Corporate A$$ by Sandi Lynn
After we finished eating, we hopped into my car and headed back to Los Angeles.
“So, since we’re in this car together for the next three and a half to four hours, how about we talk business?” I spoke as I looked over and admired how hot he looked driving my car. He was leaned back in the seat, one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on his lap.
“We will in time.” He smirked as he looked over at me.
“Why not now?”
“Because I said so.”
Rolling my eyes, I looked out the passenger window. What was he up to? Why the hesitation to talk about it now?
Chapter 17
Fiona
Nathan pulled into the winding driveway of his Malibu home, which sprawled out over an acre. I would classify it as a modern elegance resort-style home. If the outside was this beautiful, I couldn’t wait to see the inside.
Nathan got out of the car, walked over, and opened the door for me.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
“You’re welcome. Would you like to see my home? Maybe have a drink?”
“I would.”
I knew all too well what was going to happen. We’d be having sex in a matter of minutes. Was it wrong? Perhaps. But my body didn’t care. I wanted to feel him all over me again. The desire was too strong to deny.
I followed him inside his five-thousand-square-foot single-story beach house and instantly fell in love. From the open floor plan, the sea stone floors throughout, the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the ocean, and the Italian marble floor to ceiling fireplace had me hooked.
“Wow. This is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” He smiled.
“Did you decorate it yourself?” I asked as I followed him to the kitchen.
“No. I had an interior designer come in and decorate the place for me. Vodka on the rocks?” he asked.
“Sounds good.”
While he was pouring our drinks, I stepped outside on the patio and gasped when I saw the large in-ground pool that was almost the length of the house. At one end of the pool, there was a fireplace with a loveseat and a couple of chairs in front of it surrounded by Italian marble with recessed lights and a bar over to the left.
“Your drink.” Nathan smiled as he handed it to me.
“Thank you. This is some pool. My God, it’s huge.”
He chuckled. “It’s one of the best features of the house. I swim every day. Maybe one day, you’d like to join me.” He winked.
I gave him a small smile as I sipped my vodka.
“Why don’t we go inside?” He lightly placed his hand on my back.
Walking back inside the house, Nathan took my drink from my hand and set it down. Our eyes locked onto each other as his fingers began to slowly unbutton my blouse.
“I’ve been wanting you all day. I hope you don’t mind.” His lips pressed against mine.
“No. Not at all,” I whispered as our kiss deepened.
His fingers deftly slid my blouse off my shoulders, sending it to the ground. Breaking our kiss, he reached behind and unhooked my bra, exposing my breasts. The hunger in his eyes grew as he lightly traced his finger over each one, caressing them softly before taking each hardened peak in between his fingers. The bulge in his pants grew quickly. Knowing that I turned him on so much caused an explosion inside me, intensifying the deep and uncontrollable ache between my legs. Taking his hand, I placed it up my skirt, begging for his touch. The corners of his mouth curved up into a smile as his eyes stared into mine.
“Is that what you want? You want my fingers inside your wet and warm pussy?” he whispered in my ear.
“Yes,” I replied with bated breath.
“Do you want me to make you come?” His lips swept over my neck.
“Yes.”
Pushing the fabric of my panties to the side, he plunged a finger inside me without hesitation. I gasped and a low growl rumbled in his chest. I needed to feel his cock in my hand. I was horny as hell and I wasn’t holding back. His lips glided across my throat and down my chest, while his tongue circled around my nipple. Unbuckling his belt, I forcefully took down his pants and wrapped my hand around his cock. The moan that erupted from him excited me even more. He continued to suck each breast as his finger moved in and out of me, stimulating me in a way that threw my body into a rapid orgasm. I moaned and threw my head back as he held my body against him with one hand.
“That’s it. Come for me, beautiful.”
He removed his finger from me and my hand from his cock. Reaching back, he unzipped my skirt, letting it fall to the floor.
“Leave your heels on.” He smiled.
“Are you going to show me your bedroom?” I asked breathlessly, still trying to recover from my orgasm.
“No. I’m going to show you my dining room table.”
