Page 51 of Bling

Chapter Thirteen

Garrett loosened his tie as he listened to his forensic accountant rattle off details about their team’s deep dive into Darren Gunn’s history with the company.

“It would appear Mr. Gunn was tucking money away in a personal account over the last two years. He was ingenious about how he did it, and to be honest, the cursory investigation we’ve done into his background says he’s just not that bright. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else were working with him.”

Garrett took the sheet of paper handed to him and read it. “This is nearly four million dollars. How the hell did we not catch this before it got out of control?”

The accountant shook his head. “It would appear he was doing it in tiny amounts at first, with only the occasional sizeable amount. When the bigger discrepancies raised questions, he would find someone to fire and your finance team considered it handled. With a portfolio as large as yours, a few thousand in discrepancies here and there doesn’t raise red flags. Delays in quarterly report filings or clerical errors could explain it. Those just don’t get investigated as thoroughly.”

“And you’re sure the people he fired had nothing to do with it?”

“It’s impossible to say for sure without investigating further, but my guess would be they were clueless.”

Garrett’s fist clenched, crumpling the paper in his hand. “How do we find out who Darren was working with so I can get them out of my company?”

The forensic accountant stood. “That’s not my department. I can keep crunching the numbers, but a private investigator might do a better job in this case. There’s always the FBI. I’m sure they would love to investigate Mr. Gunn.”

Garrett grimaced. Involving the FBI before he knew everything he could, was not something he relished. His ties to the president would make them hesitant to get involved anyway.

“I’ve got some investigators I can tap,” Garrett said.

He heard the door to his outer office open and glanced up. Through the window, he could see Isabelle settling in at her desk, prompt as usual.

He pressed the intercom button.

“Can you come in here please, Isabelle?”

She stopped what she was doing and stood again. When she opened the door, she froze as if she hadn’t been expecting others in his office.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Oliver?”

“Tell us about Darren Gunn. What was he like?”

She lifted her head and looked at the ceiling. “He was rude, lazy, and a slob most of the time.”

“Over the last couple of years, do you remember him firing anyone for stealing?”

“I do remember one woman about nine months ago. I never heard the official reason for her being fired, but the rumor on the floor was that she’d stolen a quarter of a million dollars. It never made sense to me though because she was a really nice older woman. She hadn’t been here long before it happened. Less than six months.”

The forensic accountant wagged his finger. “Bingo. That lines up with what we’ve been finding. In some cases, I don’t have a name for who he fired but the names we do have they had been here less than a year.”

Isabelle frowned. “You’re saying she didn’t take all that money?”

Garrett nodded. “It’s starting to look that way. The police never got involved. He just fired them and moved on.”

“That poor woman,” Isabelle murmured.

The accountant walked to the door. “I should be going, Mr. Oliver. I’ll let you know what else I find.”

Garrett thanked him and waited for the door to close.

“You look tired. Did you sleep last night?” he asked sternly.

Isabelle shook her head. “Please don’t spank me. It was strange not being in my own bed.”

“You slept in my bed at Solitaire just fine,” he murmured.

Her face warmed. “That’s different, and you know it.”

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