Chapter 7 - The Audit Begins
On Thursday morning, forty-eight hours after Conrad was evicted from the Bainbridge estate, the corporate headquarters of Harrison & Cross occupied the top three floors of a glass skyscraper in downtown Seattle.
At 8:30 a.m., Conrad walked through the glass revolving doors into the marble lobby.
He hadn't slept in two days. He was wearing the same suit he had worn on Tuesday, his shirt slightly wrinkled, his eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. He had spent two nights staying in a cheap airport motel near Sea-Tac, using his personal credit card after finding his corporate card frozen.
He rode the elevator to the 40th floor, determined to meet with Richard Cross—Evelyn’s father and the managing partner—to smooth things over before the senior partner announcement dinner scheduled for Friday night.
When the elevator doors opened onto the executive suite, Conrad stopped.
The lobby was filled with six men and women wearing dark business suits, carrying heavy rolling cases filled with digital auditing equipment.
Standing in the center of the room, issuing quiet, authoritative instructions to the audit team, was Miriam.
She wore a tailored charcoal pantsuit, her dark hair pinned up in a professional French twist, looking every bit the senior forensic auditor who had managed multi-million-dollar corporate reviews across the Midwest.
Standing beside her was Arthur Pendelton and two representatives from the Washington State Board of Accountancy.
Conrad felt his stomach plummet into an abyss.
“What is this?” Conrad demanded, rushing forward into the lobby. “Miriam! What are you doing here?”
Richard Cross—a imposing man in his sixties with white hair and a severe face—stepped out of his corner office, flanked by two corporate defense attorneys.
“Conrad,” Richard said, his voice dropping like an anvil into the quiet room. “In my office. Now.”
Conrad followed Richard into the mahogany-paneled corner office, his heart hammering against his ribs.
“Richard, look, whatever Miriam or Arthur told you—” Conrad began frantically.
Richard didn't sit down. He stood behind his massive glass desk, looking at Conrad with an expression of profound, unadulterated disgust.
“Fifteen minutes ago, Mrs. Vance’s legal team presented this firm with a formal audit demand,” Richard said, holding up a thick leather file. “Along with a notice of default on your partnership buy-in capital.”
“I can secure alternative financing!” Conrad pleaded. “I have assets—”
“You have no assets, Conrad,” Richard interrupted flatly. “Your Bainbridge home was titled under her inheritance trust. Your stock portfolio was pledged under her primary signature. And most importantly...”
Richard stepped around the desk, stopping two feet from Conrad.
“...Mrs. Vance’s audit team discovered that over the past four months, you submitted thirty-four thousand dollars in fraudulent expense reports for 'client entertainment' in Sun Valley, Aspen, and Chicago.”
Conrad’s breath hitched. “That... those were legitimate business expenses—”
“Those expenses coincided exactly with Evelyn’s travel calendar,” Richard said, his eyes flashing with a cold, terrifying fury. “You used my firm’s expense account to finance an affair with my daughter, and then you used my daughter’s influence to push for a senior partnership while leaving your wife to die in a hospital!”
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Conrad opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
“Effective immediately,” Richard said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper, “you are terminated from Harrison & Cross for cause. Security will escort you out of the building. And if you attempt to contact Evelyn again, I will personally ensure the Bar Association revokes your license before the end of the month.”