He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants before taking my hand and leading me to the table. Picking me up, he placed me on it, took a step back, and stared at me while taking off his shirt. His eyes raked over my entire body. No one had ever looked at me that way before, including John. His desire for me was obvious, just as mine was for him.
“Spread your legs and bring them up on the table,” he commanded as he walked over to me.
Doing as he asked, he licked up the inside of my thigh while his fingers hooked into the sides of my panties. Lifting my ass from the table, he removed them and tossed them to the floor while his tongue explored me.
“You taste so damn good, Fiona.”
My hands stayed firmly planted on the table as his mouth covered me, causing me to let out sounds I never knew existed. It felt so good. He felt so good. His tongue slid up my torso as his fingers dipped inside me. Taking my breast in his mouth, he moaned.
“I could suck these beautiful tits all day and all night.”
His finger moved rapidly inside me as I swelled against him. It was happening again. Another orgasm was coming. He felt it as he leaned over me and stared into my eyes with a smile splayed across his face.
“You’re so easy to make come. Do you have any clue how much that turns me on?”
“You turn me on,” I whispered as I brought one hand to his cheek and my body gave in, releasing itself to him.
“That’s it. Look into my eyes as you come, beautiful. I want to see that mind-blowing expression on your face.”
Placing his hands on my hips, he lifted me from the table and turned me around, bending me over so he could take me from behind. I was caught up in the heat of the moment and I welcomed any position he wanted. So caught up, I didn’t hear the sound of the condom wrapper. He stood behind me and cupped my ass firmly with his hands before thrusting inside of me, hard and deep as he moaned with each thrust. His fingers pressed tightly into my hips as he moved in and out of me at a rapid pace. His moans grew louder as the warmth and wetness inside me enveloped around his hard cock. Orgasm number three was on its way and had me in such a hold that I forgot for a moment where I was. His hand reached in front me and he pressed his fingers against my clit, intensifying the orgasm that had already emerged. My legs tightened and my body shook as he slowed down and pushed deep inside me, releasing himself.
“Ah,” he moaned. “Oh my God.”
My heart was rapidly beating as I stood there while he was still buried inside me, trying to catch his breath. Before he pulled out, he softly kissed my back.
“Stay right here and I’ll get you a towel to clean yourself with.”
I turned around and leaned against the table, my body still on fire. I watched as Nathan walked his naked, strong, and ripped body towards me with a small towel in his hand.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
As I cleaned myself up, he slipped into his pants.
“Another vodka on the rocks?” he asked.
“No thanks,” I replied as I picked up my clothes off the floor. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Down that hallway and first door on the left.”
<
br /> When I entered the bathroom, I closed the door and fell back against it. Something happened to me and I couldn’t quite describe it. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I lightly tapped my head against the door. I was falling for him and I was falling hard. Shit. No! I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. I didn’t trust him or any man, for that matter. This was a game. A corporate game. Sex. Only sex. I needed to get out of here, but first I needed to compose myself. After getting myself dressed, I calmly and casually walked to the living room and grabbed my purse.
“Thank you,” I shouted as I walked towards the front door.
“Wait,” Nathan spoke as he emerged from the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want another drink?”
“I’m sure and I need to leave. But first, why don’t you give me the business proposal to look over tonight?”
“It can wait until tomorrow.” He kissed my forehead. “Be careful driving home and when you arrive, send me a text.”
“Why?” I asked with a raised brow.
“So I know you made it home safe.”
I could feel myself choking up inside. No man had ever asked me to text him when I got home.
“Oh, okay.” I gave a small smile.
He placed his hand on my cheek before I walked out the door.
“I had a lot of fun today. Let’s do it again.”
“Me too.” I placed my hand on his chest. “Have a good night, Nathan.”
“You too, Fiona. Don’t forget to text me.”
“I won’t,” I turned around and spoke before heading to my car.
Chapter 18
Nathan
I shut the door and walked into my office, taking the proposal from my desk and looking at it. There was a feeling inside me. One I didn’t like. One that sent me into a state of confusion. This was a business deal and a business deal only. Regardless of my feelings for her, it was a deal that needed to be made. It was nothing personal. But why did I find myself hesitant to show her? Throwing the proposal down on my desk, I went and took a shower. After wrapping a towel around my waist, I checked my phone to see if she texted me. She didn’t. Looking at the time, she should have been home by now. I’d give her a few more minutes before texting her. I dried myself off, put on a pair of pajama bottoms, and climbed into bed. Still, no text.
