Page 4

Leonard

“ Y ou have got to be kidding me,” I whisper as I check the numbers for the billionth time.

Since Trish gave me the news about the missing money last week, I’ve spent every single free minute I’ve had digging into it. It vanished. Just like that, this random sum slipped out of our bank account and went nowhere.

I rerun the code I wrote to recheck our systems, but the results are always the same—no trace of the money.

I’m beyond pissed.

The problem is not the amount of money, which is ridiculously minor for a billion-dollar company, but the fact that we can’t trace where it went is troublesome.

The fact that I can’t find it is even more concerning. I created an empire in cybersecurity, for Pete’s sake! There is no way someone stole from me, and I didn’t notice.

I stand up from my desk and walk to the floor-to-ceiling window facing downtown.

There is something relaxing about watching the cars slowly moving around in the traffic without hearing the noise.

I love this city, but the chaos is sometimes too overwhelming, even for someone like me who grew up in the chaos.

I turn back toward the desk and stare at the computer. Maybe it’s time to admit defeat and ask for help from one of my employees. The idea of being unable to crack this problem is enough to lose sleep over. I’m the best in this field, and I have shown it time and time again. This is just bullshit.

“You look like you ate a sour lemon,” the booming voice from the door diverts my attention from my computer.

Jack’s imposing figure takes up the entire doorframe. He’s the security guard I hired a lifetime ago.

“A lemon would probably be better than this headache.” I smile at him.

He chuckles and I gesture for him to sit on the chair across from me.

He hesitates for a second, then takes three long strides and sits down.

We’ve had this conversation a million times before.

He always points out that he shouldn’t sit down and chit-chat during his shift, and I counter that I’m his boss and asked him to do it.

It took a long time to make him understand that it’s fine for him to sit here with me for ten minutes.

“How’s it going?” I ask, and watch his face light up with a smile that takes up his whole face.

“My little one is going to college this year.” He beams like the proud father he is.

“Wait, what? Is she old enough for college?” How did she grow up so fast?

Jack chuckles. “Yeah, she’s a smart one. She won’t marry someone rich. She’ll make her own money.”

I’m glad to hear that. I’m not a fan of women financially depending on men. If a woman doesn’t have a job to support herself, she’ll never escape a loveless, abusive relationship. And men are such cowards that they count on that when they have nothing else to offer.

“I know she’s a smart girl, but she was like five just a week ago.” The last time I saw her, she was barely out of her diapers.

Jack’s booming laugh fills the room. “You spend way too much time in this office, and you don’t even realize that time is slipping through your fingers.” He studies me intently with that fatherly gaze I’m accustomed to seeing from him.

I hired Jack when I started this company.

He was fired in front of my eyes from the company that was remodeling this place.

It wasn’t his fault if the marble slab fell and broke, but it was easier to fire the Black guy who didn’t go to college than the owner’s son fresh out of his pristine education for rich white guys.

I tried to defend him to no avail, so I hired him on the spot and have never regretted my decision since.

“No! It’s your kids that grew up way too fast.”

He shakes his head. “When was the last time you took a Sunday for yourself?”

I think about it, but honestly, I don’t remember. A few months ago, maybe? I’m sure I did it at some point this year.

“I have more pressing things to do.” I smile, pointing at the computer, but I feel like a kid in the principal’s office.

“Are you going to solve all your problems today?” He raises a scolding eyebrow.

“Probably not,” I admit.

“Will they be there tomorrow?” he presses.

I look at my hands and smile. I know he’s trying to make me understand that I don’t have a life. But I’m okay with it most of the time.

“Yes, but if I solve some today, I have less to do tomorrow.” I feel the need to find an excuse because, no matter what, his opinion matters.

He smiles sweetly. “Like you don’t always have your hands full. You founded fifteen companies, for Pete’s sake! You don’t even know what it means to rest,” he points out.

He’s right. I always need something to do or feel like I’m wasting my time.

It’s why I don’t have an active social life.

