86 The Meeting Luke.
| hurried back to my wing to inform Tia of the meeting. Stacy’s silence was unbelievable, and | hoped for all our sake she would cclean.
Tia sat quietly on the couch in the sitting area, and | knew she was deep in her thoughts.
“What's the matter, darling?” | asked and she looked atand smiled. | went to sit beside her. She moved closer toand leaned on me.
“Luke, someone is trying to ruin this family,” she stated the obvious, and | pulled her close and rubbed her arm.
Her body was warm, and it gotworried.
“Tia, why are you warm?” | asked her, and she leaned against me. “I guess it is part of the pregnancy symptoms.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt| have been drinking cold water,” she confessed, and | made her get up. | gently took off her clothes and carried her to the bathroom. | hated cold water by her body needed to cool down. | intended to take her to the hospital after meeting with the auditor. | took off my clothes, and we stood under the cold shower for a bit. Tia rested her head against my chest while | held her under the water. | suspected the information we got at the meeting and all that was happening were the cause of her body temperature. I held her while the water washed our bodies.
“I need you to be calm, Tia. Whatever is going on. | am sure we will get through it together. Please do not worry too much forand our baby’s sake.” | pleaded with her, and she wrapped her hands around me.
“I am sorry, Luke. | couldn't help it. What Mrs Mulberry said was scary. We just took over the company Luke, and | am in charge.” She confessed, and | knew what was troubling her soul. “No one will ever think you are stealing from the company Tia, even if the audit claims that you are a part of it. We will all know it is a set-up. Please, Tia,” | pleaded, and she squeezed tighter. | wish | could make love to her in the shower, but Krystal Mulberry was on her way, and it will be wrong to stop abruptly or keep her waiting. We left the shower and got into bed to cuddle. | held Tia, and she fell asleep. The doctor had said she would often sleep because of the pregnancy, so | wasn't worried. | covered her body with the blanket and got dressed for the meeting. | would have loved Tia to attend, but it was okay.
| went to my father’s office and found him waiting there. He did not look happy, and | knew separating from Stacy would take a toll on him. He was used to her. He was with her longer than he was with my mother. | hoped they would be able to settle their differences, and she would see the error of her ways because my father loved her. She couldn't see it, but he was blind where she was concerned.
“Father, are you alright?” | asked him and he looked up atand smiled but his smile did not touch his eyes.
“Are you sure about this? | do not think it is wise. you two are bonded.” | said, and he shook his head.
“I never really felt the bond, Luke, but | loved her,” he confessed, and | wondered how that was possible. Tia was my wife, and since we claimed each other, we have felt each other. Maybe the bond worked differently with people that have been married.
“Still, father. The woman is just as miserable as you are.” | told him, and he sighed.
‘If she truly loved me, she would love everything and everyone that has to do with me, and she would not keep secrets from me,” he said, and he was telling the truth, but | also knew that her secrets might be terribly unforgivable.
“Luke, you are blessed to have a mate like Tia and your brother is blessed with Kimberly. | have watched both women, and they have been honest and loved wholeheartedly. Stacy's love is flawed. Anyone that lies and causes problems for someone they love has a warped sense of love. She is sick in the head.” my father said, and | did not know if that was the issue, but | did not argue.
“Seeing your room. | do not blher. Mother's pictures are everywhere. There is no picture of Stacy in that room. She claims you always compare her to my mother and even call her name...” | said, not wanting to complete the sentence because it was weird telling my father he calls my mother’s nwhile making love to his wife.
“I think you are equally to blfor her behaviour. You have not treated her as a wife; she just lashed out the best way she could. Put yourself in her shoes.” | said, and he shook her head.
“That has nothing to do with her lies about Regan Adhit. | have looked him up, and he was a pimp. He was the Alpha of Dthat was not recognised, and he pimped young women in Dome. There is a possibility she was one of his women. Why didn’t she tell me?” My father said, and | was shocked to learn that about Regan.