“Are you home?” I abruptly typed with aggravation that she couldn’t do one simple thing I asked.
“Oh. Sorry. I forgot to text you. Yes, I’m home.”
She forgot? How the fuck could she forget?
“I asked you to text me. How could you forget?”
“Were you worried about me or something? Are you questioning my driving abilities?”
Smart ass.
“No. I wasn’t worried. It’s the point that I asked you to do something and you didn’t do it. How am I supposed to trust that you’d turn your company around with my money if you can’t follow a simple request?”
“Are you finished? I’m tired and Josh will be here at seven. Good night, Nathan. I’m home, I’m safe, and I’m fine.”
“Good night.”
How dare she talk to me that way? Setting my phone down, I lay my head on my pillow and sighed. I tossed and turned a few times, trying to calm my racing mind. Bolting back up, I grabbed my phone.
“One simple request, Fiona. One simple request.”
“Go to sleep, Nathan.”
The next morning, I was sitting at my desk looking out at the magnificent city of Los Angeles when Will walked into my office.
“How did it go yesterday? Did you get her to sign?”
Turning my chair around, I took a sip of my coffee before answering him.
“I haven’t shown her yet.”
“What? Why? What are you waiting for?”
“Maybe we need to revise the proposal.”
“No way, Nathan. It’s what’s best for the company and your money.”
I sighed.
“Wait a minute. Hold on a second.” He pointed his finger at me. “Do you have feelings for her? Are you letting personal feelings get in the way of business?”
“No. It’s just I saw her yesterday in action with Ken Raines. She’s tough and I think she can handle the company on her own.”
“Oh, so you sat in on one meeting and now you think she’s capable? With your money? What the hell, Nathan? What’s your number one rule? The one you’ve stuck by for years? Never let personal feelings interfere with business. Always keep the two separate.”
“I know.” I let out a deep sigh. “You’re right. I’ll see her today and give her the proposal.”
“I’ll come with you,” he spoke.
“No need. I’m handling this one on my own.”
“Just make sure you don’t let your dick rule.”
“Have I ever?” I cocked my head.
“Just making sure.” He winked as he left my office.
****
Fiona
Pouring two cups of coffee, I took them over to the table where Josh was sitting.
“Nice house.”
“Thanks. Now what brings you here at seven a.m.?” I asked as I sat down.
He took a sip from his cup and then set it down. “I stumbled upon something yesterday and it freaked me out.”
“What was it?” I held my cup between my hands.
“Your father was stealing money from the employee pension.”
“What? How do you—”
He quickly pulled some papers from his brown leather bag and handed them to me.
“Serena, the woman that works in the production department asked your uncle for her pension statement because she hadn’t received one in a long time. Robbie pulled one for her and she took it home to her husband, who ran some numbers that didn’t add up. When she confronted your uncle about it, he said there was a problem with the computer system a while back and it probably didn’t update and he’d look into it. So, I started digging around myself. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. Not at all. I think.” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“All of the money that was taken from the employees’ checks to be put into their pension fund went into another account, which was used for company operations.”
“Shit.” I shook my head. “How much are we talking?”
He pursed his lips and stared at me.
“Josh. How much?”
“Over fifteen million dollars.”
“What?” I accidentally knocked over my coffee cup.
Josh got up and grabbed the roll of paper towel that was sitting on the counter.
“That was my reaction minus the spilling of coffee.”
“And you’re saying my uncle knew about this?”
“Yeah, Fiona. I’m sorry.”
As Josh cleaned up my mess, I covered my face with my hands. I was in shock, disbelief, and I was pissed.
“How could my father do that?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know him that well.”
“Oh my God, Josh. Does anyone else know about this?”
“No. Just us. I would never say a word to anyone. That’s why I didn’t want to talk about this at the office. What are you going to do, Fiona? You could go to jail.”
“Me!” I exclaimed. “I had nothing to do with this.”
