Page 38 of Found By Him

“She told me that same about you. Are you coming to the party this weekend?”

I hesitate. I know Jack said last night that he would be happy if I came with him, but I don’t want to intrude on his entire life. My issues have already forced him to have to adjust everyone’s work schedule. I decide to go with something noncommittal. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. Jack and I didn’t talk about it much.”

“Well, you should come. Alice is basically everyone’s grandma. You’ll meet her today. You’ll love her.”

“I can’t wait.” And I’m not lying. Maybe it’s just the lack of family in my life, but everyone I’ve met in Jack’s life makes it evident how deeply they care for each other. Even Ian, in his serious, aloof way.

We step off the elevators and are greeted by an older lady who’s barely five feet tall with shoulder-length grey hair.

“Tyler, who’s the pretty lady?”

“Alice, this is Ella. Ella, this is Alice.” I shake her hand with a smile. “Jack told you about her?”

Alice nods with a warm smile. “He did. It’s so nice to meet you, Ella. I didn’t realize you were coming in today.”

“Yeah, it was kind of last minute.”

“Well, no problem at all. He’s in a meeting, but I think he should be done soon.” She gestures to the couches Tyler and I sat on the night Jack and I went to dinner. “Would you like to have a seat? I can get you some water or coffee, if you would like?”

“I don’t need anything. Thank you so much for the offer.” I take a seat and wave to Tyler when he tells me he has to leave to do some paperwork.

“Gisella.” Jack’s deep, rumbling voice draws me from my thoughts only a few minutes later. He and the man I recognize from the other night cross the open office area toward me. I stand with a nervous smile, and Jack gestures to the man. “This is my business partner and friend, Nate. Nate, this is Ella.”

It’s odd to hear Jack say my shortened name. I think this might be the first time I’ve heard him use it. I move to Jack’s side as they approach, and his hand settles on my back.

Nate has a goofy, knowing grin on his face. It immediately puts me at ease as I shake his hand. “Ella, nice to officially meet you. Third time’s a charm.”

I look at Jack in bewilderment. Nate’s statement seems to indicate this is the third time we’ve been in the same place. “Uh, Nate was waiting in the car the day I dropped off the G-Wagon to you.”

My cheeks heat at the reminder of that day. I can’t imagine what Nate thought while watching us.

Nate chuckles as he gestures to the office they walked out of. “Let’s go talk. I can’t wait to hear more about you.”

The three of us enter the conference room. Jack leads me to a seat, and after pulling out my chair for me and slowly rolling back to the table once I’m seated, he takes the seat to my left. Nate sits across from me.

Nate addresses me with a reassuring smile in place. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”

I take a deep breath. “Okay, it might be best if I give a little bit of background. I started working at Whole Life Medical Supply when I moved here four years ago. I was hired as a senior accountant. My boss, Craig Melton, was in the role I’m currently in.” I pause and glance down at my hands resting in my lap. “I should say,wasin. He became CFO about two years ago, and I was promoted.”

I glance at Jack, and he reaches over and squeezes my thigh in support.

“I started noticing some odd things, maybe around Thanksgiving last year. Regular expenses that increased an abnormal amount month after month. New expenses that were unusual and unnecessary. Payments for expenses that didn’t go through the normal approval process. Payments that didn’t have any documentation, but then would suddenly have it once I questioned it.”

Nate’s chair creaks as he leans forward. “I’m assuming you brought it up to your boss?”

I nod. “Yes, I asked him about it multiple times. I was always shut down, and the explanations he gave always were somewhat plausible. I had never been in this high of a position, so he claimed it was my inexperience that was driving my lack of understanding. And since I was worried about losing my job, I didn’t question it more.”

I take another deep breath. “Then, two months ago, I was sent something on accident that made me re-examine everything. Craig left early for an appointment, and thebank needed approval on an urgent wire that was sent to them that morning. He had forgotten to sign it, and since I’m a secondary approver, they reached out to me.” I shake my head. “I had no idea what the payment was for. There was no indication on the documentation the bank sent me, and I couldn’t locate anything else saved anywhere. So I didn’t approve it and asked the bank to hold it until Craig was back. Craig was furious. He has always been somewhat mean, but that day was awful. He told me how stupid I was and how I jeopardized an important business relationship by not making that payment. He told me I was lucky he didn’t go to Mark, the CEO, and tell him what I did because I would be fired immediately.”

My voice breaks, and Jack’s grip on my thigh tightens. He mutters under his breath, “What a fucking asshole.”

I throw him a soft smile. “That was when I started to dig into things more. I was trying to do it in secret. I wanted to gather the proof before I went to Mark. But I wasn’t able to find anything concrete enough. Just more things that didn’t quite make sense.”

Nate leans back in his chair. “So how did this end in you getting fired?”

I close my eyes briefly before locking my gaze back on Nate. “Mark pulled me into the conference room. They presented me with five payments, which they said were not sent to the company and that the invoices were fake. Craig said he came across them when he found an error I made on a report.” I suck in a breath. “They said I approved all the payments.”

I don’t know if there’s anything they can do to help, but it makes me feel relieved to talk about it. Like having them know what happened allows me to let go of the stress and fear I was holding, no matter how slight.

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