Daphne hired contractors who don’t exist. Greer set up all the paperwork before forwarding that mess of lies to Sonny. His role was to take care of the technical side of payments. All the money was funneled into an offshore account that Daphne managed under a phony corporation she’d set up more than five years ago. That’s when their scam first launched.
I shut it down. That trio of fools had close ties to Ivan so I had to let them go with the understanding that if they leave quietly they won’t face criminal charges.
That was Ivan’s call. I reached out after showing Daphne the door. Ivan’s fine with eating the lost revenue. He’s a better man than me.
The punishment should fit the crime. I know that first-hand. I’ve been paying my dues since I was fifteen-years-old. The time lost with my sisters was only part of the retribution. The guilt I’ll carry until the day I die is my life sentence.
I perk when I hear Bella’s heels on the polished concrete floor. She took the stairs. I’ve been waiting for the elevator to return since I watched the doors close with Sonny Barusso inside.
“Barrett?” she calls my name before she comes into view. “Are you here?”
“In here.” I rise from my chair, buttoning my suit jacket.
She rounds the corner into my office. Dressed in a pink short-sleeve sweater and a black leather skirt, she looks incredible. Her hair is tied back in a messy bun. She’s the perfect combination of business and casual.
She stops mid-step when she notices me approaching her. I stand tall, letting her drink in the sight of me in a navy suit with a light blue shirt and tie.
“Hi.” A smile plays on her lips.
“Hi, yourself.” I dive a hand into the pocket of my pants to adjust my erection.
She doesn’t notice. She’s scraping her bare thumbnail with all the might she has.
“Close the door,” I direct her with a hand in the air.
She kicks it shut with her stiletto. It slams, pulling a laugh from me.
Her hands drop to her hips. “What’s so funny? You’re ruining people’s lives, and you’re laughing. It’s as if you don’t have a care in the world.”
I wish to fuck that was true.
“They ruined their own lives, Bella.” I lean against my desk, crossing my legs at the ankles. “They have no one to blame for their downfall but themselves.”
She stares at me for a few seconds. “That makes no sense.”
It doesn’t to her because she’s not aware of all the facts. Ivan asked me to keep this quiet. He went so far as to tell me pointedly not to share this with Bella. His exact words were, “Isabella needs to be out of the loop on this. Her bleeding heart won’t be able to handle the news that not everyone at Garent is a saint.”
I’m about to prove the man wrong.
“Sonny and Greer were stealing from Garent. Daphne was the ringleader.”
Weighing my words, she steps closer. “For real?”
I nod. “For real.”
“You caught them?” Her eyes bore into mine. “You’re the one who caught them?”
I could show her the details. Letting her see the hard facts wouldn’t hurt, but that’s not what she’s asking for. She wants reassurance from me that I’m confident that they screwed Garent over.
“I hired an auditor to run over the books. She noticed the discrepancies. I took it from there.”
Swallowing hard, she moves closer to me. “You were right to fire them.”
I don’t expect an apology from her. She was defending her co-workers. To her, they were a team. The reality is that the three of them were looking out for themselves at the expense of everyone else.
“Garent Industries needed a housecleaning.” I straighten my tie. “I’m the man for the job.”
“So you do housecleaning?” She tilts her head. “May I request a session?”