I can’t maintain a good relationship with my work schedule.

My friends know they can see me only if they plan months in advance and if there aren’t any major disasters when we have an appointment.

On the other hand, if one of them is in trouble and needs my help, I will drop everything and run to them.

I’m someone my friends can count on when they need me.

“Okay, you have a point, but tell me more about your kid. Where is she going?” I successfully divert the topic that was becoming suffocating and study the proud smile coming back to his face.

“Stanford. She got an early acceptance to Stanford. Can you believe it? It’s an Ivy League college. She’s so smart. She got it from her mother.” He almost trips over his words, incapable of containing his excitement.

“I can believe that. I’m so proud of her.” And I really am. I love his family like it’s my own.

“Now she’s waiting to find out if she has a full scholarship or if she’ll have to pick up a loan. But all her brothers had it, so she’s pretty confident that she won’t have a problem with that.” He seems a bit worried about it even though the smile never disappears from his face.

I make a mental note to look into it and step in if she can’t get the full ride to her dream college.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” I agree with him and I can see his shoulders relax a bit.

Jack nods and looks at his watch. “Better go do my rounds. It’s always a pleasure to chat with you. And go home, enjoy this sunny Sunday.” He winks at me before standing up and disappearing behind the door.

I will leave my office but not go home. There is someone else I need to talk about this money thing. He won’t be able to help me, but he will put my mind at rest. I text my driver to let him know to pick me up.

The helicopter ruffles the perfect grass as it lands on his spot on the hill. I watch out the window, and I smile at the view of Raphael with his arms spread as if to say, “What the hell are you doing?” Right behind him, Silver is laughing and grabbing her dress to avoid flashing her underwear.

When the engine turns off and the blades slow down, I remove my headphones and step off the chopper. I walk to the backyard, where Raphael is shaking his head.

“You know I have a permit to land on this hill just because of my job, right? It’s for emergencies, not for you to avoid the traffic,” he complains.

“This is definitely an emergency.” I grin at him.

He raises an eyebrow, scolding me, but I can see a hint of amusement in his eyes. His wife, Silver, is not even hiding her amusement.

“What? Is someone threatening the life of the most handsome senator in the entire United States?” He drags me into a quick hug.

“Humble too!” Silver mocks him, rolling her eyes.

We walk to the patio near the swimming pool where they were having a relaxing time reading books, from what I can see.

A grip squeezes my chest. Until five years ago, we spent Sundays discussing work and solutions to our problems next to this same swimming pool, but now he has a family, and I can’t compete with that.

Not that I feel the need to compete with Silver for my friend’s attention, but it was nice to spend time with someone who could understand my massive problems instead of mulling them over alone in my office.

“No, someone is stealing from my company.” This gets their full attention.

They turn around to look at me without a hint of a smile on their faces.

I motion for them to sit down in the lounge area so I can explain.

“This is confidential, so I count on your discretion,” I say, even though I know they won’t breathe a word about what I say here.

Raphael smiles. “You know so many secrets about me you could drag me into the mud for ages if I spill the beans.”

I chuckle. It’s true. He has a couple of massive skeletons hidden in his closet that could cost him his career.

“Out with it. You’re making me anxious,” Silver presses me.

I take a long breath. It is difficult trying to summarize this mess without sounding crazy. “I’m trying to acquire a company to merge with Walton Tech.”

Raphael’s eyes widen, knowing what a big deal this is for me, but he says nothing, so I continue with my explanation. “We are looking into our finances to be sure everything is on track, and Trish noticed that some money is missing. It’s been going out of our bank account during the last year.”

“Are you serious? How much are we talking about? How haven’t you notice it before?” Raphael fires with concern.

I look up into the clear sky and sigh. “One thousand four hundred seventy-six dollars.”

They both stare at me with their mouth hanging open.

“That’s it? Not even two thousand dollars? And you’re making a fuss about that ?” Raphael looks baffled.

