The Corporate Catch
By: Sandreline
Hello everyone.
I cannot believe that this story is over 20,000 reads on Dokuga alone. You have all blown my mind – thank you so very much for all of your support! I can only hope to continue to meet your standards and entertain you!
Chapter 10: Who is the Real Fraud?
There was one very important matter to verify before Sesshomaru could go to the London offices. Once he was assured by his Vice President that it was, he walked the two blocks to his assistant's hotel.
Speaking of which, he was going to have to verify just how much she was being paid. He was not aware that executive assistants were able to afford such lavish accommodations.
Kagome was waiting for him at the curb, standing beside the limo, with one hand holding her briefcase while the other held a cardboard holder with two Styrofoam cups of tea. "Good morning, Lord Sesshomaru." She greeted with the smallest of bows; it was acceptable, considering she was balancing two hot beverages.
Sesshomaru let out a small sound of approval as he moved to take his seat in the luxury transport.
He did not see Kagome roll her eyes before she entered as well.
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Kagome was not surprised to find the Vice President himself waiting for them in the lobby. "Lord Sesshomaru," he greeted with a bow.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. The demon looked to be physically the same age as her; though as a demon that could mean he was probably between two hundred and three hundred years old. His coppery red hair was tied up in a ponytail; added with his dancing green eyes and immediately she knew that he was a fox demon of the very playful nature. "And who is this lovely lady?" He asked as his eyes landed on her form.
"Kagome Higurashi." She offered a warm smile and a small bow.
The fox took her hand in his clawed one and kissed the back of it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kagome. Please call me Shippo, for I already know that you and I will be friends." His emerald eyes seemed to pierce her for several moments, and she could gently feel his energy brushing hers. "You remind me of my beloved mother."
Kagome smiled warmly. That was a large compliment to fox demons, so he clearly meant well. "Thank you, Shippo." With a teasing tone, she added, "I must admit I am surprised to see one so young in such a prestigious position. I am very impressed."
The fox demon gave a smirk, allowing one of his fangs to poke out. "I'm good at my job," He told her with an equally playful tone. "That and my father used to be allies with Lord Sesshomaru centuries ago. I've been working for Lord Sesshomaru for decades."
"I am sure he is proud." Kagome told him with a warm smile.
Shippo lost a little of the sparkle in his eyes, though he did not inform her why. However, the priestess' words meant a great deal to him. "I hope so."
Sesshomaru cleared his throat, clearly not pleased with how friendly the two were being. "Have you done as I requested?"
The fox demon immediately turned to the dog demon. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru. Follow me; I have everything in the executive conference room."
As the fox demon led the way, Sesshomaru turned to Kagome. When he spoke to her, his tone was laced with reprimand that rose from an unknown feeling inside of him. "Flirting with him is demeaning to your image."
Kagome momentarily froze where she stood, her blue eyes wide as her brain worked to compute his words. It did not take long before her eyes blazed with anger as she stomped to catch up to him. "Excuse me?" She snapped in a heated whispered, hoping to not draw attention.
Sesshomaru did not respond, slipping into his cold mask. Kagome was so furious at his idiotic conclusion that her aura began to spark around her, causing those of demon heritage and even a few humans to watch her warily as she passed.
Shippo, who was frightened at first by the revelation of her powers quickly found this to be a gift. Now aware that she was a priestess and watching their interaction, he had a feeling that his visit was bound to be even more entertaining than he previously believed.
"What have you found?" Sesshomaru's cold voice boomed out as they entered the elevator.
Shippo felt chills roll down his back before running back up to his neck. He should have been used to it by now, but Sesshomaru seemed very vexed at the moment and it would not be wise to fuel that ire. "The director of accounting brought to my attention that there are trace amounts of money going missing in wires."
"So someone is altering the amount of payments and keeping the additional funds for themselves." Kagome added while her temper instantly – and momentarily – faded as her workaholic gene turned on.
"Yes." Shippo added as he led them out of the elevator and down a short hall to a secluded conference room. It would have been an impressive sight, had it not looked like a filing cabinet through up inside. There were two stacks of personnel files on one end of the table. In the center of the table were piles of paperwork and copies of payment information. The end of the table… well, Kagome was not sure she wanted to investigate there yet. There were several charts covering presentations boards around the room, reflecting the loss of money over the past several weeks.
"How much has been stolen?" Lord Sesshomaru demanded as he set his briefcase on the table.
"At our last check an hour ago, there was over six million dollars unaccounted for." Shippo answered.
"Why is it only now being brought to our attention? It was my understanding that company police dictated complete accountability for payments; a red flag should have been waived at even the sum of a hundred dollars." Kagome asked while she walked along the table, glancing over the charts.
"Are these the files of those under suspicion?" Lord Sesshomaru interrupted, thus preventing Shippo from answering his assistant.
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru," the fox demon answered. "All of those present touched the payments with the missing funds in one way or another. "
Kagome reached for the file closest to her, and opened it up. The picture of the man inside was rather handsome; he had long black hair that was braided over his shoulder with a demonic marking of a purple four-pointed star on his forehead. "I think these files are incorrect," Kagome spoke up. "This is clearly a demon, but his file reads he is a human." She could not stop the feeling that she knew his name from somewhere.
Shippo smiles softly. "The file is correct." The fox demon answered while walking over to her. His clawed hands picked up several other files from the pile, and opened them up to show her. "That is Bankotsu. He is a human, but one of… special circumstances." Kagome raised an eyebrow in a way that reminded Shippo eerily of Sesshomaru. He furthered his explanation. "He was a mercenary in the Feudal Era, but was brought back to life by magic."
Kagome frowned slightly. Following her instincts, she set the file aside for her to pursue more thoroughly later.
Seeing that his assistant was already deeply involved in the case, Sesshomaru turned the fox. "There are a few other details I wish to take care of before we take care of this; come."
Kagome was already so engrossed in solving the fraud that it was barely registered that the demon Lord has left the room.
Shippo cast one last look at the ebony haired human woman before closing the door behind him. He let Sesshomaru lead the way to his office, and once assured that they were alone the fox finally spoke. "Why her?"
"This Sesshomaru knows not what you speak." The silver haired demon spoke as he began to organize his desk. He was pleased to find that it remained clean and precisely as he left it.
"Yes, that Sesshomaru does." The fox replied as he sat rather unceremoniously in the closest chair. His emerald eyes pierced the unreadable form before him. "As InuYasha would say, you need to 'cut the crap'. Do you realize that most of the things you have done to her are considered illegal? Even you have to answer to the law."
"It had been my hope that limiting your interaction with the idiotic half breed would keep you from learning his disgraceful habits." Sesshomaru diverted.
"No disrespect, but not only did you practically kidnap her to bring her here, but you also concocted an insane plan to keep her!" Shippo argued with a frown. "Why are you doing this? Why her?"
Sesshomaru actually let out a small sigh before he slowly sat in his chair. Golden eyes were half-mast as, ever so quietly, he finally admitted, "This Sesshomaru… does not know."
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Thank you all again so very much for your wonderful words of praise! I am very sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out to you; I was having difficulties with the conference room scene. Like I said before, I just type the first thing that comes to mind, and I wanted to make sure that nothing was confusing.
Thank you so very much for all of your wonderful support. Over 20,000 views – I still cannot believe it! Thank you!
~Sandreline