“I know, but you’re the CEO now and you’re his daughter.” He looked at his watch. “I better get to the office before someone starts asking where I am. I’m sorry, Fiona.”
“Thanks, Josh. You did the right thing by telling me. But I want to make one thing very clear to you. You know nothing about this. Understand?”
“Yeah. I understand. I’ll see you at the office.”
After Josh left, I poured the rest of the coffee into my travel mug, grabbed my purse, and drove to the office. A feeling of hurt and betrayal coursed through my veins. How could my father do what he did? How could he steal from the employees that worked for him for so many years? There was only one person who could answer my questions and that was my Uncle Robbie
.
I stormed down the hallway to his office. The clanking of my heels against the cold tile could be heard throughout the building. Opening the door to his office without even knocking, I stepped inside and threw down my purse.
“Fiona, what’s going on?”
“How could you not tell me that my father stole from the company pension fund?” I spoke through gritted teeth as my finger angrily pointed at him.
He put his hands up. “I was going to tell you.”
“When?!” I demanded to know.
“Sit down.”
“NO! I am not sitting down and I want some answers NOW!”
“Your father said he had a plan to put the money back, but unfortunately, he died before he told me what that plan was.”
“How could you let him do it?” I asked as I stood there with my arms folded, shaking my head.
“Your father was desperate to try and save this company. He misused the company’s pension on a bad business deal, which sent this company and all of us down the rabbit hole. There was nothing I could do to stop him.”
“UGH!” I yelled as I paced around the room. “If we don’t go to the authorities about this, we’ll go to jail. Not just me, but you!” I pointed at him.
“And that is why we have to get that money back into the pension fund. It’s the main reason we need Nathan Carter.”
“You think Nathan Carter is going to want anything to do with this company once he finds out that my father stole the pension funds?”
“He doesn’t need to know. He’ll invest and we’ll take the fifteen million dollars and put it back.”
“And what about the rest of the money we owe to the creditors? Not to mention the fact that we no longer have a vineyard supplying us grapes. I can understand now why my father had a massive heart attack. Fuck. I’m going to my office. I need to calm down and think.” I grabbed my purse and walked out.
Chapter 19
Fiona
This was a nightmare. A nightmare that was never ending and one I couldn’t wake up from. As I took a seat behind my desk, my phone began to ring.
“Hey, Lydia.” I sighed.
“Are you okay?”
“So, since we’re in this car together for the next three and a half to four hours, how about we talk business?” I spoke as I looked over and admired how hot he looked driving my car. He was leaned back in the seat, one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on his lap.
“We will in time.” He smirked as he looked over at me.
“Why not now?”
“Because I said so.”
Rolling my eyes, I looked out the passenger window. What was he up to? Why the hesitation to talk about it now?
Chapter 17
Fiona
Nathan pulled into the winding driveway of his Malibu home, which sprawled out over an acre. I would classify it as a modern elegance resort-style home. If the outside was this beautiful, I couldn’t wait to see the inside.
Nathan got out of the car, walked over, and opened the door for me.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
“You’re welcome. Would you like to see my home? Maybe have a drink?”
“I would.”
I knew all too well what was going to happen. We’d be having sex in a matter of minutes. Was it wrong? Perhaps. But my body didn’t care. I wanted to feel him all over me again. The desire was too strong to deny.
I followed him inside his five-thousand-square-foot single-story beach house and instantly fell in love. From the open floor plan, the sea stone floors throughout, the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the ocean, and the Italian marble floor to ceiling fireplace had me hooked.
“Wow. This is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” He smiled.
“Did you decorate it yourself?” I asked as I followed him to the kitchen.
“No. I had an interior designer come in and decorate the place for me. Vodka on the rocks?” he asked.
“Sounds good.”
While he was pouring our drinks, I stepped outside on the patio and gasped when I saw the large in-ground pool that was almost the length of the house. At one end of the pool, there was a fireplace with a loveseat and a couple of chairs in front of it surrounded by Italian marble with recessed lights and a bar over to the left.
“Your drink.” Nathan smiled as he handed it to me.
“Thank you. This is some pool. My God, it’s huge.”
