causing flights to get delayed for hours.

  Once they deplaned, they followed the signs for ground transportation, and thankfully, there was no sign of Wayne. Given he was seated in coach, he probably wasn’t even off the plane by the time they were in a taxi. It was six p.m. on a Friday and traffic into Manhattan was heavy.

  After they checked into the Hyatt across the street from the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, they quickly freshened up and headed out for dinner. The plan was to spend all day Saturday cooped up in the room, combing through all the intelligence they’d gathered, but tonight, drinks and dinner were on tap.

  The concierge at the hotel directed them toward a small neighborhood wine bar a few blocks from the hotel.

  “I totally love this place,” Riley said as they claimed two stools at the horseshoe-shaped bar. A fire was roaring in the small stone fireplace off to the right. “It’s so cozy.”

  A bartender materialized seconds later. “May I get you two lovely ladies something to drink?” she asked in a husky voice.

  “Do you have a wine list?” Kay asked.

  “Sure do.” The bartender slid two thin leather books in front of Kay. “Wine menu and dinner menu.”

  “You good with red?” Kay asked Riley.

  “Yep.”

  After she scanned the wine list, Kay looked up at the bartender. “A bottle of the Treetop Cab, please.”

  The bartender gave her a wink. “Excellent choice. I’ll be right back with the wine.”

  While they waited, Riley flipped open the dinner menu and studied it intently. Kay smiled as she watched her. The expression on her face changed as she read the entrée descriptions—from furrowed brow to wide eyes and pursed lips. Her long blond hair glowed under the lantern-like pendant lights over the bar. God, she’s beautiful.

  It was hard to believe it had only been two weeks since Tokyo. So much had happened since then… Almost overnight, the frenzy of the Concordia nightmare had thrust the two of them so close together. It felt like they were a team, and it was incredibly comforting. Kay had had a crush on Riley since day one, but her feelings were quickly growing much deeper. In the past, that might have scared her, but not this time. She felt elated. That in itself was telling. There was no other place in the world she’d rather be right now.

  “Here we go,” the bartender said, interrupting her thoughts. “One bottle of the Treetop Cab.”

  Kay shook her head to get it out of dreamy Riley mode and inspected the bottle. Once she nodded her approval, the bartender whipped a corkscrew out of her back pocket and made quick work of extracting the cork. “Have you two decided on anything to eat?” she asked and gave Kay a splash of wine to taste before pouring them each a glass.

  “Oh, gosh. I haven’t even looked at the menu,” Kay responded.

  “No rush. Enjoy your wine. I’ll check back with you in a bit.” The bartender gave Kay a smile and sauntered down to the other end of the bar.

  Riley nudged Kay with her shoulder. “I think she likes you.”

  “Whatever,” Kay said with a wave of her hand. “I hope you know I’m not interested.”

  Riley smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not the jealous type, but you’re a beautiful woman. I bet women flirt with you all the time.”

  Kay blushed. “Sometimes,” she said, “but, more often than not, it’s men I have to deal with and it’s more irritating than anything. They can’t seem to get it through their thick skulls that I’m not even remotely interested.”

  After dinner, they strolled down Fifth Avenue and walked past Rockefeller Plaza. “I can’t believe people are ice skating,” Riley said. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. I don’t know, it just feels like skating is something you do in the dead of winter.”

  “At least they haven’t put the big Christmas tree up yet,” Kay pointed out.

  “Heh, yeah, I guess you’re right, but I’m sure that will happen any day now.”

  “Have you ever gone ice skating?”

  Riley laughed. “Heck, no. I’m from Georgia, remember?” She lo
oked down at the people circling the rink. “It looks hard. I’m sure I’d fall on my ass right away. Why? Do you want to try?”

  “Nah, I don’t do figure skates and I’m pretty sure that’s the only kind they rent here. I’m a hockey skate kind of girl.”

  Riley shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t even know there was a difference.”

  “Figure skates have a jagged toe,” Kay explained. “That way you can do twirls and stuff.”

  “Like in the Olympics?”

  “Uh-huh. But hockey skates aren’t like that. They’re smooth up front.”

  “Because hockey players don’t do triple lutzes?”

