When she arrived home, Honor phoned in an order for Chinese food and laid the highlighted reports on the floor, side by side with those she had pulled from the conference room trash bin. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find, but hoped the reports with handwritten notes would help her understand the report’s content, and perhaps identify irregularities. Toward the bottom of the box, she found a few items that, like leftover socks in a laundry basket, didn’t have a highlighted report match. She set these items off to the side and concentrated on the reports that she could compare. When she reviewed the first report against its mate, she was disappointed to find no differences whatsoever. She tossed the un-highlighted copy into the trash and started comparing the next set of reports.
Soon, loud knocking interrupted her concentration. “Yen’s Chinese Cuisine,” a voice called from the other side of the door. Honor paid for her dinner and then resumed her review, using her chopsticks simultaneously as eating utensils and pointers.
She found a few cryptic notes in the margins of the third report, but didn’t have any idea what they meant…something about referencing an account schedule. She stuck a post-it flag next to each note, hoping to make sense of them later. She finished comparing the reports just in time to call Josh and Cody.
It quickly became obvious that for Cody, the novelty of talking to Honor on the computer had worn off. He barely said hello before asking, “Did you buy me something today?”
“Not today, Cody. Sorry.”
Disappointed, he turned his back to the computer screen and asked, “Can we go get ice cream, Daddy?”
“Knock it off, Cody. We’re talking to Honor because she’s far away, remember?”
Cody turned back around and yawned. “When are you coming home, Honor?”
Honor knew he was too young to understand concepts of time beyond “now” and “later”, so she cooed, “Pretty soon, Cody. I miss you so much I can hardly wait to get back to Florida.”
Josh picked Cody up and took his place in front of the monitor. Much to Honor’s surprise, instead of trying to squirm out of Josh’s grip, Cody rested his head against his Daddy’s muscular shoulder and closed his eyes. Honor shot Josh a questioning look.
“Sorry Cody’s so cranky. We were running errands today, so he didn’t get his nap.”
“I know exactly how he feels. I’ve had a long day, too. In fact, I wish I was the one sleeping on your shoulder right now.”
“I’m not sleeping,” Cody protested, raising his head.
Josh frowned and ignored his son’s comment. “Tell me about your day, Honor.”
Honor outlined her plan to develop allies and her decision to learn more about the financial aspects of her company.
The comforting hum of the computer and familiar cadence of grown-up conversation in an otherwise quiet room proved too much for Cody. He laid his head back down and let his eyes drift closed. Josh put his finger against his lips, warning Honor not to say anything about him falling asleep, least he wake again.
Honor nodded her understanding and smiled at the peaceful child. Then she told Josh about the cryptic notes she had discovered on some of the reports, referencing an account schedule.
“Account schedules are kind of like decoder rings for reports.”
“What do you mean?”
“Say there’s an item on a report called Overhead Expenses and there’s a dollar amount next to it. An account schedule would detail what specific items make up that number-- like rent, office supplies, printing, or whatever. If you reviewed an itemized overhead expenses report and found that some of the items listed as company expenses were actually William’s personal expenses, then you would be able to prove that William was mishandling the company’s funds.”
Honor nodded, listening carefully.
“Now, I’m no expert, but I think if William’s hiding personal expenses in business accounts, that’s tax fraud and if he’s convicted, he could go to jail.”
“Okay, then,” Honor said. “I’ll get a copy of the account schedule from the finance department tomorrow and begin looking for unusual expenses.”
“Keep in mind that if William is misappropriating company money, he probably keeps two separate account schedules… one that appears to list legitimate expenses, but contains inflated costs to cover up missing funds, and a second schedule that lists real expenditures.”
Honor narrowed her eyes. “How do you know all this stuff?”
Josh laughed. “Don’t worry, not from personal experience. I watch a lot of TV cop shows.”
“Good. I was getting worried,” Honor joked.
“Another thing… if he’s keeping a double set of books, I doubt his whole staff knows about them. It would be too hard to keep them a secret. The real schedule is probably carefully protected against prying eyes. On the other hand, keeping books is a lot of work, so William probably isn’t doing the accounting himself. That means somebody in that department knows what’s really going on. You just have to figure out who it is and get them to confess.”
“Is that all? Okay then… I’ll take care of it tomorrow!”
Josh chuckled. “I didn’t say it would be easy. But those notes you found in the margins could be important. They might help Sarah Jacobs determine which financial documents she should subpoena and, if things get nasty, who should be deposed… or maybe even prosecuted.”
“I think I’ll go by Federal Express and ship this stuff to Sarah tomorrow, instead of waiting until I get back to Florida.”
“Good idea.”
Honor told Josh about her plan to develop allies, including her bet with the receptionist, Debbie.
“Okay, now it’s your turn. Tell me about your day. What errands were you handling that kept you-know-who from taking an n-a-p?”
“Actually, I was working on the engineering drawings for your mom’s house with my brother, John.”
“Cool!”