He chuckled. “It’s one of the best features of the house. I swim every day. Maybe one day, you’d like to join me.” He winked.
I gave him a small smile as I sipped my vodka.
“Why don’t we go inside?” He lightly placed his hand on my back.
Walking back inside the house, Nathan took my drink from my hand and set it down. Our eyes locked onto each other as his fingers began to slowly unbutton my blouse.
“I’ve been wanting you all day. I hope you don’t mind.” His lips pressed against mine.
“No. Not at all,” I whispered as our kiss deepened.
His fingers deftly slid my blouse off my shoulders, sending it to the ground. Breaking our kiss, he reached behind and unhooked my bra, exposing my breasts. The hunger in his eyes grew as he lightly traced his finger over each one, caressing them softly before taking each hardened peak in between his fingers. The bulge in his pants grew quickly. Knowing that I turned him on so much caused an explosion inside me, intensifying the deep and uncontrollable ache between my legs. Taking his hand, I placed it up my skirt, begging for his touch. The corners of his mouth curved up into a smile as his eyes stared into mine.
“Is that what you want? You want my fingers inside your wet and warm pussy?” he whispered in my ear.
“Yes,” I replied with bated breath.
“Do you want me to make you come?” His lips swept over my neck.
“Yes.”
Pushing the fabric of my panties to the side, he plunged a finger inside me without hesitation. I gasped and a low growl rumbled in his chest. I needed to feel his cock in my hand. I was horny as hell and I wasn’t holding back. His lips glided across my throat and down my chest, while his tongue circled around my nipple. Unbuckling his belt, I forcefully took down his pants and wrapped my hand around his cock. The moan that erupted from him excited me even more. He continued to suck each breast as his finger moved in and out of me, stimulating me in a way that threw my body into a rapid orgasm. I moaned and threw my head back as he held my body against him with one hand.
“That’s it. Come for me, beautiful.”
He removed his finger from me and my hand from his cock. Reaching back, he unzipped my skirt, letting it fall to the floor.
“Leave your heels on.” He smiled.
“Are you going to show me your bedroom?” I asked breathlessly, still trying to recover from my orgasm.
“No. I’m going to show you my dining room table.”
He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants before taking my hand and leading me to the table. Picking me up, he placed me on it, took a step back, and stared at me while taking off his shirt. His eyes raked over my entire body. No one had ever looked at me that way before, including John. His desire for me was obvious, just as mine was for him.
“Spread your legs and bring them up on the table,” he commanded as he walked over to me.
Doing as he asked, he licked up the inside of my thigh while his fingers hooked into the sides of my panties. Lifting my ass from the table, he removed them and tossed them to the floor while his tongue explored me.
“You taste so damn good, Fiona.”
My hands stayed firmly planted on the table as his mouth covered me, causing me to let out sounds I never knew existed. It felt so good. He felt so good. His tongue slid up my torso as his fingers dipped inside me. Taking my breast in his mouth, he moaned.
“I could suck these beautiful tits all day and all night.”
His finger moved rapidly inside me as I swelled against him. It was happening again. Another orgasm was coming. He felt it as he leaned over me and stared into my eyes with a smile splayed across his face.
“You’re so easy to make come. Do you have any clue how much that turns me on?”
“You turn me on,” I whispered as I brought one hand to his cheek and my body gave in, releasing itself to him.
“That’s it. Look into my eyes as you come, beautiful. I want to see that mind-blowing expression on your face.”
Placing his hands on my hips, he lifted me from the table and turned me around, bending me over so he could take me from behind. I was caught up in the heat of the moment and I welcomed any position he wanted. So caught up, I didn’t hear the sound of the condom wrapper. He stood behind me and cupped my ass firmly with his hands before thrusting inside of me, hard and deep as he moaned with each thrust. His fingers pressed tightly into my hips as he moved in and out of me at a rapid pace. His moans grew louder as the warmth and wetness inside me enveloped around his hard cock. Orgasm number three was on its way and had me in such a hold that I forgot for a moment where I was. His hand reached in front me and he pressed his fingers against my clit, intensifying the orgasm that had already emerged. My legs tightened and my body shook as he slowed down and pushed deep inside me, releasing himself.
