Chapter 4: Working Late

Heather's POV

"Hello, Heather. It is lovely to see you again." Casey is waiting for her as the doors to the elevator open onto the executive floor.

"It's good to see you too Casey. I was surprised you wanted to meet so soon," Heather says respectfully.

"I want us to be on the same page with this investigation. Also, I thought it would be good to get to know each other better and ease any concerns." Casey casually states.

"Concerns?" Heather worriedly asks.

"If the press finds out that there has been someone stealing millions of dollars for years on end completely unchecked then there would be significant and possibly irreparable damage done to the company," Casey boldly states his greatest concern while a threatening undertone that Heather understands immediately.

"Casey I have no interest in running to the press with any of this. My career is just starting and I do not want to be known as the girl who turned on her employer the first chance she had. Discretion and loyalty are important traits in an accountant." Heather hopes her response reassures Casey so they can have a positive working relationship.

Heather follows Casey into his office and the two of them get comfortable at the table in front of floor-to-ceiling windows. There is a clear view of the sunset between the skyscrapers surrounding them.

"Tell me what you have found so far, Heather," Casey says, getting straight to business.

"I started looking at the oldest records you gave me and started highlighting every suspicious transaction where the funds seemed to be more than what was needed or where the transaction did not appear to have a definitive purpose at all. The missing money seems to be coming from specific projects that either has an inflated budget for their purpose or are entirely fictional project." Heather lays everything out for Casey.

"You think someone created projects with the sole purpose of siphoning money from the company?" Casey sounds shocked at that idea.

"Yes. I have noted three projects from three years ago that had budgets of just over one hundred thousand dollars each. There is minimal paperwork on any of the projects and six months after the stated start date each project is closed out. No one is assigned to work on the project and there are no results from these projects. They never existed except in financial records." Heather shows Casey the records during her explanation so they are both pressed together looking at her laptop.

"How did no one notice this before?" Casey asks, his voice filled with frustration.

"I think the person stealing is an executive in the company," Casey turns to look at Heather at that statement. Their faces are only inches apart. Heather continues speaking but does not break eye contact with Casey.

"It is most likely someone working in Accounting or Finance because they would have easy access. Most projects at Sullivan Solution cost millions of dollars, so no one pays attention to a project with such a small budget. I'm guessing if I go back further I will find more phony projects with the money being transferred outside the company." Heather finishes explaining her theory.

Casey gets up and starts pacing around his office. He is visibly frustrated and Heather is unsure how to handle this situation. She could go into more detail about what she found, but she knows most people don't find numbers as comforting as she does. Instead, she decides to sit quietly and wait for him to talk to her. Suddenly, Casey stops pacing and turns to Heather.

"I think we could use a break. What do you want for dinner?" Casey casually asks, but his frustration is still clear in his body language.

"Dinner? You want to have dinner with me?" Heather asks, confused.

"Yes, Heather," Casey responds with a small laugh. "You have been working very hard on this investigation and made substantial progress. For that, I would like to buy you dinner. I would also like the chance to get to know you better as I said earlier. So, what should I have delivered for dinner? Do you like Italian? Chef Bruno's makes the most delicious risotto and I personally love the chicken parm, but my mother says I have simple tastes. Or maybe you would prefer something else. We can get whatever you would like." Casey sounds nervous as he asks what she would like for dinner.

"I love Italian. But as incredible as it sounds, I don't think Chef Bruno's does delivery." Heather focuses on the practical details so as not to think about why Casey would be nervous about asking her to have dinner with him.

"They do it for me," Casey says simply.

"Right. The privilege of being a billionaire, especially with the last name Sullivan. Italian sounds great. Chicken parm is my favorite too." Heather answers honestly while trying to hide how overwhelmed she is by the most exclusive restaurant in the city delivering her dinner because she is eating with a billionaire.

The food arrives quickly and Casey sets it up on the table and removes their laptops. They both start eating and it is Casey that breaks the silence between them.

"So, Heather, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? I know you graduated with honors from Boston College with degrees in Accounting and Business Management and joined Sullivan Solutions about six months ago. What can you tell me about the woman behind the impressive resume?" Casey asks with a flirty tone to his voice.

