Conversations on a Balcony

80

A/N: Kind of a follow on from chapter 56.


Kara wandered into Cat's office and then out onto the balcony where her wife was having coffee and reading the Tribune on her iPad.

"Hi, Sweetheart," Cat said with a loving smile. "How are you doing?"

"Honestly, a little drained," the younger woman replied with a sigh as she took a seat and leaned against her.

Cat ran her fingers gently through Kara's hair and kissed her temple. "Tough session?"

The hero nodded and closed her eyes with pleasure as her wife's nails softly scratched her scalp. "I had no idea therapy would be this hard," she replied with a sigh. "I cried so much I almost floated Gerry away."

Cat chuckled and nodded. "It was like that for me when I started seeing Doctor Schumann. Lexapro was my friend." She paused a moment and wrapped her arm around her wife, holding her close. "Do you want to talk about it some more?"

"Not here," Kara replied slowly. "I think I need some time to digest everything. Maybe tonight in bed when you can help hold me together."

"Of course, Baby," the older woman replied with a nod. "Anything you need."

They just sat together quietly for a few minutes, but then Kara raised her head to look at her wife. "So… tomorrow is our fifth wedding anniversary."

"Sure is," Cat replied with a grin.

"I've already told Eve and my new assistant, Rachel, that we're taking the day off. We're sleeping in tomorrow morning and I've booked us brunch and a little half-day spa trip for the afternoon. Then we're having dinner at your favorite restaurant tomorrow night. Alex and Kelly are taking Abby tonight and keeping her 'til the day after tomorrow." She paused then and grinned back at her wife. "Surpriiiiiiseee!" she warbled. "I hope all that's ok?"

Cat's eyebrows lifted. "Wow… that's amazing, Sweetheart. Thank you."

"I owe you," Kara replied softly. "For giving me an amazing life. I love you so much."

"Oh Kara," Cat breathed, running her thumb along her wife's bottom lip and then kissing her lovingly. "I love you too."

Just then an alarm went off on Cat's phone, making them both jump and then laugh. The older woman extricated herself from their embrace and got up to hold her hand out to her wife. "I have a meeting now that will definitely cheer you up. Come with me?"

"Sure," the hero replied, taking the hand and getting up too. "What's it for?"

"Oh… you'll see," the CEO said with a little wink. "I've been dying for this all day actually."

Kara followed Cat into her office, where the older woman slipped into her suit jacket, slipped her phone into her pocket and squared her shoulders. "Time to be the CEO," she said as she grabbed a folder of documents and then led her wife out of her office, across the bullpen and into their private elevator, where she hit the button for two floors up.

"Marketing?" Kara asked.

Cat shook her head. "HR actually."

The younger woman frowned but just waited as the doors parted and Cat slid her larger-than-life personality into place. They stepped out of the car and strode across the floor, past desks full of people surprised to see them, until they reached an office door. The CEO knocked and then just walked in, surprising the occupant.

"Miss Danvers-Grant!"

"Theodore," Cat said authoritatively as the man got to his feet. "Kara and I need a meeting with you and Calliope right now."

"Uh…" Ted pushed his glasses up on his nose and nodded. "Sure!" He walked around his desk to the door and stuck his head out. "Callie!" The woman looked up and raised a hand in question. "Come on in here. The Miss Danvers-Grants need to meet with us."

"Coming," Callie replied, picking up her phone and carrying it with her into the office. Ted closed the door and Kara indicate that she should take the other guest chair while she, herself, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

Cat didn't wait and launched right into it. She tossed the folder of documents in her hand onto the table and then opened it to fan the pages across the desktop. "Michael Rogers," she said slowly, turning the page sideways so both Ted and Callie could see it. She glanced over at Kara, whose eyebrows shot up as a tiny smile crossed her lips. "The figure highlighted in green is the severance pay he should have received when he was let go from CatCo. The figure highlighted in yellow is the figure the system said he got. On every single one of the thirty-seven former staff members on these pages, the two figures match, however, the figure written on the page is what they actually got. Can you explain to me why that is?"

Callie leaned further back into her chair as she looked at Ted. The man swallowed and refused to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.

"Charlotte MacKay," Cat went on, tapping her nail on the next page. "Same deal. The figure that SHE got was a third of what she was owed. She looked at all the names on the pages, her temper fraying so much that it was all she could do to not yell the building down. "John Walsh, Jack Trainor, Stephen King, Joseph Turner, Michaela Strahan, Rosita Benitez, Xiaohui Deng… do I need to go on?"

Neither of her employees said anything but then Kara pushed off the wall. "What the hell!" she exclaimed. "Thirty-seven people?!"

"We didn't do anything," Ted said defensively.

"You stupidly assumed that I wouldn't find out about this," Cat snarled. "I've been working with the police and it just so happens that both of you have large deposits recorded in your bank accounts that match fifty percent of the deficit between the two numbers. In other words, you stole money from each of these thirty-seven people and then split it fifty-fifty."

Kara crossed her arms again and shook her head angrily. "Your criminal behavior almost cost people their lives. Mike Rogers was so desperate after you stiffed him out of his money that he came to CatCo with a GUN and threatened people's lives!"

Callie at least had the good grace to look contrite at that. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "I never wanted anything like that to happen," she said, looking at Kara and then Cat. "Please believe me."

"And it never will happen again," the CEO replied. "Not only are the two of you sooo fired but there are detectives waiting outside to take you into custody for embezzlement of corporate funds. Enjoy prison."

Kara opened the door, smiling at the detectives who were waiting outside. They came in, read Callie and Ted their rights and cuffed them. As they were being led out, Kara shook her head. "How much money was it altogether?" she asked Cat.

"Over five million dollars," the CEO replied with a sigh. She chuckled a little then. "Now THAT was a satisfying moment of firing."

"It sure was," Kara smiled as she followed her wife out of the office. "Nice job, Miss Danvers-Grant."

Cat nodded. "I approved for the thirty-seven former employees to get what they were owed plus ten percent. The board balked but I just told them I wasn't looking for approval."

"The hero's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

"Really," the CEO confirmed. "I wasn't going to let some jumped up little rich boys and girls take this away from those thirty-seven people."

They got into their private elevator and Kara hugged her wife hard. "You're amazing."

Cat stroked the hero's cheek gently. "I learned from the best."


A/N: Shiloskid asked: "Out of curiosity, are you going to revisit the embezzler storyline that you teased?"

Mmmmmmmaybe?!