The Internship Ch. 05

"And now, it appears, that trust has been misplaced."

Dave looked at him, waiting for any kind of reaction. Fred flicked some lint off his knee and stared right back.

"Fred, I know about the secret accounts. I know about the $2.5 million. I know what you've been doing in the odd hours you've been keeping here lately, like when I ran into you last Sunday. 'E-mail,' my ass. You were on your computer, working on the 'David Wilson Enterprises Discretionary Fund' weren't you? Do you have anything to say about that?"

Fred sighed inside. So he knew. But how much did he know?

He shrugged. "What exactly are you accusing me of, Dave? I think I have a right to know."

But Dave wasn't about to show all his cards at once. He kept playing the game, waiting to see what Fred was going to do and say.

"I think it's obvious. It appears that you've been stealing from me. At least this two and a half million, but I'm quite certain it's much more. You've been siphoning money coming in from my repair shops. A smart way to do it, by the way. Very smart. Much harder for me to notice. Those funds are always up and down and inconsistent, aren't they, not like the car sales? It took me months if not a year to even suspect anything."

Again Fred shrugged. "Do you mind if I ask if you have any proof, or are you just making wild accusations?"

"Oh I have proof. That's why Joyce is here. Joyce?"

Fred eyed her with hatred. This bitch. He knew she was always watching him!

"Well, Fred, I've been on your computer—"

Fred yelled out, "You fucking bitch!"

Dave held up his hand. "Stop right there. Fred, I've got Carlos right outside the door. You don't want to get upset. So sit down and shut up. Furthermore, I authorized it. I authorized all of it. Joyce, please continue."

"Let's see, so I was poking around on your computer most of Thursday, all day Friday while you were out, and Saturday. It wasn't hard. You made the mistake of thinking up silly names. I immediately got suspicious of a few accounts and started looking. I saw the amounts and I saw the dates, which were all unfamiliar and not part of our usual portfolio."

"You know as well as I that a lay person looking at this isn't going to know any better. That's why Dave asked me, and I was very happy to do it."

Joyce was careful with what she told him, following her morning meeting with Dave. She didn't mention that she knew about Dave's access codes. Dave had told her to hold back on that information.

"And like he said, I've managed to find at least three unauthorized, secret accounts."

Dave said, "So. If you're not attempting to steal that money, Fred, what is it doing there? Because I know I've never authorized the formation of a so-called 'Discretionary' Fund, or anything else."

Fred was caught. Or at least, that's what he wanted Dave to believe.

"Ok, I admit it. Yes, I set up those false accounts. What are you going to do, arrest me?"

Dave smiled. "I'm getting to that."

"I'll confess, it took me a while to get here and figure this out. I mean, come on, 'Discretionary Fund?' You're a CFO and you couldn't come up with something better than that? And it really didn't take Joyce too long to find those accounts. They were secret, but not exactly well-hidden. Furthermore, as far as we can tell, you haven't withdrawn a single penny of that money. No, on second glance I became convinced you only wanted it to appear as if you were embezzling from me. Now why would you want to do that?"

"At first, I thought it was some sort of blackmail. After all... You never did tell me why you left SAS, did you, Fred? Of course not. My old trusted friend shows up out of the blue, why would I doubt anything you said. You claimed you were 'downsized' and I believed you. But that's not exactly true, is it?"

Fred's face had gone red with fury and his were full of hatred for Dave. No, this was not going his way at all.

"Stacey, would you?"

Stacey walked over and handed Dave Fred's dismissal letter.

"Thank you, honey. Fred, ladies... you may as well know my daughter was not brought into my office simply to intern and learn a few computer programs. She's been watching you, and doing some research, and reporting every single thing back to me. And she's done a great job—thank you baby."

"And she found this—look familiar?"

Dave handed the letter to Fred, who pushed away his hand. "I know what it is! Where the fuck did she get that?" It was the first time Fred had even acknowledged Stacey's presence since the first day he was forced to meet her. But he wouldn't even look in her direction.

"Oh I'll let you wonder about that for time being. OK, well Paula and Kathy, let me enlighten you. Fred here was not 'downsized' from SAS, he was fired, for attempting to blackmail someone."

"So here's what I figured out. You learned the embezzlement techniques at SAS because someone really was doing it there. Probably Brad Broughton. You found out, and you tried to get money out of him. Am I right?"

Fred just stared at him.