“Ah,” he moaned. “Oh my God.”
My heart was rapidly beating as I stood there while he was still buried inside me, trying to catch his breath. Before he pulled out, he softly kissed my back.
“Stay right here and I’ll get you a towel to clean yourself with.”
I turned around and leaned against the table, my body still on fire. I watched as Nathan walked his naked, strong, and ripped body towards me with a small towel in his hand.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
As I cleaned myself up, he slipped into his pants.
“Another vodka on the rocks?” he asked.
“No thanks,” I replied as I picked up my clothes off the floor. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Down that hallway and first door on the left.”
<
“Thank you,” I shouted as I walked towards the front door.
“Wait,” Nathan spoke as he emerged from the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want another drink?”
“I’m sure and I need to leave. But first, why don’t you give me the business proposal to look over tonight?”
“It can wait until tomorrow.” He kissed my forehead. “Be careful driving home and when you arrive, send me a text.”
“Why?” I asked with a raised brow.
“So I know you made it home safe.”
I could feel myself choking up inside. No man had ever asked me to text him when I got home.
“Oh, okay.” I gave a small smile.
He placed his hand on my cheek before I walked out the door.
“I had a lot of fun today. Let’s do it again.”
“Me too.” I placed my hand on his chest. “Have a good night, Nathan.”
“You too, Fiona. Don’t forget to text me.”
“I won’t,” I turned around and spoke before heading to my car.
Chapter 18
Nathan
I shut the door and walked into my office, taking the proposal from my desk and looking at it. There was a feeling inside me. One I didn’t like. One that sent me into a state of confusion. This was a business deal and a business deal only. Regardless of my feelings for her, it was a deal that needed to be made. It was nothing personal. But why did I find myself hesitant to show her? Throwing the proposal down on my desk, I went and took a shower. After wrapping a towel around my waist, I checked my phone to see if she texted me. She didn’t. Looking at the time, she should have been home by now. I’d give her a few more minutes before texting her. I dried myself off, put on a pair of pajama bottoms, and climbed into bed. Still, no text.
“Are you home?” I abruptly typed with aggravation that she couldn’t do one simple thing I asked.
“Oh. Sorry. I forgot to text you. Yes, I’m home.”
She forgot? How the fuck could she forget?
“I asked you to text me. How could you forget?”
“Were you worried about me or something? Are you questioning my driving abilities?”
Smart ass.
“No. I wasn’t worried. It’s the point that I asked you to do something and you didn’t do it. How am I supposed to trust that you’d turn your company around with my money if you can’t follow a simple request?”
“Are you finished? I’m tired and Josh will be here at seven. Good night, Nathan. I’m home, I’m safe, and I’m fine.”
“Good night.”
How dare she talk to me that way? Setting my phone down, I lay my head on my pillow and sighed. I tossed and turned a few times, trying to calm my racing mind. Bolting back up, I grabbed my phone.
“One simple request, Fiona. One simple request.”
“Go to sleep, Nathan.”
The next morning, I was sitting at my desk looking out at the magnificent city of Los Angeles when Will walked into my office.
“How did it go yesterday? Did you get her to sign?”
Turning my chair around, I took a sip of my coffee before answering him.
“I haven’t shown her yet.”
“What? Why? What are you waiting for?”
“Maybe we need to revise the proposal.”
“No way, Nathan. It’s what’s best for the company and your money.”
I sighed.
“Wait a minute. Hold on a second.” He pointed his finger at me. “Do you have feelings for her? Are you letting personal feelings get in the way of business?”
“No. It’s just I saw her yesterday in action with Ken Raines. She’s tough and I think she can handle the company on her own.”
“Oh, so you sat in on one meeting and now you think she’s capable? With your money? What the hell, Nathan? What’s your number one rule? The one you’ve stuck by for years? Never let personal feelings interfere with business. Always keep the two separate.”
“I know.” I let out a deep sigh. “You’re right. I’ll see her today and give her the proposal.”
“I’ll come with you,” he spoke.
“No need. I’m handling this one on my own.”
“Just make sure you don’t let your dick rule.”
“Have I ever?” I cocked my head.
