Page 13 of Love Story

“Sixty-forty,” he said, and my stomach dropped.

“Not great odds,” I muttered, gripping the phone tighter.

“No, but they’re not bad either,” Theo said, his voice level.“The owners of the firm you exposed have deep pockets, Ben.They’re fighting hard because they can.Whether they’ll accept short-term prison sentences in exchange for keeping their family money intact is a matter of concern.That’s what I’m working on now.”

I ran a hand through my hair, pacing the small apartment.“What about Brad?”

Brad.My best friend—former best friend—the one who’d screwed everyone over.

Including me.

Theo sighed.“This is why I’m calling.Brad cut a deal—twenty-eight months in exchange for everything he knows.”

My heart leaped at that.Twenty-eight months didn’t seem a lot to me for the amount of money he’d helped siphon out of Crendon, but if he’d admitted his part, then he would have told them he worked alone.“So he’s cleared my name as well?”

“Not exactly.”

“What?Why?”

“Look, Brad’s played it smart.He gets a reduced sentence, and cooperation strengthens the case against the execs.”

“But what about me?”

“He wasn’t specific about you not being part of this.”

“Why wouldn’t he—”

“It’s the way these things go,” Theo said.“He has bargaining chips, but his testimony makes your involvement less likely to be contested.If the plea bargains hold, you won’t have to return to Boston to testify, and if we find the missing audits, proving you ran them in the first place and had nothing to do with the coding issues, then you’ll be in the clear.”

“You know I had nothing to do with any of this.”

“I know,” he said after a pause.Great—when even my lawyer doubted me, then that was just a pile of shit.“But you’re a programmer, and it’s suspicious that you say you ran audits, but there’s no sign of them.”

“I ran them.”

“I’m sure you did,” he said.Asshole.

“So, what happens if you don’t find the audits I ran?”I asked, my voice quieter.

“Then we’ll reassess.Yes, I’m worried that there is still no clear evidence you weren’t involved, and until we find that, or until it’s handed to us, you’re still in the danger zone, but I have every faith they’re out there.”

“But I didn’t have anything to do with it.Why would anyone think that when it was me who blew the whistle and uncovered the fraud?”

“I know, I know.Everything will be fine.”

Will it, though?I’d already been called in for questioning twice.On one hand, it took the heat off the execs, knowing I’d turned everyone in, but on the other, I’d been questioned with intent.

As if I’d committed a crime.

Theo continued.“For now, focus on staying where you are and out of sight of the media circus.No one has you linked to this for now, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.I’ll call as soon as I know more.”

“Okay,” I said, though the weight in my chest hadn’t eased much.

“Hang in there, Ben,” Theo said, his voice softening.“You did the right thing.It will take time for the dust to settle and for us to find the missing audits.We have our best team on the job.”

Why hadn’t I kept copies that early on?Why had I not backed everything up?

Because I trusted Brad.I trusted the management team.The owners.I’d thought there’d be an easy explanation.

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