"Somehow, it was all swept under the rug. Something went on there I still don't understand, but the point is that you had learned. You stumbled on some fraud, remembered it, and filed it away in that ever-absorbent brain of yours, always looking for the next step up the ladder."

"This letter made it click into place. This whole thing was a set-up of some kind. So I put Joyce back to work. I told her to go back into those accounts, and look very very closely at how they were set up, and how exactly the money was getting redirected. And guess what I found?"

Fred blurted out, spitefully, "You found your fingerprints all over it, you dumb shit!"

"That's right, I did. My access codes, my PINs. For all intents and purposes those are my accounts. I'm the one being set up, to make it appear as if I'm stealing from my own company. Isn't that correct, Joyce?"

Joyce stood up getting ready to go. "It certainly is, Dave. That's exactly what's going on. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to work—by that I mean, looking around on your computer, Fred. I'm glad I could help, Dave. Just call me if you need me."

As soon as she left, Dave turned back to Fred. "But still, I wondered, why are you doing this? The blackmail was an idea, but it still didn't cut it because both you and I know that that's bullshit. There had to be more involved. You wanted to set me up, and make me look bad, but to whom? And why?"

"Again, I have to thank Stacey. She's the one who gave me the crucial detail. What was it you heard, honey?"

"This will all be over in a few weeks." Stacey promptly said.

"And where did you hear that, honey?"

"I overheard Fred and Kathy talking in the garage, one day, and I heard Fred and Paula talking, um, in a hallway while I was waiting to see you once." Well, she wasn't exactly telling the truth.

"That's right. And as soon as she said that, I knew. The deal, Fred. The franchise. The business retreat on Emerald Isle in two weeks. That's what this is all about."

"So here's what I'm thinking. Here's the truth."

"I'm thinking this is all the brainchild of some of my dear old friends in Raleigh. The ones who've always hated me. Preston Blackwell, Brad Broughton and the gang. It must involve some of the guys from SAS because they're the ones who first contacted you, correct? Yeah, they knew you were an asshole, but they also knew you had had this experience with embezzlement and fraud, and that you were my CFO, so they came to you with a plan. A plan to set me up and prevent this deal from going down."

"Here's what I think. If I—if we—hadn't caught you, there would have been a friendly little tip off to the IRS, to the DA's office, or perhaps to one of those 'impartial' accounting firms that Preston's got on his payroll, and also to the press, about the big scandal about to rock Wilson Enterprises. I'm guessing that you'd allow yourself to be questioned, and at the first opportunity you'd finger me, telling me I put you up to it. All this would be happening while the whole business community is watching and all my contacts are down here expressly to see me make this deal."

"If it had worked, it would have been devastating."

"First of all, I couldn't touch that money, so I'd be down there with my pants around my ankles telling all these companies I can't pay them. You made sure it was just enough to fuck me with the inventory payment but not so much that I noticed it right away. Second of all, I'd be even more fucked with this scandal. The allegations alone, no matter how untrue, would be enough to ruin me. Like these guys are going to start selling 'David Wilson' as the most trustworthy car repair business in the country when I'm being accused of stealing? I'd be ruined, even if the truth ever came out."

"I'd be ruined, but my company would still be here. And I'm guessing, SAS, or Preston or whoever is exactly behind this, would swoop in and offer to buy out the whole thing, rename it, and make that deal without me. They'd just sell my company and hand it all over. It's an elaborate, thought-out, well-planned and well-plotted takeover."

"Do I have it about right, Fred?"

Fred should have just shut up, but he was so angry at being caught, and so infuriated at how much Dave had figured out, that he simply couldn't stop himself.

"That is about right, you dumb shit, and there's not a fucking lot you're going to be able to do about it! You can't prove a thing."

"Is that so? Well, aren't you curious to know how Stacey got a hold of that letter?"

At that Fred finally seemed to catch up. "What?" He said. He was thinking... the only place in this building was his desk, but she couldn't possibly have gotten in there, could she?

"Stacey?" Dave said.

Stacey came over to Dave's desk and placed Kathy's key right in front of her. "Look familiar?"

Kathy clapped her hand to her mouth in a look of horror. "What the—!" She immediately reached into her purse and rummaged around and brought out her keys and frantically searched them. "Why how did you... you little brat! Did you steal my purse?"

Fred whirled around on Kathy. "What the fuck did you do, you stupid bitch?" He was thinking of all the other things he kept hidden in his desk. If Stacey had found the photos and the letters, what else could she have seen?