“Yep, and that’s not all. I got in touch with my realtor in North Carolina and told her I was ready to list my house for sale. She seems to think it will sell quickly - something about homes in that area being considered hot properties. Anyway, it means I need to fly up there and pack up our stuff. And since I can’t afford to stay at the Belleview Biltmore for the whole winter, I need to start looking for an apartment.”
Honor wanted to tell Josh about her plan to commute between Chicago and Belleair, but decided it would be wiser to take things one step at a time.
“You and Cody are welcome to live in my mom’s house while it’s being renovated,” Honor offered.
“Wow. Thanks, Honor.” Josh murmured, obviously touched by her generous offer, “It would be nice to save on rent for a few months, but I think it might be too dangerous for Cody.”
“Obviously, I still have a lot to learn about kids,” she observed.
Neither of them wanted to stop talking, but eventually they hung up and Honor dragged herself to bed, conjuring a plan to defeat William. She had grown more self-confident in Florida, but knew she must hide this fact from William a little bit longer. It would be easier to collect evidence if the rat bastard wasn’t prepared for her to mount a serious challenge against him.
She fingered the five pearls on her necklace until she fell asleep, still strategizing.
***
Honor woke up early, eager to continue pursuing her plan. She slid the highlighted reports into a large envelope, along with the rest of the paperwork she had collected on her first night back in Chicago. She addressed the package to Sarah and dropped it off at Federal Express on her way to the office.
When she arrived at Soft Fix, she stopped by the reception desk. “Hi, Debbie. Are you still free for dinner after work?”
“You bet!”
“Would it be okay with you if I invite Julie to go with us? I want to get both of your opinions about a new business strategy I’m considering.”
“It’s fine by me as long as you don’t mind her learning my three office secrets. You’re still paying for dinner, right?”
Honor chuckled. “Yep. See you after work.”
When Honor asked Julie to join her and Debbie for dinner to discuss a new business concept, Julie was puzzled.
“Debbie… Debbie who? You don’t mean ditzy receptionist Debbie, do you?”
Honor indulged her with a smile. “You know I always suspected she was faking that ‘dumb-blonde’ routine, and now I’m positive it’s an act. Debbie’s actually a very intelligent woman.”
Julie looked dubious. “If you say so… I guess I’ll go; but mostly because my only other dinner option is a crappy, microwaved turkey pot pie.”
“Gee, thanks.”
The two women engulfed themselves in their work as the day melted away unnoticed. Late in the afternoon, Honor decided to revisit the finance department.
When she pushed through the heavy double doors, Yvonne forced her grimace into a smile. Honor returned the fake smile, and then walked over to the accountant’s office, went inside and closed the door.
She put Helen at ease with a cheerful greeting. “Good afternoon. I just stopped by to make sure that you have everything you needed from me in order to get those invoices out.”
“As a matter of fact…” Helen began, reaching for a stack of paperwork.
While Helen riffled through invoices, Honor sat down and casually glanced around the tiny office. She spied several pictures of a small, red-headed boy scattered throughout the space, but sadly, she had to admit she knew very little about Helen’s personal life and had no idea who the child was.
Hoping to expand her circle of allies, Honor cooed, “What a cute little boy! Is he about five years old?”
Helen glanced up and smiled at one of the boy’s pictures. “That’s my grand-baby, Eli. He’ll be six years old in December.”
“I’m dating a guy who has a four year old son. Tell me, is Eli crazy about Spiderman?”
Helen gave her a knowing smile. “Yeah, most little boys are. Actually, I think Eli likes almost every superhero they feature on the Cartoon Network.”
“I have to confess that until recently, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Cartoon Network.”
Helen laughed. “I know what you mean. What’s your little guy’s name?”
“Cody. He’s super-intelligent and he has the most adorable smile I’ve ever seen.” Honor paused, recalling Cody’s aloofness the previous night. “But I’m a little concerned he’s going to forget me while I’m away.”
Helen knitted her eyebrows. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, when I first got back to Chicago, Cody was really excited to talk to me over the computer, but last night he seemed bored with me.”
Helen nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Little boys are like rubber balls, constantly bouncing from one thing to another; never stopping unless they’re asleep. The secret is to have something interesting to show him every time you call… or you can watch a few cartoons before you place your call and then tell him what happened to the bad guys. You’ll regain Cody’s interest in no time.”
“Really? Thanks, I’ll give it a try.”
Honor didn’t want to push her relationship with Helen too far - too fast, so she turned her attention to the stack of invoices. “Now… let’s see if I can answer your questions so we can get these things processed and out in the mail.”
Honor was able to field every one of Helen’s questions, which impressed the accountant. Obviously, she wasn’t used to working with managers who understood the nuts and bolts of billing for technical work.
Once the invoices were complete, Honor stood. “I have to get back. I still have a pile of work on my own desk.”
Helen glanced around her office at the stacks of paperwork still covering most flat surfaces. “I know exactly what you mean. Good luck.”
As Honor left the finance department, she noted several curious stares, in addition to Yvonne’s contemptuous glare. She smiled at everyone - except Yvonne.