Chapter 10 - Questions, Questions, Questions
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Seattle
Sabine's POV
"Franco, do you remember Pike Alley receiving large shipments of supplies each month?" I asked.
"Yes, the first weekend of each month we received shipments which occupied almost every open inch of space we had. By Monday, only the storage space was full."
"I think Elena was buying supplies for all the salons through Pike Alley. I have invoices for thousands of products which could not have possibly been used each month at Pike Alley. However, their supply prices were lower than all the other salons because of the bulk purchases. Elena was ordering supplies for all the salons through Pike Alley. She knew how much supplies cost for each salon. If a certain line of shampoo was $8.99 a unit at Pike Alley, but $12.99 a unit at Bravern – she would charge Bravern the $12.99 a unit charge, but only give Pike Alley the $8.99 per unit."
"Pocketing the excess $4 a unit?" Franco asked.
I nodded. "Accountant number one caught onto it and informed her it was fraud. I found a letter from them to her regarding it. She quit them and found accountant number two. They never questioned it because she created invoices from Pike Alley to the other salon for the full unit price paid by the salon. However she created a second invoice which listed the per unit price paid by Pike Alley. Her other salon paid the amount on invoice one, but invoice two was the amount deposited to the Pike Alley accounts. Invoice two is the invoice filed with the Pike Alley accounts. Accountant two and three never caught on to her creative accounting."
"Good lord," Franco said. "Is there more?"
"Probably," I said. "I feel like I'm playing with a 500-piece puzzle which is missing 100 pieces. I'm learning not to take Elena's journal entries or financial ledgers at face value. She learned very early how to hide activities from her accountants and how to fool auditors. There were so many financial transactions going back and forth across the salons, auditors would never have been able to keep up with legitimate entries, let along illegitimate entries. Every accountant knows numbers are subject to manipulation. We know she played fast and loose with equipment loans. Pike Alley salon pays for new equipment for the Bravern Center, which is making almost twice the amount of money Pike Alley is. Bravern Center's money is mostly profit because it isn't paying to expand and upgrade…"
"The sibling salons are," Franco said.
"Bingo," I said.
"That crazy crafty bitch," Franco said with reverence.
"Well, it's time to put Pike Place Esclava aside and start working on the next salon. Maybe as I get that information into the computer we'll find more information for Pike Place." I wonder how much good it does to balance Evil's books. My advisor is going to blow a gasket when he sees the shoddy accounting work done by companies one, two and three. I just have to make sure that my advisor doesn't blame the finance officers at Grey Enterprises Holdings for Elena's creative accounting efforts. I have to ensure they are held harmless in all this mess. Which reminds me that I need to have a talk with Franco to get copies of all their financial records for Elena's enterprises?
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Seattle
Sabine's POV
I finished the W2s for Gage's company, Seattle Solutions. I finish the W2s for Locke and Keyes…and suddenly I miss Aedan. I put on powder blue underwear – a demi bra and lacy boyshorts panties. I've had my weekly appointment at Coulter-Cameron. Maybe I can seduce my husband after I deliver the W2s for Locke and Keyes. I put on skinny dark wash jeans, a cobalt blue short-sleeve cashmere sweater and cobalt blue stilettos. I throw an extra hair tie in my purse; brushing my hair into cascades of curls with a clip holding my hair away from my face. With a coordinating bag and boyfriend jacket – my keys are in my hand. I'm down the road and on my way to Locke and Keyes. The question is…do I hang out in the office, texting him to come find me…or do I go to the bar and order a drink…flirting with him?
Sitting at the bar flirting with my husband seems like a good idea…until I see how quiet Locke and Keyes is on a Saturday night.
"Slow night?" I pull myself up onto a bar stool.
"Winter…and college just started up again. We'll be busier next week." Aedan shrugged.
"Since it's so slow, why don't you leave Dominick in charge?" I shifted in my seat.
"And do what?" He leaned one hip against the wall.
"Come home and chase me around the playroom." I suggest, lowering my eyes.
He came around the bar and put his hands on my face, kissing me. "What are you wearing under the sweater," he whispered in my ear.
"Demi bra…sassy boyshorts panties." I whispered back.
"Sassy…like Sabine," he whispered. "I think I'm just the man to give Sassy Sabine a spanking she so richly deserves. She's been a busy girl with school and work, she needs a reward."
"Please sir," I moan in his ear, feeling my sassy panties get soaked just thinking about him…and a spanking…followed by a stiff penis in all the right places.
XX
Leather and Lace Playroom
Aedan's POV
I admire her soft skin and supple breasts. Her tiny body is 100 pounds of total sexy curves and muscles. Her ass is framed in lacy powder blue Victoria's Secret boyshorts. She waits for me in position one in the playroom in just her underwear. Just seeing her like that makes me as hard as a rock. I sit down on the loveseat and order her to come to me. She rises gracefully and comes to the loveseat to straddle me, her breasts brushing against my face as she seats herself. I pull her head down to mine and kiss her passionately. I fondle her breasts while I tongue fuck her mouth.