"I don't know!" Kathy cried, horrified. "I didn't give it to her! She stole it!"

"That's right, I did," Stacey said. "From your trench coat."

"Huh?" Dim Kathy took a few seconds to make the connection. "What? My trench coat! But—oh no!"

"Fred, ladies, I'd like to bring someone new into this meeting." He turned on his computer. "This is Janey Johnson, who is joining us via Skype."

"Hi!" Janey's bubbly voice burst into the tense room as a strangely discordant note. "Hi Mr. Wilson, Hi Stacey! This is so cool!"

"Janey, would you repeat what you told me a few days ago?"

"Sure Mr. Wilson. Well, last Thursday Stacey called me and asked me to go on a stake out with her. Of your office! And of course I said sure, I wasn't doing anything. And so, well, we snuck up there and hid out in the closet."

"Oh my god" Kathy moaned over and over. Even Paula sunk her face into her hands.

"And, well, Stacey and I heard a lot of things and saw a lot of things, Mr. Wilson."

"Ok, Janey, but first, can you just tell me who you saw that night?"

"Oh, sure—her," she said, "The mean one. Is it Paula? She came in with the hot guy, Fred. They put stuff on your computer. Then she left, and that's when the blonde one came in. And well, those two, she and Fred, put stuff in your desk and in your file cabinets. And then, um... "

Kathy moaned even louder and started crying.

"They had sex on your desk. Well first, in front of it, when Kathy was blowing Fred. Then he bent her over and fucked her really hard. It was so hot! Well, I mean, sort of hot..."

Paula finally spoke up. "She's lying! How do we know she's telling the truth?"

Dave gestured to the key. "Well, there is this, but if that's not enough... Janey?"

"Ok, now, Mr. Wilson?"

"Yes, if you please."

"OK, let me just hook this up."

A few seconds later, and a dark, grainy, but discernible image came on Dave's huge computer monitor. The lighting was dim, but there was no mistaking the location. It was Dave's office. Janey's camera was closed in on Kathy's naked breasts as Fred fondled them, and she held his huge cock. Dave let it play for a few minutes, up until they heard: See that cock! Is it bigger than Dave's cock, Kathy? Did you like sucking it as much as his? Of course, babe, more! I don't believe it. I think you need to be taught a lesson. Get up and bend over!

Over the computer, they all heard Janey giggling and say, "We saw them have sex, on your desk! Kathy screams like a freakin' freight train!"

Dave paused it and turned to Stacey. "Honey? Do you have anything to add?"

Stacey held up her phone and pressed "play." It showed the same scene, but from a different angle. They heard Kathy's voice saying, "All right babe! Do me, then! Do me right here, on Dave's desk!"

Dave shook his head. "Real classy. Ok, that's enough, Stacey. Thank you. And thank you, Janey. You can leave now. I appreciate your help."

"Anytime Mr. Wilson. Bye, Stace!"

Dave turned to them. "So here's the deal. I have you. I know you've all been in on it. I have witnesses who've seen you planting evidence in my office. I have proof that you were here at night—Carlos outside there can back me up on this. And if you have any hope of saving your sorry asses, you better start talking and tell me exactly what the fuck's been going on."

Kathy burst into loud sobs. "I don't know, Dave! I don't know! I just do what he tells me!"

Paula tightened her lips, fighting with herself, but managed to say, "I don't know either. I only do exactly what he tells me as well." She gestured to Fred.

"Ok, Paula, how did this get set in motion? And are you talking to your father?"

Paula spit out what she knew, which was not much. "I don't know. He approached me about six months ago and said he had a plan in place to screw you and start a... takeover... of Wilson Enterprises. By whom, I'm not sure. I don't know what I'm doing on your computer; I just know your access codes. I bring up the pages, and he just tells me what to enter."

"And your Daddy?"

"He's been asking me about her, that's all I know," she said, gesturing to Stacey.

"Ok, then—Fred. Who exactly is behind this? Let's start there."

Fred never broke his condescending, unfazed manner. He didn't seem to care. "I don't know for sure. The contact I have is Preston, but he's just a tool. Broughton's in on it, I know that. Beyond that, I don't know."

"And how did it begin?"

"Just like you said. Preston contacted me, because of my... past at SAS."

Dave got out from behind his desk and started pacing.