“Did your sources tell you his last known location?” | asked him, and he shook his head.
“He dropped off the radar when | attacked Neev. They believed he died during that war, but now we know he is very much alive. He could be anywhere right now.” He said and looked at me.
“What if she still sees him and never stopped seeing him, Luke? What if | was a customer, and she is just withso she can get money across to her boyfriend?” he asked, and | shook my head “Father, don’t say that. Stacy is a lying, conniving bitch, but she has never cheated on you. She is always at hwith you. She is always with you. Unless she can cheat over the phone, | do not see her double-crossing you like that.” I said, and he shook his head. “I am done,” he said with a definite tone, and | let it rest. | sat down, and Krystal Mulberry arrived thirty minutes later. The woman was pretty and petite.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Krystal?” my father said, and | was shocked that he knew her. “Hello, Aesop,” she said with a smile and shook him and me. My father offered her a seat smiling “Luke, Krystal and your mother went to the sschool in Eastwood. They were best of friends,” he said, and | raised my eyebrow, wondering why the woman didn’t tell me. | looked at her, and she smiled and nodded, confirming what my father had said. “How is your family?” my father asked, and she nodded. “They are fine, Aesop,” she said with a smile, and I linked a worker to bring us juice. We went through the documents, and she explained many things extensively. “How are we owing wages?”l asked her and she sighed.
“To be honest with you, Luke, | will tell you what | think, take it or leave it,” she said, and | was eager to know.
“You have people working in your company that are trying to sabotage the company. If you do not fish them out, they will ruin you,” she stated, and | knew she was telling the truth because there was no way hackers or whoever they were could get into our systems and accounts without help from within. | believed Luis was behind all this. To what end? “Do you have any suggestions on how to fish them out?” | asked her, and she shook her head.
“Unfortunately, that is an impossible task forto do, but you can narrow it down to your account and IT department. Apparently, West corp seems to be at the centre of your problem. It will be wise to have the people in the account and IT section investigate. Whoever is linked to West corp is a prsuspect. “Are you suggesting the thefts are from West corp?” | asked, and she shook her head. "That can cfrom anywhere, but Diamond corp had incurred this much debt because of the undersupply of goods to their clients caused by West Corp. It also shows that you had not been paying attention up until recent. You paid West Corp for the supply quantity indicated on paper but not the actual supply they made that might be why your company has lost customers. | am not saying this in a professional capacity but as a friend. | will implore you to deal with the owners of West Corp because this is sabotage and should be regarded as treason as this is the Alpha’s company. West Corp should pay dearly for their actions,” she said, and | korew she was speaking as a family friend and not an auditor.
| left her and my father to catch up in the office and went to set things in motion. | called Mike on the phone, and he toldthey had rounded the board members up. All but two people were missing. The prominent Luis Moon and Ralph Amold, a n| had never heard of. Luis Moon's address was in Santa Braee, which was a no go for us. So | opted we freeze all their accounts in Woodclaw and send a mandate to alert security when anyone attempts to transfer money to an account on a different island or continent. It will just be for the meantuntil We catch Luis. | returned to my father’s office, and Krystal was gone. He wasn’t as sad as he was when | came, but | knew he would be back to his gloomy sell once he returned to his room.
“I am sorry, Luke,” My father said, knowing what we were facing now was his fault. It was easy to blit on Stacy, but he should have known better. He should have checked the documents and made sure there were inspections. All the woman did was make sure he favoured her friend. He should have made sure those inspections were carried out. Stacy wouldn't have stopped him.
“This is on you, father. This is not Stacy's fault.” | said, and he nodded.
“Where do we start from? We can’t let that company die, Luke.” He said, sounding a bit worried.
“We have to investigate the accounts, but I intend to change everyone working there tomorrow. While we investigate the current workers. | will put Caleb on it. He will yield results faster than | would. | just hope it isn’t too late.”