A disastrous occurrence

FIVE YEARS LATER

Helen's POV

"Good morning, sir." I bowed to Alexander Ferguson, my boss of three years.

After I moved to Australia five years ago, I had continued my college education and had finished successfully with a degree in accounting.

Fortunately for me, I had gotten a job as the secretary to the director of VZ firm, which was one of the largest corporate firms in Australia, as soon as I graduated.

My job had made it easier for me to move out of Lucy's apartment into mine.

However, the only thing that hadn't changed was my hatred for Fernando, which seemed to grow in large bouts as the days went by.

The vitriolic hatred that I harbored for him made it difficult for me to date any other man, because I thought they were all manipulative jerks who wanted nothing more than a woman's downfall.

Although Lucy had forced me to go on numerous dates, I just couldn't be attracted to any of them.

Fernando had truly ruined my standards in men.

Hell, I was probably aromantic and asexual at that point.

"Morning, Helen," He said. "How are you doing today dear?" 

"I'm doing well, sir. Thanks for asking. How are you, sir?"

"I'm good too," He chuckled. "Please be a dear and brew me some coffee. Will you?"

"Definitely. Please excuse me, sir." I bowed again before exiting his office to the kitchen.

My boss was a balding, middle-aged man whose moods alternated easily; sometimes he could be the nicest man on earth while at times, he could be the biggest douchebag one could ever encounter.

And for that reason, some of the employees called him "Mr Bipolar."

I didn't care about his mood swings anyway, all that mattered to me was getting paid.

"Good morning, Helen." I heard someone utter from behind me as I grabbed the jar of coffee beans.

A smile adorned my features when I saw who it was.

"Morning, Anton," I greeted back. "How's your day going?"

Anton was one of the sales representatives of the company.

"Good. But y-"

The rest of Anton's statement was cut off by the sudden presence of Devi, another female employee.

She looked frazzled as she panted heavily.

Different alarms went off in my head as I studied her look of frenzy.

Devi was normally a composed person, so for her to look so disheveled, something bad must have happened.

"Are you okay, Devi?"I asked.

Placing her hand on her chest, she shook her head.

"The cops are here. They are currently in Mr Anderson's office and they also have a search warrant. It looks very bad and I'm scared."

Anton and I exchanged startled glances before turning to her.

"What did they say happened that brought up the sudden search?" Anton asked.

"I have no idea. Mr Anderson and I were reviewing some business proposals together when they suddenly barged in without knocking." She responded, walking to the dispenser to pour herself a cup of water which she drank in one gulp.

"Nothing bad is gonna happen as long as Mr Anderson is innocent." I tried to reassure her, and she just sighed.

"That's the problem, Helen," She said. "He's not innocent. He has forced me to move money from the company's account to various foreign accounts on numerous occasions. I really didn't want to do it, but he would threaten to fire me if I didn't comply, so I had no other option. What do I do if I get arrested?"

At this point, she was full-on weeping.

My heart panged with immense pity for her and I went over to her to pull her into a warm embrace.

"It will be fine," Anton patted her back. "I had no idea Mr Anderson was a greedy old man."

"Me neither." I muttered.

But then again, men couldn't be trusted. I thought to myself.

They were all the same. Both young and old.

I really pitied Devi because she was the only breadwinner of her household as her husband had lost his sight in a fire some years back, which had left both him and their two kids totally dependent on her.

As I gently raked my hands through Devi's lustrous afro, a strange man walked into the kitchen.

"Good day. I'm looking for Helen Crawford. Is she here?" His eyes roamed around the room.

Gulping heavily, I nodded. "She is. I'm Helen Crawford. How may I help you?"

"Good," He said, and pulled out a police badge. "I am here to ask you some questions about your boss and I need your utmost cooperation."

My heart slammed against my ribs in trepidation but I composed myself and nodded.

"Sure," I turned to Devi. "I'll see you soon. Take care."

Afterward, the policeman and I left for my boss's office, the coffee I had initially come to prepare completely forgotten.

A gobsmacked gasp emanated from me when I walked into Mr Alexander's office and saw scattered piles of documents on the floor.

My boss was also being handcuffed by a policeman.

"W-What is happening?" I managed to get out.

"Well, your boss has been found guilty of embezzling the company's funds." The policeman who had come to summon me supplied.

"That can't be true. Boss won't do something like that." I said, trying to meet Mr Alexander's eyes but it seemed he was looking everywhere but at me.

"Take care of yourself, Helen." He finally darted me a small smile before he was taken out of the office.

"I still need to ask you some questions, miss Helen." The policeman reminded me.

"Right," I muttered.

"Has your boss ever asked you to transfer money to a foreign account?" He inquired, and I shook my head.

"No."

"Did he on any occasion ask you to open a foreign account under your name for him?"

"No."

"Very well then. That will be all for now. Thanks for being cooperative." He said.

"No problem," I replied.

Afterward, he left.

I studied the disarrayed office for a while and shook my head before arranging the scattered papers into organized piles and placing them on the desk.

Afterward, I trekked to my corner, grabbed my bag and made my way to the parking lot.

I drove over to Lucy's apartment because I was desperately in need of someone who I could rant to.

I had no idea what my new fate would be, now that my boss had been arrested.

Would I get fired? Or would I get arrested too?

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the apartment complex and took the elevator to her place.

Inhaling sharply, I knocked on the door and waited patiently for her to answer.

"Helen?" She frowned, when she opened the door. "You are back so soon. Did something happen at work?"

"Can I come in first?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded, and I sidestepped her into the apartment.

"Mummy!" I heard my son, Ethan, squeak as he threw his weight against my legs.

I didn't get rid of him after all. 

I couldn't even bring myself to do that to a poor, innocent fetus, so I had decided to have him.

Lucy worked from home as a software developer, so she often helped in babysitting Ethan.

For his sake, I forced a smile and crouched. "You are getting too big for mummy to carry you."

"I don't want mummy to carry me anymore. I'm a big boy." He said, and I chuckled, pinching his adorable cheeks.

Ethan spoke with a strong Australian accent which I found very cute.

"Of course you are, my love." 

"So what happened at work?" Lucy asked when I had settled on the sofa with Ethan sitting on my lap.

"My boss and another top official were arrested for embezzlement. The police also questioned me and now, I have no idea what will happen to me now. I should probably start writing application letters to other companies, don't you think?" I rambled out.

"Mummy, what is emblement?" Ethan asked, doe grey eyes looking into mine.

Thankfully, Ethan had most of my facial features and his hair was also the same color as mine, but his eye color and pointed nose were the same as Fernando's.

"It's when bad people steal money." I replied, ruffling his soft curls.

"Why do they emblement? They don't know stealing is bad?" He inquired.

"They do but they do it to hurt people, that's why they are bad."

"Okay," He nodded.

"Try to put your mind at rest, Helen. They won't fire you for your boss's crime, alright?" 

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do," She squeezed my shoulder. "I made some chicken lasagna, would you like to have some?"

"Maybe later. My mouth kinda tastes like bile." 

"Are you pregnant again?" She teased, to which I rolled my eyes.

"Mummy is pregnant?" Ethan's eyes widened.

"No, baby. Don't mind aunty Lucy." I darted my best friend a glare and she just giggled before trekking to the kitchen.