Georgia’s POV 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

We didn’t stay long at the hospital. As soon as Oscar and Keira finished jotting down our requests and headed out, we did too.

Wendy needed rest, and with Katie bouncing beside her, showering her with stories and requests, it was clear she wasn’t getting any.

Nick insisted on driving me to the office while Prudence and Katie went home with the driver and the bodyguards he assigned to them. It was a quiet ride, one of those stretches of silence that felt almost too still after a long morning.

By the time I arrived, Melanie and the accountant Oliver recommended, were already in the meeting room. Stacks of folders and an open laptop covered the table, like they had unearthed something too important to leave waiting.

"Thank God, you’re here," Melanie said as soon as she saw me. "You’re going to be shocked by what we found."

I raised a brow, setting my bag down. "Can we eat first? I’ve been running around since I woke up, and I’m getting dizzy already."

Melanie sighed, then smiled knowingly and pointed toward the end of the table. "I wasn’t sure what you’d want, so I played it safe—chicken and mashed potatoes."

A small laugh escaped me. "You know me too well. That’s perfect. Let’s eat first," I said, taking my seat. "It’s always easier to deal with problems on a full stomach."

And Melanie was right. The moment they showed me the documents, I felt my stomach sink. The two accounts weren’t just ghost entries—they’d been quietly draining the company’s funds for years.

Frank had done a good job covering his tracks. Being the finance manager back then gave him every opportunity to hide it too well.

"Now, what we need to figure out is who actually owns these accounts—and if any of the money is still there," Ken, the accountant, said with a calm but sharp tone.

I exhaled slowly, leaning back in my chair. "That’s going to be tough. Banks won’t release details like that easily," I said, already sensing the uphill battle.

Ken nodded. "I’ll talk to Oliver about it. Maybe he can file a petition—fraud, money laundering, something that’ll open those records up. I’m sure he’ll know the best route."

"Alright," I said, giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Ken. It’s because of your work that the company’s finances are finally stabilizing."

He waved off my gratitude with an easy grin as he gathered his documents. "Just doing my job, ma’am. I’ll drop by Oliver’s office now and hand this over. It might help with the case against your former employees."

As he left, I watched the door close behind him. The truth was finally coming to light, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the shadows still ran deeper than we thought.

"Enough of the office drama," Melanie said suddenly, hopping onto the edge of the table and blocking my view of the door. Her shift from serious to bubbly was almost whiplash-inducing. "Now, tell me, how’s the wedding prep going?" she asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

I shook my head with a small laugh. "You really can switch moods like a light, can’t you?" Still, her energy was contagious. "We already have the venue. Later, Nick and I are meeting the wedding planner and heading to the cake shop for a cake and dessert tasting."

Melanie clasped her hands together, nearly bouncing in excitement. "Oh, that sounds so fun! I wish I could tag along. What about your dress?"

I chuckled softly. "Still nothing. Honestly, I don’t want to spend much on it—it’s just one day, and you know me, I’m not big on parties. If I could, I’d keep it small—just close friends and family. But Nick’s family loves grand things." I sighed. "The venue’s far though, so maybe that’ll discourage half the guest list from coming."

Melanie burst into laughter. "That’s one way to handle it! But seriously, I hope everything goes smoothly. You deserve this, Georgia."

Before I could reply, a knock sounded on the door. Melanie opened it—and I couldn’t help but grin. "Steven! What a surprise."

I stood up and hugged him warmly.

"Yeah, and I didn’t want to meet you like this. I wanted to take you and Nick out to dinner with Evelyn, kind of a double date, but Captain Nicholas decided to bury me in work in my first week," Steven said with a dramatic sigh.

I laughed at that. "Captain Nicholas, huh? Looks like you haven’t quite adjusted to calling him ’sir’ yet."

"Guilty," he admitted with a grin. "Anyway, I’m here about the final manpower allocation. There’ve been a few changes. We’ll need more crew since the new ships are ahead of schedule. I think the captain scared the life out of the shipyard team—they’re working faster than ever."

"Well, perfect timing then." I gestured between them. "Steven, meet Melanie—our operations manager. Melanie, this is Steven. He works for Nick and is handling the new ships."

They shook hands as I stood. "I’ll call Bella, our recruitment manager, so she can join us for the meeting. I just need to run to the restroom real quick."

Once outside, I called Bella to join them. I’d barely finished washing my hands when my phone rang—Evelyn’s name flashed on the screen.

"Hey," I answered, smiling. "Guess who just showed up at my office?"

[Is Steven still there?] Evelyn asked quickly.

"Yeah, we’re about to start the meeting. Why? You sound tense."

[Thank God. Something happened at work, and the boss just canceled your cake and dessert tasting for tonight.]

I stopped mid-step. "What? Why? What happened?"

Evelyn’s sigh came through the line, soft but heavy. [I can’t really tell you right now—it’s confidential, at least for now.]

My heart sank a little. "Confidential? Evelyn, you’re making me nervous. Is he alright?"

[He’s fine, don’t worry.] Her tone was reassuring, but there was something in the way she said it that didn’t quite convince me. [It’s just... something came up at the office, and he won’t be able to pick you up tonight. He asked if you could head home with Steven after your meeting since Steven’s heading back here anyway. I was trying to call him, but I couldn’t reach him.]

I exhaled, a mix of relief and curiosity settling in. "Alright. If it’s that important, I understand. I’ll just go with Steven after work, then."

[Good. Please don’t overthink it, okay? You know how things can get with their kind of business.]

"Yeah, I know," I said quietly, though a small knot of worry still formed in my chest. "Just tell Nick to text me when he can, so I don’t end up imagining worst-case scenarios."

[I will. Talk to you soon.]

The line went dead, leaving me standing there, calm on the outside, but with questions swirling behind my eyes.

********

Thank you for the gift BOO_TZ!

Thanks for the Golden Tickets!

Noni_Byz

Kelly_Cornetto

Kris_K16