Page 29 of Silver Fox
It’swithasavagesatisfaction that I watch the cops arrest Kenneth Youngblood.
It was worth all the sneaking around over the past few weeks, lulling him into a false sense of security. But once we presented all of the evidence we’d collected to the police, it didn’t take them long to make a decision.
I’m down in the logistics department, leaning against the wall outside his office. He’s protesting, bleating his innocence. The logistics team are all stunned as they watch us, and even Vivian’s service dog Beau seems to be interested.
Kenneth is escorted out in handcuffs, and he does a double take when he sees me. The deeper the auditors dug, the more they uncovered, and with the footage of him personally approving fraudulent invoices the case should be open and shut. “Silas,” Kenneth swallows.
The officer holding Kenneth’s elbow pauses.
“I’ve never been so disappointed in an employee,” I tell him, and it’s true. Kenneth has worked for me for more than a decade, and I hadn’t had a single problem with him in that time. Going through the security footage has emphasized that Kenneth Youngblood was very much not the man I thought he was.
Giving the officer a grim nod, I watch as Kenneth is led out. The path they’re on will take him through both the warehouses and the main office, but he’s also not the only employee being arrested today.
Eleven floors up, Helen Locker is being led out of human resources in handcuffs. The police aren’t sure how deep her involvement ran, but they have enough evidence to charge both her and Kenneth with wire fraud conspiracy—the official title the police give to crimes such as this.
Saying my farewells to the shocked logistics team, I’m stopped by several people purporting to be polite, but I know they’re fishing for information about why the head of logistics and head of human resources were just taken away in handcuffs.
Before I leave, I stop off at the audit department to speak to Jerry about a matter I’d like to get settled, and then I’m ready for the short drive home.
It’s dark by the time the elevator doors to my penthouse open, unveiling my foyer like a pair of theater curtains. It’s silent on my way in, and I pause when I reach the room in which all of Skye’s possessions are being stored.
She’s been talking more and more about apartments that are currently to let. There’s a good one over on Maple Street, apparently, but I’d only given her a small nod in reply.
Because the truth is I don’t want her to leave.
Because she’smine.
I eventually find her reclining on my bed—ourbed—with her laptop on her knees, and a book lying beside her thighs, a bookmark sticking out at the top. She’s wearing a knitted mini dress, exposing legs that I can’t wait to get between. It takes her a minute to notice me, but she smiles when she eventually looks up, and I get a glimpse of what she was looking at on her laptop.
It’s property listings.
“Hey,” she whispers softly. “How’d it go?”
“Kenneth Youngblood and Helen Locker are currently in custody,” I confirm, kneeling at the bedside and nudging the laptop off her.
Her eyebrow perks up, but she lets me turn her until her feet are planted firmly on the floor.
“And I spoke to Jerry over in the audit department. As part of the investigation, he’s had a look at the records you’ve kept. He said if he didn’t know better, he would have thought they’d been done by a qualified auditor.”
She gives a pleased little wiggle. “Well that’s very gratifying. You know how much I like my numbers.”
“I do. God knows why, but I do.” Numbers were my idea of hell, but different strokes for different folks.
Skye playfully narrows her eyes. Heaven forbid I think ill of her beloved numbers.
I pause, smiling. “After this whole business with Kenneth, it’s become clear that we need to grow our audit team. The company has expanded significantly over the past decade, and the audit team needs to grow with it. As part of that… Jerry would like to offer you a job as an internal auditor practitioner.”
The humor leaves her face, leaving shock in its trail. “What?”
“You’ll need qualifications, but Silver Mobility is happy to sponsor your education if you choose to accept. If you do, eventually you’ll be able to qualify as an auditor.”
She’s speechless, but there’s a slow smile growing over her face. “Really?” She claps her hands over her mouth excitedly.
“Really. He says your talents are wasted as a PA.” I grin, my hands running over her thighs. “If you choose to accept—”
“I’m accepting!” she shouts quickly. “Are you insane? Of course I’m accepting.”
I exhale a deep breath, relieved. “Good. You deserve this, pretty girl. Jerry will be forwarding over the formal offer letter this evening, and we can get the ball rolling from there.”
