Page 19 of Emil

He followed the instructions, then came forward and stopped by my desk. There wasn’t anywhere for him to sit. I got up and dragged a chair from the other side of the room, intentionally ignoring John’s raised eyebrow at my solicitude. It meant nothing more than wanting Anders to have a place to sit, and I knew damn well he wouldn’t take it upon himself to move a chair in my office. I might not know him well, but I knew that much.

Anders looked between me, the finance people, and John. After traveling the room, his gaze settled back on me. The concern was evident. “Is everything all right? Is something wrong?”

I waited a beat and studied the faces in the room. If Anders was lying about not knowing why he’d been called into my office, he was wasting his talent working here. The finance people looked genuinely uncomfortable. John had landed somewhere between a smirk and a sneer.

“Yeah, we’re here to talk about all the fucking money you’ve been stealing from us.”

John was the first to speak, and I kicked myself for allowing him that opportunity. “One more fucking word and you’re out of this goddamn office. Do you understand me?”

Silence.

“You will answer when you are asked a question.”

I knew we were in a dick-measuring contest, and I was going to win.

“Yes.”

Satisfied, I turned back to Anders. “An accounting issue has been brought forward.”

I studied Anders, searching for a clue, but the only thing on his face was confusion. No guilt. Certainly no remorse. “Money has been improperly funneled from the community-giving accounts into a private account with a PO box address.” Anders’s expression remained steadily confused. Not even a shadow clouded it.

“And you think I did it?” An edge of panic was plain in Anders’s voice. “Is that what John meant?”

“Your login was used to process the payments and alter the payment registers,” I said simply. Anders’s shock was visceral.

“No, that’s not possible.” Anders’s voice was firmer than I’d ever heard it. “That’s…that’s just not… No. I’m the one who told Lacey the records were messed up. And I told her to put the files in read-only. Why would I do that if I were the one stealing?”

“No one buys your sweet little innocent act, Anders. We all know what you are now. The only option available is to fire your ass, although I’m sure Mr. Magnuson doesn’t want the authorities involved since it would look bad for the company.” John’s mother was unable to keep the glee from her voice. It rang through loud and clear.

Anders’s eyes bounced between John and his coworkers, who absolutely refused to meet his gaze. Anders wasn’t saying anything, but I heard the sputtering noises, like he couldn’t make his brain stop racing long enough to form words. After his passing out the other day, I didn’t want a repeat in my office. It was time to end this.

“All right. We’re going to lock down the files. No further expenditures will be approved unless they come directly through me. I’m going to have my people audit the files and my IT team take a look at the logins.” The finance people continued to send wary glances at Anders.

“Anders, as of now, you are suspended from your current position.” His shock reverberated around the room. “I don’t want this discussed outside of this room with anyone, for any reason, under any circumstances, unless it comes from my home office. If this leaks, I will know where to look, and there will be consequences. They will be swift and painful. Am I making myself clear?” I kept my voice even and firm.

I got quick assurances from Anders’s coworkers and reluctant ones from John and his mother. Either way, it didn’t matter. I got what I wanted.

“Everybody out except Anders. I’ll deal with him myself.”

The group left my office with varying degrees of reluctance. John and his mother were practically giddy, while Anders’s colleagues looked shocked. Anders himself looked heartbroken. He started to speak, but I held up a hand to silence him until everyone was gone and the door was shut. Then I turned and focused all my attention on him. We might not know each other well, but I knew what a man looked like when he was holding on by a thread, and he looked exactly like Anders.

I needed to get him out of here.

“Mr. Magnuson, I swear, I swear I didn’t take anything. I would never… I’m not…”

Anders’s voice cracked and faded into silence. The color had completely drained from his face. My gut told me that it didn’t matter what those reports showed. Anders hadn’t done this. He was too open with his emotions, too earnest. My lawyer would tell me I was insane, but I knew I was right. Although if I were asked to explain it, I’d come up empty.

“Anders, I meant what I said. I’m going to have my internal auditors review the books here. Well, continue to look at the books because we were already doing it. This just adds to their task list.” He’d remained silent without a single attempt to speak again. “The suspension starts immediately.” Anders crumpled in the chair. His hunched shoulders spoke volumes, though, and pulled at something deep in me that was hard to put into a neat cost-analysis spreadsheet. “But so does the offer I made.”

“What?” Anders croaked. “But you just said I was suspended.”

“From this company, yes. The offer is from me.”

Unfortunately, with John’s outbursts, the staff already knew at least some of what had happened in my office.

“Oh.” The shocked answer seemed like all Anders could manage in the moment.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, and I’m sorry the first part is going to have to happen this way. We’re going to find a box, you’re going to put your personal belongings in it, and you’re going to leave with me. Your colleagues are going to make whatever assumptions they make.”