She reaches down and strokes my cock through my silky boxers. I'm so hard and her tiny hands encompass my girth. She kneels in front of me, in between my legs and looks up at me through her lashes. "I'm here for your pleasure sir," she murmured; kissing the insides of my thighs, kneading my balls with her tiny hands as she pulls my boxers off. I want to shove my cock in her mouth, but she makes my legs feel like jello. I am excited like a teenager getting his first blow job. When my hands fist in her hair; she engulfs my cock in the soft velvet warmth of her mouth. She swirls her tongue underneath where I am sensitive. It was then that my hand naturally found the back of her head and I pulled her in while I eased my cock forward. She takes long full sucks from the base of my cock to the tip. Her tongue swirls around my dick, encouraging it to engorge more. When I hear her moan at the taste of my precum, I stop her oral pursuit. "Strip for me baby," I order her.
She gracefully rose and unhooked her bra…offering it to me to restrain her hands. I shook my head no and she dropped it seductively on the ottoman. She turned her back to me, wiggling her boyshorts off her ass. I stepped up behind her and tugged her braid, pulling her back into me so I could feast on her neck and the top of her shoulders. She tipped her head back and moaned as my lips connected with the sensitive area under her ear. "Touch yourself," I urged, wanting her to be needy, wet and begging me to fuck her before much longer. One of her hands went to a breast and the other one stroked her slit; moaning, her ass rubbing against my hard cock. I lowered her lips to her neck, kissing and sucking gently as my hand joined Sabine's hand between her legs, pushing our hands in a slow and deliberate rhythm before thrusting deeper.
"Tell me what you want," I said, dragging my teeth lightly over Sabine's shoulder at the same time I dragged our fingers through the wetness at the apex of Sabine's thighs.
Sabine moaned again as she struggled to keep her knees from giving out… "Please sir, please, I want you."
She cried out when I pushed into her. I wasn't gentle – my long, muscular fingers driving into Sabine with enough force to steal her breath away and make her knees weak. Finger fucking her was rough and fast and ended much too soon. She let out a sharp cry as her orgasm ripped violently through her. She collapsed against me, trembling.
I carried her to the bed, placing her on her stomach. I restrained her hands to the headboard, letting her rest on her forearms. I restrained her on her knees to the sideboards of the bed; putting her in a three-point restraint. She closed her eyes and tried not to moan as I fondled her breasts, and slid my hands down her stomach to caress her hips. I surprised her by sliding on my back between her legs. I swirled my tongue from hipbone to hipbone as both hands caressed her breasts. Eventually my mouth found her hardened nipples. I sucked gently and then harder and harder, nipping while her moans urged me on. I slid down and felt her juices wet her thighs. I kneaded her thighs while my mouth sucked and nibbled at her like a love-starved lesbian. She came over and over again, begging me to fuck her.
I moved into position behind her, planning to spank her, but I can't hold off any longer. Holding her hips, Sabine bucked back as I thrust my cock forward. I rocked back and forth for so long that I thought Sabine would tire of thrusting and grinding against me. Finally I felt it, the first slight tremor that lead to another and another, until she climaxed over and over on my rock hard cock. I slammed into her one last time, screaming out my release. We collapsed on the bed, and I undid her restraints as quickly as possible. She whimpered when I withdrew from her warm, wet womanhood. She moaned and snuggled against me. I pulled the quilt up over us, wrapping my arms around my petite brunette, stroking my knuckles up and down her arm, listening for her breathing to even out. She is mine, this tiny perfect creature, and I love her more than she possibly knows. She saw the club struggling tonight. I'm going to have to come clean about it. I don't know if we will rebound from Elena's death and it's not something we considered.
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February 5, 2011
Sabine's POV
It takes a month to get through Natalie's attic and basement. The wonderful part of it, the basement was converted to an apartment years ago as living quarters for Daniel's mother. It will be a selling point for the house. Luc warned me the clutter was a self-defense mechanism. The more stuff Daniel had; the more successful his life felt. Natalie comments on how my house is clean and uncluttered. I reply that since I'm in class this semester; we've had to result to hiring a housekeeper because I can't study, work and clean house. She knows Aedan owns a night club; but since she's not tech savvy; I don't worry about her surfing the net for information about us. She is very happy when I explain Aedan and my relationship is one where we trust one another implicitly and want each other to live the best life possible. I admit our beginning relationship took a lot of time and energy to evolve to where we are, but we don't take one another for granted and we actively work at our relationship. I don't think her relationship with Daniel was ever an equal partnership.