"Honestly Casey, I'm not that interesting. I chose accounting because numbers have always made more sense to me than people. Numbers don't lie and can't let you down. I was born and raised in Boston and went to Boston College on a scholarship. Now I live in Brighton in an apartment that I share with my best friend Lucy," Heather responds while keeping her attention on her food, not knowing how to deal with Casey's flirting.

"What about your family?" Casey casually asks, wanting to keep the conversation going.

Heather hesitates for a moment, wondering how much to share. She is shocked that she finds herself wanting to share. Wanting to open up. She doesn't understand it, but she trusts Casey.

"I never knew my father. My mother raised me on her own. Is this just going to be an interrogation of me or are you going to share at all?" Heather cannot help but push back. Heather cannot believe she shared so much with Casey. It scares her how easy it is to talk to Casey. But she is unsure of how much she can trust him.

Hopefully, he will open up to her as she has to him. Heather feels a connection to Casey and desperately wants to trust him, but needs him to give her a reason to trust him.

"I suppose it's only fair if I share as well, but most of my life is public record. I'm assuming you already know about my parents and my siblings. My military record is hardly a secret. I was medically discharged almost a year ago and joined the company four months ago once I completed my physical therapy. What else would you like to know?" Casey speaks with an almost bored tone.

"What was your favorite part about being in the army?" Heather asks, wanting to know more about that part of his life.

"Really? That is not what I expected you to ask. The easy answer is that I liked the camaraderie with my fellow soldiers. Growing up it was hard to tell if people wanted to be my friend because they liked me or if they just wanted to get closer to my family. Mostly though, I liked that I was away from the influence of my parents. They had my whole life mapped out for me from the day I was born and that was never the life I wanted. The military gave me the chance to figure out who I am separate from my family." Casey answers, opening up more as he speaks.

"And who is that man? Who is the real Casey Sullivan?" Heather asks, leaning in closer.

"The real Casey Sullivan cares more about other people than his wealth and power, unlike my parents. I have a better understanding of responsibility than I did before I joined the army, and that is why I am back home and working at the family company even though I used the army to avoid working here at Sullivan Solutions. The real Casey Sullivan is also observant enough to notice that you turned the conversation onto me when I started asking about your family and you mentioned your mother. So why is that?"

Heather knows that she cannot tell Casey the whole truth about her mother's death. She is starting to trust him and he seems to have his own issues with his father, but it is not enough. Heather tries to find a middle ground for keeping her secrets without actually lying to Casey.

"My mother died when I was 19, just before Christmas. Apparently, it was a mugging gone wrong in the parking garage of the hospital she worked at. They never found who was responsible. I have been on my own ever since."

Casey leans forward and grabs her hand. Despite trying to keep her distance from him, Heather finds herself comforted by his touch.

"I'm so sorry Heather. I cannot imagine how painful it must be to lose your mother, your only family, in such a tragic and senseless way. The fact that you have gone on to be so successful is proof of how remarkably strong you are."

"I don't know if it's strength or stubbornness, but it has worked for me so far."

"It has."

Casey is staring directly into her eyes and he is still holding her hand. Heather feels so connected to Casey at this moment that it is almost painful, especially knowing that she is not being completely honest with him. Heather gets up to bring her laptop back to the table to put an end to the moment and break their connection,

"Getting back to business, I did want to show you something that I noticed connected to the suspicious transactions."

Casey seems to take a moment to gather his bearings and return his focus to their work.

"What did you find?" he asks.

"Three of the dummy projects were completely funded by a single investor. There is no name listed, just an account number," Heather responds.

"I should have all of the information of our investors. Let me just look up the account."

Heather watches Casey as he works on his computer and is captivated by his cool demeanor and total focus when just a few minutes ago he was soft and vulnerable with her. Heather knows she is getting in too deep with Casey, but does not know how to stop.

Casey looks up at her triumphantly. "The account matches Peter O'Brien. He is a hedge fund manager who has been an investor in Sullivan Solutions for nearly twenty years. I have a dinner meeting scheduled with him next week. I will tell him I am bringing a member of our accounting team to answer any questions he may have about the financials," Casey relays.

"You want me to go with you?" Heather asks, dumbfounded.

Casey walks closer to Heather until he is standing right in front of her, barely a breath apart.

"Yes, Heather. I want to use this dinner meeting as a chance to ask him about his past investments and I want you there with me." Casey murmurs as he stares into her eyes.

"If we can get him to give us his records, then Peter O'Brien will lead us straight to our thief."