Chapter 6
The Secretary's Secret
I could have ended it there.
I could have simply exercised my voting rights, removed Ethan, and walked away.
But David had uncovered something far worse than an affair.
I nodded to him.
“Please present the financial review.”
He connected his laptop to the conference screen.
A series of transactions appeared.
Corporate expense reimbursements.
Consulting invoices.
Payments to an unfamiliar company.
David pointed to the first entry.
“Over the last seven months, approximately $8.4 million has been transferred to Bennett Strategic Consulting.”
Chloe's face went white.
Ethan frowned.
“That’s a legitimate consulting company.”
David clicked to the next slide.
“Bennett Strategic Consulting was incorporated eight months ago. Its sole owner is Chloe Bennett.”
Every head turned toward her.
She stood so quickly that her chair scraped the floor.
“That's confidential!”
I folded my hands.
“Then explain why your company received millions in payments for consulting services the internal review has been unable to verify.”
Chloe looked at Ethan.
“Tell them!”
He said nothing.
David continued.
“We also found reimbursement claims for luxury travel, jewelry, and the downtown penthouse. The supporting records suggest that some expenses were misclassified as business costs.”
One director removed his glasses.
“Ethan, did you authorize these payments?”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Chloe handled the invoices.”
Chloe stared at him.
“What?”
“I trusted her to manage the paperwork.”
Her expression twisted.
“You told me to create the company!”
Ethan snapped, “Be quiet.”
“No! You said it was how we'd move the money before the restructuring!”
The room erupted.
David raised his hand.
“Everything is being preserved for an independent forensic investigation. No conclusions have been reached regarding criminal liability.”
But the damage was done.
Chloe looked around the room, searching for an ally.
Nobody moved.
Then she pointed at me.
“She knew! She must have known! Why else would she be here?”
I met her eyes.
“Because you made one mistake, Chloe.”
She laughed bitterly.
“What mistake?”
“You believed the woman you were trying to replace had nothing of her own.”
Her lips trembled.
I continued.
“You wanted my seat on the plane. You wanted my husband. You wanted the lifestyle.”
I paused.
“But you never asked who was paying for any of it.”
She sank into her chair.
And Ethan, the man who had once looked so powerful sitting beside her, suddenly looked very small.
The Vote
The company’s independent legal counsel stood.
“Given the evidence presented, I recommend that Mr. Sterling be placed on administrative leave pending an independent investigation.”