How can this be getting even worse?Taking a deep breath, Lucas stood, looking at each of the members of his team. “I understand. I’ll get a car to the airport.” It wouldn’t kill him to fly commercial. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d flown commercialall the time, and at least he could easily afford business class now.
“I’ll arrange a car right away.”
“You’re making the right choice,” Elise said. Lucas wasn’t so sure, but he nodded.
“Keep me updated, all right?” he said.
“It would be better if we didn’t,” the CTO said kindly. She smiled at him with an expression of understanding that somehow made Lucas even more annoyed. “The less you know right now, the better.”
Lucas swallowed his frustration as best he could and nodded. “I’ll see you all in a few weeks.”
Then he left the conference room. The Omegron offices, usually pristine and modern, were a mess. Most of the employees had been sent home, and the FBI had confiscated some of their equipment and files. The office looked like a ghost town, which was hard to see. Just yesterday, they’d been buzzing with enthusiastic energy as everyone planned for the big unveiling of the new SolPhone. Now, the desks stood empty and there was a faint tapping sound that he’d never heard before.
Lucas went to his office, where he gathered his things before heading downstairs. The moment he stepped outside, a wall of press descended on him. The PR team was right. This was a mess.
“Mr. Chambers!” A young man stepped in front of him, pushing a camera into his face. “Did you know what your CFO was doing?”
“No comment.” As overwhelming as this was, Lucas knew what to say.
“Were you in on it?” an older woman asked, jostling in front with her phone raised. “Did you benefit from the stolen funds?”
“No comment.” Lucas stepped around her, moving through the wall of people.
“Can you confirm that you met Mr. Adams in college?” another reporter asked.
“No comment.” He finally broke through the wall of people and stepped into the waiting car. Closing the door, he savored the moment of silence, even as reporters knocked on the window.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
Back in time,Lucas wanted to say.Take me back ten years. Let me have a different college roommate. Let me choose anyone other than Jim to be my CFO. Let me have figured out what he was doing in time to stop him.
“The airport,” he said instead. The driver nodded and started the car. They pulled out, away from the crowd of reporters in front of the Omegron headquarters, and Lucas leaned back in his seat. As the wide boulevards, palm trees, and shining buildings of LA rolled by, he tried to calm his racing thoughts. He couldn’t believe that such a close friend had betrayed him like this. And he couldn’t believe that he had to leave his company at such a perilous time.
Omegron was Lucas’s baby. He loved that company. He worked evenings and weekends without hesitation. He never dated seriously, choosing short-term relationships over long-term ones so that he could focus all his efforts on growing Omegroninto the tech giant he knew it could be. He barely had a life outside of work at this point, but it had paid off: Omegron had been thriving. Stock prices had been skyrocketing. Everyone had wanted a SolPhone.
Now what? Lucas knew the company’s stock would take a drastic downturn now that the public was finding out that someone in the C-suite had defrauded the company. All his dreams, all the work he’d poured into the company over the last ten years, could disappear in the blink of an eye.
And where would that leave Lucas? He didn’t even want to think about it.
I won’t talk to anyone for the next few weeks,Lucas resolved.I’ll hole up in my vacation house, watch TV, and hit the gym.Once this was over, he’d return to LA and rebuild Omegron. That was all that mattered. He couldn’t let himself dwell on Jim’s betrayal. He had to keep moving forward until this all blew over.
If it ever did.
CHAPTER 3
KENDRA
“Are you ready, honey?”
Kendra’s dad, Thomas, smiled down at her. They were standing just inside the villa’s doors at the beginning of the aisle, along with Kendra’s bridesmaids and Aaron’s groomsmen. The young flower girl and ring bearer, the six-year-old twin children of one of Kendra’s cousins, poked each other, giggling.
Kendra took a deep breath and nodded. “I think so.”
The processional music would start any minute. Kendra had chosen a beautiful classical piece for her wedding party to walk out to, followed by the traditional wedding march for her. She couldn’t see the wedding guests or the venue from here, but she could hear the sound of light chatter and laughter. People sounded like they were having a good time.
“I’m so proud of you,” Thomas continued. “Your mother is, too. You’ve grown into such a wonderful young lady, and I’m sure you’ll find happiness with Aaron.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Kendra managed a smile. Although her father’s words were kind, they were another reminder that this marriage mattered as much to her parents as it did to her. More, even. Securing the family’s future was important, and this wedding was the best way to do it. A few nerves were nothing compared to the Moran family’s legacy.
