Page 54 of Return on Love

“Well, Dad wouldn’t stop talking, and I had to ask Alex something about a client. So yeah, we had to message each other.” I tell him about CashCross.

“You know, we need to talk to Bernard,” Ryan says after some time. “As of now, we’re just guessing what’s happening. Let’s hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.”

I agree and I try calling Bernard on his cell phone, but it’s switched off again. “His number’s been switched off since yesterday. We can’t possibly send him an email. We don’t know if someone else has access to it.”

The rest of the drive home, Ryan’s home, is relatively quiet. As Ryan parks the car, I have an idea. I take out my phone and begin searching for a number.

“There it is!” I shriek and place a call to Bernard’s wife.

“Hi Amanda. This is Eva. I work with Bernard. We met at the New Year's Party last year.”

“Yes, Eva. I remember you. Bernard speaks highly of you.” Her voice is a little strained.

“Is he there with you? I’ve been trying to reach him on his cell, but it’s switched off.”

Amanda is silent for a moment. “There have been things going in office. I’m not sure whether you know, but he doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”

“Please, this could be important. Can you at least tell him I’ve stopped James from doing the release? If he wants to talk to me, he can call me back on this number.”

We enter the house and calm an over-excited Max. I wonder if Bernard will call back. Right then my phone trills and I see Amanda’s number on the screen.

“Hey,” I say, swiping it up immediately.

“You shouldn’t have called,” Bernard says, his voice huskier than usual.

Chapter 16

“The truth is often what we make of it.”—Obi-Wan Kenobi

“Shouldn’t have called?” I’m actually angry at Bernard. We’ve always been close, and he didn’t even tell me he was in trouble. Now he’s saying I made a mistake calling him.

“Yes. I’m in deep trouble, and I don’t want to drag you down with me.”

“C’mon Bernard. I always thought you were more than a boss to me. Was I wrong? Anyway, I’m old enough to take my own decisions, and I’m helping you out, whether or not you like it. So, tell me, what’s going on?”

He sighs deeply into the phone. “I don’t know much myself. Last week, Weber met me and said some discrepancies and illegalities have come to his notice regarding one of my clients and there is a direct communication from me prompting them to do it. I’ve just got to know that there’s some money that was transferred from an escrow account I had access to, to my account and then withdrawn from my account. I don’t know how it happened. All I know is I didn’t do it.”

The client must be James. I make a mental note to ask him about it once he tells me the current status. “So what’s happening now?”

“The firm has blocked my access to emails and official phone number. The Senior Partners have identified a team within the organization, led by Priscilla, to look into it and investigate it. Everyone is distancing themselves from me. Thankfully, Gordon still trusts me and is keeping me abreast of the situation.”

“Did you email James approving the launch of his app?”

“No. Of course not. The legal team’s go-ahead is still pending on that.”

“But someone emailed James from your email id. I have a copy of that email with me. The app went live on Thursday or Friday. For now, I’ve told him to stop the roll-out and remove the app. So there won’t be further damage.”

“Shit! Are you sure it was my email id?”

“Yeah. I saw it.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Did you ever give access to your system to anyone? Maybe even IT?”

“No. Not recently. And even if I do, I never leave my system unattended.”

I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Bernard. But I promise you, I’ll get to the bottom.”

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