"You do realize I have all three of you. I could have all of you arrested right now. Breaking and entering. Fraud. Conspiracy. And it works two ways, Fred. I can have them arrest you on embezzlement charges and we'll see how the he said/she said works out while you're sitting in a jail cell."

"To that end, I'd like to introduce another participant in this meeting."

Dave pushed some buttons on his phone.

"This is Peggy Sanford, joining us by conference phone. Peggy, have you heard everything that's happened here so far?"

"Hi Dave. Yes, I have. Loud and clear."

"Peggy is a lawyer new here to Raleigh, specializing in corporate malfeasance. What I want to know, Peggy, based on everything you've heard, could I have these folks arrested today?"

"Absolutely, Dave. You have them on breaking and entering, hands down. You have computer fraud, attempted blackmail, and attempted embezzlement just for starters."

"And what about Paula and Kathy?"

"It doesn't matter how much they 'know' or not. They've all participated in it. Ignorance is no excuse. And I'd like to remind them... it has only been what, one week, two weeks? When an investigation gets started, it could take months, and they will find everything. This is not going to go away. I'm sure the IRS is going to be very interested. And I'm quite interested in why your auditors didn't turn up anything suspicious... this kind of thing does not go over well in the business community. It's the nightmare of every CEO. I don't know exactly what's going on with these enemies you have, Dave, but you can be sure a hell of a lot of other executives will be on your side."

"Thanks Peggy. I'll be in touch."

"No problem. Good luck, Dave."

"So, you heard her. I could have you arrested today. But I'm not going to do that."

"Here's what's going to happen."

He turned first towards Paula.

"Paula, of everyone here you're the one who's most afraid of an actual arrest. A Broughton, in prison? How would that go over in the Country Club set?"

Paula could only stare at him, mindlessly shaking her head back and forth.

"Not only that, Stacey here has informed me of some of your Daddy issues. Understandable, by the way, Brad really is a total dick. But let me assure you, I'd make it crystal clear to Brad that you were the leak. I'd make it seem like you fucked this scheme up all on your own, through your own incompetence. Is that really what you want?"

Paula mouthed "noooooo" but couldn't seem to make any sound.

"Good. Then you'll do exactly as I say. And by the way... I feel pretty certain your father and Fred had, and possibly still have, an intimate type of friendship. Daddy's just not into girls. Don't take it so personally."

"Kathy," Dave sighed. "I have an e-mail ready to go to everyone I can think of that knows you, and every business associate I have, explaining your actions. In addition, those same people will be cc'd on the email I'm sending out to everyone here at Wilson Enterprises and every single social media outlet I can think of, which includes a video file attached. I'm sure you can guess what's on it."

Kathy yelped and burst into loud tears.

"Honey, I can't imagine that would be good for you. You might get some offers for a fuck, but I can't imagine this will help you in your search for a husband. Especially here in Raleigh. You'd be damaged goods as long as you lived in this town."

Kathy cried, knowing it was true. She had to work so hard as it is!

"So if you don't want that to happen, on top of being thrown in jail, then listen very carefully. It goes without saying that you're both fired, of course. But you're going to keep working here, for the time being. Paula, you're going to continue to talk to your father, as if nothing has changed. If I suspect, if I get the merest hint, that you're tipping him off, the deal's off."

"During the next two weeks, you two are going to come in here and show me exactly—exactly—what you've been planting in my office. Do I make myself clear?"

Both women nodded and looked down at the floor.

Dave then turned towards Paula.

"Jesus. You've been working for me for 15 years. I always thought you were a cold bitch, but I honestly never thought you'd do something like this. You've had a good ride here. I've always treated you fairly, and kindly. Much better than your real father. But, I suppose, seeing Stacey is what really did it. "

Paula's head shot up. "What about her?"

"You've got a real mean streak, Paula. Pleasing Daddy was one thing, but if you could hurt Stacey, too? That's why I can never forgive you. Now get out."

As Paula got up to leave, Dave turned to Kathy.

"Kathy, unlike Paula, I almost feel sorry for you. Of everyone here, I know you're just too... stupid... to have thought of anything like this on your own. You're almost an innocent victim here. I'm sure Fred's done quite a number on you. So please, take my advice. Dump his ass. Stop looking for a rich sugar Daddy. Talk to Carlos on the way out. He's a sweet, kind, hard-working man who'd make you a devoted husband. He's also horny as hell. Try and find out how a good, kind man treats a woman. Now go."