Page 50 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“You know how to do good business, I’ll admit. The green energy project is insanely promising, but your expansion into the fintech market as well. That’s not just bold, it’s money begging to be made. I’m glad to see you growing your father’s business beyond the original steel mills.”

I chuckle lightly. “The mills still employ tens of thousands of people across the state, Alexandra. We’re doing alright with just that on our plate.”

“Oh, I’m well aware. It’s just that I’m rooting for each of your endeavors to run seamlessly. We all stand to profit from them. Speaking of fintech, how is Christa doing?”

“She’s brilliant,” I say without hesitation. “She understood the products and immediately built upon them. Personally, I’m impressed by how much she has been able to do in the relatively short time she’s been with us.”

“I hope Colin isn’t giving her any grief,” Alexandra mutters.

“He’s fine. Christa can handle herself. I wasn’t worried, truth be told. Colin may be rough around the edges and somewhat resistant to change, but he is one of the best in his field.”

“I guess all the great ones are difficult to work with until you figure out what makes them tick, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Was Christa the same? Difficult at first?”

I shake my head, fondly remembering our first work sessions together when she presented her vision on what our fintech products could do on top of what we had already agreed to.

“No, not at all. She knows what she’s doing, and it’s evident in every aspect of her work,” I tell Alexandra.

“I heard she worked wonders for the people at Perry-Sage on similar products.”

My interest is piqued, but my instincts are also flaring as I give Alexandra a curious glare. “How do you know about Perry-Sage?It’s supposed to be confidential.”

“It is,” she says with a delicate smile. “Don’t tell her I know. I’m aware of how much she values those nondisclosure agreements she had to sign.”

“Whatdoyou know about Perry-Sage?”

“Not much. Just that Christa was instrumental in developing several investment products that funneled billions into Perry-Sage. The clients were thrilled with their returns from the first six months,” Alexandra says. “I don’t know what happened with the company’s downfall, though. There are all sorts of rumors in the fintech field, but rumors aren’t truth.”

“Even so. What do the rumors say?”

Alexandra takes a deep breath, looking rather uncomfortable. If Christa won’t tell us anything, I might as well gather information from wherever I can get it. Whether it’s accurate remains to be seen.

“Well, it’s not good.” She sighs and lowers her gaze for a moment. “Of course, I’m not buying whatever those Perry-Sage lawyers tried to sell about their former employees in court, but apparently, a handful of inner-circle developers, Christa and others included, orchestrated a maneuver from within. Money laundering for criminals. Fraud. Embezzlement. That sort of thing. They could never prove it, of course, hence why the entire corporation went down.”

“I doubt Christa would’ve had a hand in any of that,” I immediately reply.

Alexandra is quick to agree. “No, absolutely. I’m not even suggesting otherwise. Just that maybe you should look into it.Get her side of the story. I have a friend who’s connected to the Perry-Sage higher-ups’ former legal counsel. If you’d like, I could call them.”

I think about it for a moment. I’m rather conflicted.

On the one hand, Christa might not like this. She’s been so secretive about her time at Perry-Sage, citing NDAs and trying so hard to keep her past buried. But after what happened the other night, I cannot bring myself to fully trust her again, not without knowing more. If Alexandra can get us the info we need, I don’t see any harm in it.

Finally, I conclude with a heavy sigh, “As long as you’re discrete about it. I have to admit I’d appreciate learning more about Perry-Sage.”

“Nobody will ever know,” Alexandra assures me.

It doesn’t make my uneasiness with Alexandra go away, but she might be useful, at least for gathering intel. Whatever Christa is running from must stem from what Alexandra is about to dig into.

“The more information we have, the better,” I say, my voice low.

A pang of guilt cuts through me, but it’s nowhere near as uncomfortable as the feeling I had when I realized Christa was about to disappear. It’s the one thing I want to prevent.

“I’ll see what I can find out, but you’re probably right. Christa is a great woman, a true professional in her field,” Alexandra says. “The fintech industry can be pretty cutthroat, to be honest. I get the importance of secrecy and nondisclosure agreements.”

“So do I.”

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