Page 36 of Park Avenue Princess

“I know, hun, I know. You and your father are on slightly different wavelengths.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “You could say that.”

“I know he’s a very driven man, very opinionated when it comes to his business. You two are more alike than you may want to acknowledge.”

I groan. “How so?”

“As I said, you’re both driven. You know what you want in life, and I realize even though your goals weren’t what your father may have wanted for you, he’s beginning to realize that after all these years. He’s no less proud of where you’re at in your life, in your career choices.”

“Coulda fooled me,” I mumble.

“Guy,” my mother sighs. “You’re our only child and of course we only want what’s best for you. Your father hasn’t fully let go that he couldn’t shape you in his image. He’s slowly seeing you do have a mind of your own, goals of your own, and you’ve done wonderfully.” She then tsks. “You men are so stubborn and hard-headed.”

“Unlike you, a force to be reckoned with, eh?”

“Exactly.” Mom laughs. “Now, this weekend will be the perfect opportunity for you and your father to reconnect. You tell him about your projects and all the progress you’re making in your division, and maybe he’ll open up about what’s going on. Even ask for your opinion.”

I reframe from mouthing offthat’ll be the day. But maybe, just maybe we can meet on common ground and revive our relationship.

Mom continues. “We need some family time; time to simply chill.”

I can’t help but laugh. “So hip, you are.” This causes Mom to laugh as well.

“Hey, I’m the cool mom, remember?”

“That you are.”

“So, does this mean you’ll come out? You didn’t make other plans, did you?”

“No, no other plans. And I—”

“Good! If you get a chance to knock off early, come out Friday night. Otherwise we’ll see you Saturday morning. Love you!” And with that, Mom hangs up.

I stare at my phone, shaking my head. There’s no telling my motherno, so I guess I’m going to the Hamptons for the weekend. Silencing my phone, I toss it aside and try to concentrate on more important business; like trying to find out what the hell happened to three hundred grand. That money was allocated toward our STEAM initiative which sponsors HSSIP, our High School Summer Internship Program, paying students who are interested in architecture, engineering, and more to work at DDC for six weeks in the summer. The students have already been selected and their internship starts after the Fourth of July, so there’s no way this isn’t going to happen. I’ll shift funding and figure it out.

Looking toward my computer again to look over the budget and distribution, my task is interrupted as my assistant buzzes me.

“Mr. Hamilton, Karen from the Department of Finance is on the line for you.”

“Thanks, Tristen, I’ll take it.” I pick up the phone, eager to see if Karen has answers regarding the botched paperwork and missing funds. “Hi Karen, tell me you have informative news.”

“Let’s just say I have news, although it may not be informative.” Her voice is tight, clipped. “I don’t know who accessed the account and deleted the funding paperwork, but IT was able to trace the transaction to the point of origination.”

“Shouldn’t that tell you who it was? Or at the very least, the office?”

“That’s the crux of it. A seldom-used work station right here in my very own division was remotely accessed. It’s a computer used only for training but never for active city business, and it hasn’t been utilized in months. How someone was able to access and manipulate the system has our so-called computer experts baffled.”

“Sounds like we may need new computer experts.”

“Our team is good at their job and they’re knowledgeable enough to know when something is over their heads. That’s why they’ve reached out to another company to help solve the mystery.”

“Maybe they can also help solve the mystery of the missing money, to the tune of four hundred grand.”

“Excuse me?” Her voice rises. “Did you say you’re missing four hundred thousand dollars?”

“No, only three hundred thousand. Department of Buildings is missing the other hundred grand.”

Karen makes a distressed noise and her tone surely lets me know she is not happy at all. “How the hell am I not aware of this? And how is it that you are? That’s not even your department.”

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