  Kay laughed. “Not usually, except maybe during the playoffs.”

  “Let me guess, you were about as likely to be caught wearing figure skates as you were to be wearing a dress?”

  Kay put her arm around Riley’s waist and pulled her close. “Yep, pretty much.” It had just started to drizzle. “What do you say we head back to the hotel?”

  “How does a bath sound?” Riley asked when they got back to their room.

  Kay gave her a thumbs up. “It sounds fantastic.”

  Riley wriggled out of her coat and marched into the bathroom to fill the large jacuzzi tub. She shook some bubble bath into the rising water and bubbles begin to sprout. In a matter of seconds, her clothes were pooled on the floor. “Oh my God, this is heaven,” she said as she sank into the warm water.

  Kay dipped a toe into the water and yanked it out. “Shit, that water is hot.”

  “No, it’s perfect.”

  Kay lowered one body part at a time into the tub, and when she was finally submerged, Riley floated over next to her and nestled her head against Kay’s shoulder.

  The warm water gradually soothed Kay’s tense muscles. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of Riley’s naked body cuddled against hers. They sat in silence for a long while and Kay nearly dozed off.

  When the water began to cool, Riley asked, “You ready to get out?”

  “I suppose. Want me to grab us each a robe? I saw two hanging in the bedroom closet.”

  “Thanks, babe.” Riley shifted to allow Kay to climb out of the tub.

  As Kay toweled off, she saw Riley’s eyes roam her body. She smiled. “What are you looking at?”

  “Your totally amazing body,” Riley said as she climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel. “You know, I don’t think we’ll be needing those robes after all.” She gently pushed Kay up against the wall, placing one hand on her bare hip and the other behind her head. Their lips came together forcefully, and they stumbled toward the bed.

  Kay stepped back slightly, pulled down the covers and playfully pushed Riley down onto the crisp white sheets. As she crawled on the bed, she brushed her lips over the hollow of Riley’s stomach, her firm breasts, her collarbone before finding her soft warm lips. The kiss was long and lingering and full of passion. For a brief moment, Kay thought of nothing but the beautiful naked woman beneath her. She ran her hands over Riley’s erect breasts, squeezing them gently before sucking hard on one and then the other. Riley squirmed beneath her and spread her legs in response, inviting Kay to dip a hand between them. Kay teased her hard clit before drifting her fingers slowly through the moist folds. Their eyes locked as Kay rhythmically caressed her.

  Riley’s back arched. “I want you inside me,” she croaked.

  Kay complied. Slipping two and eventually all four fingers deep into Riley. She climbed up on her knees and hovered over Riley, giving her the leverage to push harder and deeper. “Come for me, baby,” she whispered when she felt Riley tighten around her. She pumped until Riley’s body jerked beneath her.

  “Oh, God, yes.” Riley cried out before sinking into the mattress.

  Kay slowly extracted her fingers and brought them to her nose, breathing deeply to inhale the scent. “I love fucking you.”

  Riley threw one leg over Kay’s torso and sat up to straddle her. She stared down into Kay’s eyes. “I love the way you fuck me.” She thrusted her hips back and forth, rubbing herself against Kay. “Now it’s my turn. I want to taste you.”

  A jolt coursed through Kay at the first swipe of Riley’s tongue. As the sensation between her legs intensified, she clawed Riley’s shoulders. She hung on the edge for as long as she could, but eventually it was too much. She gasped and cried out as the orgasm crashed through her.

  Riley snaked up her body and nestled up next to her. Their ragged breathing was the only sound in the room.

  Chapter Twenty

  A few laps around the reservoir in Central Park did wonders to get their blood pumping the next morning, and after a quick bite to eat, Kay and Riley got straight to business. By noon, they’d been at it for more than two hours. Three laptops were humming on the small desk in the corner of their hotel room and reams of paper were neatly organized on the bed. “Are you ready to walk me through the financial records?” Kay asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Riley replied. She set down the report she’d been reading, pulled her laptop toward her and looked up at Kay. “Okay, as I mentioned the other day, I stumbled across a folder called ‘CNCRDIA’ on the shared drive.”

  Kay nodded. “Morons. You think they would have named it something a little less obvious.”

