"I know what to do," my assistant said as she tried to shoo me out of the office. "Go enjoy your honeymoon!"
There it was again, the word that filled my stomach with butterflies.
"Hope! Go!" she finally yelled.
"Okay, but you can call..." I started to say as I picked up my things.
"I won't be calling you," she said as she sat back down in her chair.
There it was the final words. I nodded as I walked out of my office and into the brilliant sunlight of a great day. Today was the second-best day of my life so far. Yesterday had gone off without a hitch. I was married to the man I truly loved, I had thought that Gary or Desiree would have turned up and ruined it, but they were too busy with their own happiness.
It was short-lived, of course, as I had other parts of my plan to put in order. Starting with a phone call, I got in my car, started it up and headed for the airport.
"Yes," I said as the secretary picked up the phone. "Can I speak to Charles Logan please," I politely said. "Yes, I can hold," I smiled as the hot air whipped through my hair.
After the night that ended both of our marriages, Wayne fucked me into oblivion and back again, shortly after the papers were handed in, and both divorces were finalized. Gary sent me a long-winded, hand-delivered letter. I had planned to let them both go with what they had together. After all, it was my fault.
"Charles," I smiled as I heard the familiar stout voice of my ex-husband's boss.
"Hope, I didn't think I would hear from you after everything Gary has said about you this past week," Charles said.
"It's all true, my love," I smiled, knowing what was about to happen would tear our friendship apart.
"Oh no," Charles said as he heard the tone in my voice. "What's going on, and how much will it cost me?"
"Your company, if you let things go as is, if not then nothing," I said as I made my turn onto the highway.
"Hope," Charles said in his worried voice. "What did you do and..."
"I did nothing of the sort to you anyway, it's what Gary did to you, right under that posh nose," I said as I merged onto traffic.
I loved the feeling of my hair blowing in the wind once I had the top down on my convertible. "I am listening," Charles said.
"You can still check in on your client profiles, right?" I asked, knowing full well the abilities of all of the people Gary worked with and for, Charles being the head of the company. I heard the clicking of fingers on the keyboard.
I gave him the name and the serial number of a client. "All looks well, if anything it looks great, is this one of Gary's clients?" Charles asked.
"It is Gary," I smiled.
Charles's voice stopped as I was sure he was checking other things,
"Fuck me," Charles said as I heard fingers furiously clicking on the keyboard. "Dammit!"
"Checking his travels and his account?" I smiled.
"How long?" Charles asked.
"You tell me, you have the file open," I said as I imagined the trouble Gary was about to get into, it was highly illegal to do investing in the same company especially using company money to do the investing.
Gary wasn't just using company money, but also company assets to travel to see ghost clients. These clients only existed online and nowhere else. He had been taking my sister on company paid vacations. All they had to do while they were on vacation was invest more money into the company, make more ghost clients with fake accounts, and voila, no one was the wiser, and since Gary had three other associates doing the same thing, they all covered for each other.
"Ready for another client?" I asked.
"Hit me," Charles sighed.
I gave him the three other associates, as well as a few ghost clients. "I am ruined if this gets out," Charles sighed. All of it looked like the company was embezzling money from real clients and making money for clients that did not exist.
"If you tell Gary he has a way out," I said, looking in the rearview as I parked. "Look out your window."
I saw him staring down at me. It was a short detour on my way to the airport. "I will be right down," Charles said.
"What do you want?" Charles said, lighting a cigarette.
"Thought you quit?" I smiled.
"Quit with your petty antics, you have me by the balls, and you know it, one slip, and I am in deep water," Charles said, leaning against my car.
"Okay," I smiled. "As I said, your company or nothing," I nodded. "Lacey Queen," I said, the name made Charles jump.
"No, never," Charles shook his head.
"That, or your company," I said.
"You're the devil!" Charles shouted. "You're telling me to go to jail or kill my company!"
There were indictments on him as one of his ex secretaries was filing papers of sexual harassment against him. Of course, he had all the well-paid lawyers on his side. Poor lacey had just her word. I, on the other hand, knew the truth. He had pressured the young woman on many occasions to go above her duties to please him.
"Well," I smiled, "My new husband does call me his sexy succubus when I suck on him."
"No," Charles said as he flicked his cigarette to the floor. "You have nothing."
I pressed the play button on a video on my phone, and his voice played over my car's Bluetooth speakers. It was him bragging about Lacey's tongue talent on his balls and how she swallowed a load of his cum.
"Ah!" Charles laughed. "I didn't give you permission to tape me, that will get thrown out."
"Wait," I smiled.
There it was the nail in the coffin. It was at one of Gary's company parties. He had told everyone that it would be videotaped as well as recorded. "I told you he would have something against you, just in case you found out about his, how you say investing?"
"Fuck me!" Charles shouted. "You two deserved each other; you both have the same killer instinct!"