“It’s not the amount, per se, it’s the fact that there’s no trace of it. It leaves the account, and that’s it.” I can hear the defensive tone of my voice, but the way they’re looking at me is unsettling. Like I’m crazy, and they don’t know how to tell me.

Am I? Crazy about cracking a mystery and I don’t even know if it will change anything in the company.

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’? It’s not like money just disappears.” Raphael frowns.

“That’s exactly what happened. Not the entire sum, but small amounts from time to time. It got overlooked in the big scheme.” It comes out like an exasperated groan.

“That’s weird.” The frown on Raphael’s face deepens.

“Can it be something bank-related? You know, like a glitch or something,” Silver suggests.

I shake my head. “I’ve looked into it, but I came up empty-handed. Jesus, it’s driving me crazy.”

“Why? It’s just a small amount,” Silver points out, and I understand her point. The first thing that comes to your mind is that it’s a ridiculous sum for someone like me. I spend way more than that on coffee during the year. But this is deeper than just the amount.

“Because Walton Tech is the leader in cybersecurity, and the fact that someone is stealing under their noses is beyond concerning. Especially if nobody can come up with an explanation, it’s a breach in security in their own systems.” Raphael sums up the situation for me.

Hearing it out loud from someone else is almost terrifying.

“I see.” Silvers seems concerned too.

Watching their faces darken with worry feels like a bucket of cold water getting dumped on my head. I haven’t had the guts to admit how serious this situation is until I talked to them. I rub a hand over my face and try to calm down and be reasonable about it.

“It’s so fucked up,” I whisper, and Silver puts a comforting hand over mine.

“Who’s working on it?” Raphael puts on his problem-solving pants and looks me dead in the eye.

“I’m handling it.”

His brows shoot up in surprise. “And even you can’t find a solution?”

I nod, knowing how much I failed this week.

“Have you tried asking Oliver for his opinion? He’s a smart guy too.”

I thought about it, but I don’t know if I want to put this burden on him too. He’s already reluctant about the acquisition. I don’t want to worry him about this mess.

“He already has his hands full with the merger. He doesn’t have time to look into this.”

“You should ask Roxanne if she can help. She’s a tech genius,” Silver suggests, and I feel an uncomfortable sensation sneaking into my stomach.

Tech genius is an understatement. She is known in the industry as one of the best hackers in this country, if not the entire world. The problem is, I don’t want to work with her.

“I can’t give this job to a kid. It’s a delicate matter. If anyone gets a whisper of it, I’m done,” I say firmly.

Silver tilts her head and studies me. “She is twenty-five, far from a kid. And she’s damn good at her job.”

“She has pink hair. She acts like a kid,” I point out.

“Just the tips,” she counters.

“She does illegal things. I wouldn’t count that as a ‘job.’”

“She uses unconventional methods to obtain results, so what?”

“You talk like a lawyer.”

“I am. Sort of.” She grins.

I can’t stop smiling. She is good at it, and it’s a shame she can’t work as a lawyer. She’s one of the few people I know who had a really messed-up life before meeting Raphael.

“You know, Silver is right. When was the last time you saw Roxanne? Four years ago at our wedding? She’s not the same kid. God only knows, I’m trying to keep the FBI away from her. They want to recruit her because they can’t catch her.” He sounds almost exasperated.

I chuckle in spite of what they’re trying to do. There are a lot of reasons why I should stay away from Roxanne, and her being all grown up is only the tip of the iceberg.

“The answer is no, no matter what how hard you try to convince me.” I stubbornly defend my position.

“Why? She’s good and can help you!” Silver doesn’t give up.

“Because I don’t want to mix family and business.” I come up with an excuse.

“Technically, she isn’t family. Not yours, at least.” Raphael raises an eyebrow, challenging me.

I would put that on the ‘cons’ list, but I can’t tell him that.

“The answer is still no.” My tone is so adamant they give up trying.

My life is already complicated as it is. I can’t add a sexy sister-in-law to my never-ending list of problems.