“Just making sure.” He winked as he left my office.
****
Fiona
Pouring two cups of coffee, I took them over to the table where Josh was sitting.
“Nice house.”
“Thanks. Now what brings you here at seven a.m.?” I asked as I sat down.
He took a sip from his cup and then set it down. “I stumbled upon something yesterday and it freaked me out.”
“What was it?” I held my cup between my hands.
“Your father was stealing money from the employee pension.”
“What? How do you—”
He quickly pulled some papers from his brown leather bag and handed them to me.
“Serena, the woman that works in the production department asked your uncle for her pension statement because she hadn’t received one in a long time. Robbie pulled one for her and she took it home to her husband, who ran some numbers that didn’t add up. When she confronted your uncle about it, he said there was a problem with the computer system a while back and it probably didn’t update and he’d look into it. So, I started digging around myself. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. Not at all. I think.” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“All of the money that was taken from the employees’ checks to be put into their pension fund went into another account, which was used for company operations.”
“Shit.” I shook my head. “How much are we talking?”
He pursed his lips and stared at me.
“Josh. How much?”
“Over fifteen million dollars.”
“What?” I accidentally knocked over my coffee cup.
Josh got up and grabbed the roll of paper towel that was sitting on the counter.
“That was my reaction minus the spilling of coffee.”
“And you’re saying my uncle knew about this?”
“Yeah, Fiona. I’m sorry.”
As Josh cleaned up my mess, I covered my face with my hands. I was in shock, disbelief, and I was pissed.
“How could my father do that?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know him that well.”
“Oh my God, Josh. Does anyone else know about this?”
“No. Just us. I would never say a word to anyone. That’s why I didn’t want to talk about this at the office. What are you going to do, Fiona? You could go to jail.”
“Me!” I exclaimed. “I had nothing to do with this.”
“I know, but you’re the CEO now and you’re his daughter.” He looked at his watch. “I better get to the office before someone starts asking where I am. I’m sorry, Fiona.”
“Thanks, Josh. You did the right thing by telling me. But I want to make one thing very clear to you. You know nothing about this. Understand?”
“Yeah. I understand. I’ll see you at the office.”
After Josh left, I poured the rest of the coffee into my travel mug, grabbed my purse, and drove to the office. A feeling of hurt and betrayal coursed through my veins. How could my father do what he did? How could he steal from the employees that worked for him for so many years? There was only one person who could answer my questions and that was my Uncle Robbie
I stormed down the hallway to his office. The clanking of my heels against the cold tile could be heard throughout the building. Opening the door to his office without even knocking, I stepped inside and threw down my purse.
“Fiona, what’s going on?”
“How could you not tell me that my father stole from the company pension fund?” I spoke through gritted teeth as my finger angrily pointed at him.
He put his hands up. “I was going to tell you.”
“When?!” I demanded to know.
“Sit down.”
“NO! I am not sitting down and I want some answers NOW!”
“Your father said he had a plan to put the money back, but unfortunately, he died before he told me what that plan was.”
“How could you let him do it?” I asked as I stood there with my arms folded, shaking my head.
“Your father was desperate to try and save this company. He misused the company’s pension on a bad business deal, which sent this company and all of us down the rabbit hole. There was nothing I could do to stop him.”
“UGH!” I yelled as I paced around the room. “If we don’t go to the authorities about this, we’ll go to jail. Not just me, but you!” I pointed at him.
“And that is why we have to get that money back into the pension fund. It’s the main reason we need Nathan Carter.”
“You think Nathan Carter is going to want anything to do with this company once he finds out that my father stole the pension funds?”
“He doesn’t need to know. He’ll invest and we’ll take the fifteen million dollars and put it back.”
“And what about the rest of the money we owe to the creditors? Not to mention the fact that we no longer have a vineyard supplying us grapes. I can understand now why my father had a massive heart attack. Fuck. I’m going to my office. I need to calm down and think.” I grabbed my purse and walked out.
Chapter 19
Fiona
This was a nightmare. A nightmare that was never ending and one I couldn’t wake up from. As I took a seat behind my desk, my phone began to ring.
“Hey, Lydia.” I sighed.
“Are you okay?”