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Right. The meeting.
“Oh, before I forget, I got you something.” She digs in her purse and hands me a plastic bag from a drugstore down the street.
I reach in, withdrawing a pair of black reading glasses.
“You’re always squinting at your computer,” she explains. “I thought these might help.”
I blink, taken aback by her gesture, and walk around my desk, pulling a spreadsheet out of the folder I’m bringing to the meeting with Finance. I put on the glasses and study the sheet, the tiny figures noticeably easier to read.
I look back up at her, speechless.
“Do they help?”
“Yeah, they do. Thank you, I-” I clear my throat, a strange swooping sensation going on in my chest. “That’s really thoughtful.”
She beams at me, the pressure inside me increasing the longer I stare at her. “I’ll see you tonight?”
She nods, but neither of us makes a move to kiss the other goodbye. If we do, we might not stop.
How is this happening so quickly?
I leave while I still have the willpower, and I’m only a few minutes late as I meet with the heads of the Finance department. At least in this case, I’m the man they have to wait for.
Serena’s gone when I return to my office an hour later, which is for the best. Dad’s accusation of her being a distraction wasn’t totally uncalled for. If that kind of temptation was in here all day, I’d never get any work done. It’s becoming increasingly harder at home too.
And what I have planned for this afternoon requires all my attention.
Investigating.
Morally it seems iffy to examine Serena’s father’s company for possible wrongdoing, but this is purely business. If Montague is hiding something from us, we need to know before the buyout. And it still doesn’t make sense why a supposed millionaire is strapped for cash.
There’s only so much digging I can do on him personally, but I should have more access to his company’s financials. I’ve done my due diligence already, before we even considered the deal, but a second look won’t harm anything. And something might have changed between now and then.
Plus, I have a legitimate reason to examine things closer if Operations is concerned about redundancy.
According to my paperwork, Montague Media created a Research and Development department six months ago with a suspiciously large budget. And after some further investigating of my own, I’ve discovered that every employee in it has a higher than average salary compared to industry standards. Exorbitantly higher. Added to that, the number of employees inexplicably tripled as of three months ago.
Right around the time Greg Montague downgraded his apartment. Coincidence? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not even sure what the connection could be.
At the very least, if all these people were hired recently, they may not have even passed their probationary status. We could get rid of them without worrying about all these extra salaries.
I press the intercom button to Tracy’s desk. “Tracy? Did you get that number I asked for?”
My office door opens a second later, not that I said it was okay to enter, Tracy’s head poking through. “So, um, I couldn’t really figure out your request.”
How much simpler did I need to ask it? Yes, she’s flighty, but come on. “Why?”
“Well, I called over there, but they didn’t know what I was talking about. They’ve never had a department with that name.”
I frown. “Get me Greg Montague on the line. No, wait. Don’t.” It would be better to go in under the radar.
I flip the pages of the report in my hand until I find the name at the end.Christopher Lassiter, Senior Accountant.
Looks like I’ll be paying Chris a visit.
“Hi, welcome to Montague-”The receptionist pauses, her eyes widening slightly. “Media,” she finishes, straightening in her seat. “Do you have an appointment?”
“I’m looking for the Research and Development department.”