  “I know. This brings ‘hidden in plain sight’ to a whole new level. Anyway, most of the files saved in the CNCRDIA are password protected.”

  “Not surprising.”

  “No, but apparently someone got sloppy because I was able to open two of the Excel files. They both contain quarterly financial data.” Riley stood up and strode over to the bed, and after scanning the piles she’d laid out, snatched one up and waved it in front of Kay. “This is what Logan filed with the SEC for the first quarter of 2016, but take a look at this…” She sat back down and turned her laptop so Kay could see it. “This spreadsheet also includes the financials for the first quarter of 2016.”

  Kay donned her reading glasses and pulled a chair up next to Riley. “Okay, let me guess. They don’t match.”

  “No, they don’t.” Riley used her mouse to highlight the figure for baggage fees on the spreadsheet and pointed to the same line item on her printout. “The figure in the SEC filing is a good bit higher.”

  “What’s your theory?”

  Riley leaned back in her chair. “Well, as you know, airlines have made a fortune from charging customers to check bags. The thing is,” Riley reached over and grabbed a stack of printouts off the desk, “Logan’s revenue from bag fees, as compared to other airlines, started to decline a few years ago and this probably made investors nervous. Bag fees are a major revenue generator, and as we discussed the other night, they help airlines diversify their revenue stream.”

  “So the airline isn’t dependent on airline ticket revenue for all their income.”

  “Exactly.” Riley flipped her printout to a different page. “At the same time, Logan was showing an increase in ticket revenue—the amount passengers are paying in airfare—quarter after quarter.”

  “Which makes sense,” Kay said. “Because Logan was fixing prices and raising airfares across the board.”

  “Right, but it also made the decrease in bag fees even more curious. Ticket revenue was going up, but bag fees weren’t keeping pace. Common sense would dictate that ticket revenue and bag fees should rise in unison, or at the very least, not move in opposite directions.”

  “So, let me guess, you were right. Logan started to fudge the numbers.”

  “Yep. They began shifting money from one column to another—from ticket revenue to bag fees—which I’m sure you know, is not exactly in line with standard accounting procedures.”

  Kay tapped her index finger on her lips as she mulled the information. “But, why? Why would they take the risk and move money around? I mean investors are usually just happy to see the bottom line increasing, right?”

  “Usually, but it’s more complicated than that. I think Logan started to mess wi
th the numbers because the growth in ticket revenue has skyrocketed—”

  Kay snickered. “Because they’re cheating the system.”

  “Right,” Riley replied, “and this dramatic rise was likely to draw a lot of scrutiny from investors, and maybe even government regulators, especially because the economics of the market haven’t exactly been conducive to constant price hikes. Shifting the money around enabled them to conceal the spike in ticket revenue and it also helped to ease investors’ anxiety about the lower bag fee revenues.”

  A lightbulb went off in Kay’s head. “So, effectively, they were killing two birds with one stone.”

  “Yep, and check this out.” Riley clicked open another file. “They are doing the same thing with the Logan-branded credit card. They’re covering up falling revenues there too.”

  “Shit, those credit cards are a complete cash cow for Logan. That’s why they make flight attendants hawk them to passengers on every flight.”

  “Uh-huh, and investors would flip if they knew the income from the credit cards was slipping.”

  Kay ran a hand through her long brown hair. “Fuck, this thing just seems to get bigger and bigger.”

  “I know. It’s downright terrifying how massive the fraud is.” Riley closed her laptop. “And the whole scheme is highly dependent on one thing…”

  “Airfares need to keep going up,” Kay said, “and the best way to make sure that continues to happen is—”

  “For Concordia to keep doing what they’ve been doing, fixing prices.”

  Kay laughed.

  “What so funny?”

  “In some perverted way, I almost feel bad for Greg. He’s gotten himself in so deep and the whole thing has just snowballed. God, he’s got to be under such tremendous pressure. Now I know why he keeps pushing Concordia to take more and more risks.”

  “Speaking of Greg, did you finish sorting through the data you got off his computer?”

  “Yeah, finally, but like I told you the other night, I still haven’t been able to find anything recent. It all stops abruptly as of about six months ago.”