Natalie expresses the desire for a great-grandchild and laughs when I send her to talk to Aedan. I explain we aren't having the family talk until after I get my master's degree in forensic accounting. We talk about getting cleaners, painters and landscapers around the first of April to tidy the place up before she puts the house up for sale May first. We've managed to box the things she wants to take to Maryland. Aedan promises to come over Monday and take everything to be shipped to Luc and Geoff. I have managed to avoid taking a bunch of things that Natalie feels I should have. I don't have room in my life for some of her memorabilia. I don't care to have pictures of Joe and Daniel. Probably some day when Luc passes on things will come back to me; but I'll deal with that when it comes.
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February 6, 2012
Foster School of Business, University of Washington, Seattle
Sabine's POV
My final classes, Advanced Auditing and Case Studies in Forensic Accounting, are taught by experienced professors who demand students in the masters program have real-world experience in accounting. Owning my own successful accounting business fulfills that prerequisite for me. Only ten of us are admitted to the final semester of forensic accounting. There were twenty of us when I began this journey. I'm lucky my advisor accepted my final project. We're three weeks into the semester before two of my classmates finally receive approval for their final project. This semester is going to wear all of us down. I schedule a flu shot clinic at Falcon Financial and get Aedan, the Locke and Keyes staff, the Falcon Financials staff, clients, classmates, professors and Natalie to attend. I offer free flu shots to the staff of St. Thomas More. None of us can afford to get sick while I'm so freaking busy this semester.
When I have a doubt about what I'm supposed to be learning, I cover the learning goals handout. Why is it that those nine little sentences ground me?
Learning Goal 1: Our graduates will be knowledgeable about forensic accounting and advanced financial auditing concepts and applications.
Objective 1: Graduate students will demonstrate knowledge of core forensic accounting concepts.
Objective 2: Graduate students will apply advanced auditing concepts.
Objective 3: Graduate students will demonstrate knowledge of advanced financial auditing applications.
Learning Goal 2: Our graduates will be adept at applying critical thinking skills in forensic accounting at a level commensurate with graduate degree work.
Objective 1: Graduate students will demonstrate competency in applying knowledge in forensic accounting to analyze and develop solutions to complex cases.
Learning Goal 3: Our graduates will be able to understand and evaluate ethical issues and situations arising in the accounting profession.
Objective 1: Graduate students will articulate and apply the ethical responsibilities of accounting professionals.
Objective 2: Graduate students will identify and evaluate ethical issues and situations arising in business, particularly in the context of a fraud investigation.
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Thursday, February 9, 2012
Grey Construction and Grey Management
"Hey Bro, you want to come look at Elena's house. The safe room is finished. We upgraded the windows and doors. The place has been painted and recarpeted. The next project is to jack up the garage, and dig down doing foundation replacement to install windows." Elliott called Christian while his truck warmed up.
"How much longer do you think it will take," Christian asked.
"I think we're six weeks out, unless the weather causes issues." Elliott replied.
"Let Franco know to come inspect the place and start looking for a real estate agent." Christian ordered and then softened his line by asking Elliott to make time to go to a fundraiser for the Greater Seattle Hockey League.
XX
"FUCK – Sabine – lock yourself in the conference room!" Franco came screaming into her office.
"What?" Sabine looked at him.
He shut the door to her office quickly. "Elliott Grey, incoming, should be here in next five minutes."
"FUCK!" Sabine grabbed her purse and headed for the conference room. "You have to get him out of here in the next thirty minutes because I have to go to class." She locked the conference room door behind her, set the alarm on her phone for twenty minutes and began sorting files as fast and furiously as possible.
XX
"Coast is clear!" Franco entered the conference room – thrusting Sabine's coat and briefcase at her. "Gage is in your office saving everything and shutting the computer down."
"Crap," Sabine looked at her watch. "I've got eight minutes to get to the parking lot and get my ass in the car."
"Cole," Franco called. "Sabine needs a fast escort to the parking garage."
Cole pulled out his elevator passkey. "Let's go…express elevator to hell." They left the office running.
XX
Elliott was checking his emails when he saw a brunette flying from the garage elevator to a Subaru Legacy, following fast and furiously behind the security guard from Franco de Luca's office. She opened her trunk as he started the car for her. She busied herself putting a gun away in a lockbox in the trunk. The guard ran for the gate, opening it in anticipation of her race for the exit. "What the hell?" He wondered. Then he caught a good look at her. "What the fuck?" He said - recognizing her as Sabine Locke whose business he renovated in September 2006. He had a thing for blondes…and now he wondered if Christian had a thing for petite brunettes. The next question was…why was this particular brunette working for Grey Management when she owned her own company in Lynnwood? This whole Elena mess raised the hairs on the back of Elliott's neck. Elena's lifestyle was notorious now. Her leaving everything to Christian was the subject of gossip in several social circles. Now, seeing a woman on the periphery of Christian's life who resembled his "first" girlfriend and now pregnant wife, made Elliott question some core beliefs he held regarding Christian.