“You’re right,” she agreed, nodding. “That’s thoughtful and impactful. I mean, it will be impactful when it starts.”
“It’s what we’re here for,” I dismissed with a chuckle.
“So, is there a set time frame yet?”
My phone buzzed with another text.
“The next quarter, hopefully,” I answered, and she went to scribbling again.
Opening the text, I saw it read,“On my way.”
“This interview has been great. I enjoy real conversations like these,” I began tactfully. “But I just got a reminder about a meeting with an international sponsor. He’ll be here any moment; the big guy won’t wait in the reception.”
“Oh, that’s okay. We’ve covered the basics,” she replied. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Lobanov.”
She rose to her feet, and I did the same.
“Absolute pleasure, Miss Ivy,” I uttered, extending my hand.
“Ivy, please,” she corrected, smiling, as we shook hands.
Mission successful.
“Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“And you, too.”
As the door closed and I sat behind my desk, I picked up my phone and read Stepan’s first text again.
Another missing fund?
What the hell is going on in Russia, and who is behind it?
Already, I had a relatively long list of suspects. It wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time someone got deranged enough to think they could mess with the finances of the Lobanov Bratva’s cover foundation. But this Russian nonsense had happened a few times in close succession. It grew from irritation to a problem.
The buzzing of the intercom broke the silence.
“Let him in.”
Barely a minute later, quick knocks sounded on my door.
“Come in, Stepan,” I called.
“Good morning, boss,” he greeted, shutting the door.
Showing up in his usual dark jeans and black shirt, Stepan carried a dossier with him as he approached my desk.
“Morning,” I responded. “Another foundation payment went untraceable?”
“Not exactly untraceable, boss,” he answered, placing the dossier on my desk as he sat. “We’ve been investigating and pulling records since the last time it happened. When we found out about this latest one, the answer wasn’t so hard to find.”
I went through the account statements on the first few pages, noting the highlighted figures that happened to correlate.
“These amounts were deposited into this account in bits, but they add up to the amount that disappeared from our credits,” I mused.
“Yes, boss,” he confirmed.
I went through more pages silently until I saw the name.
