Page 67 of Learning to Trust

"I am, Sir. Hearing his voice shook me a little but now I have you, I will no longer fear him." I placed a hand on Andrew's thigh and gazed into his eyes which reflected so much love. "I did fear him, Sir. It's the reason I always did as he demanded. You have given me the confidence to finally tell him to fuck off out of my life. Thank you."

Andrew pressed a kiss to my lips. "You would have found the confidence without my help, but I'm pleased I could open your eyes to what a wonderful man I see. How about we have dinner and then we'll give Allison a call? I have a feeling there is a reason why your father is coming after you and the money."

We both stood and while Andrew finished preparing our food, I set the table.

***

Andrew and I entered the courthouse, and I glanced around at signs that hung from the ceiling or were fixed to walls, indicating what was where.

“Courtroom 4?” Andrew asked, even though I had reminded him in the car before we arrived.

"Yes." I pointed up at the sign indicating the courtroom we wanted was off to our left and headed in that direction.

As we approached, I was shocked to find Andrew's friends, and now mine, seated beside my sister and her husband. None of them would be permitted inside as it was a closed hearing. I hated that Andrew could not be by my side.

I hugged everyone and brushed rogue tears from my cheeks that escaped when I became emotional at their show of support.

Allison arrived a few moments later looking very professional in a beige pencil skirt, pale green shirt, and beige jacket. She wore beige pumps and in her hands were a black purse and a small pile of folders. Concern was written all over her face which started shards of dread poking my body.

“We need to talk.” Allison set a hand on my arm and we, along with Andrew, stepped away from the rest of the group.

“Is something wrong?” Andrew wrapped an arm around my waist—always my protector.

"Very wrong." Allison glanced around, searching for somewhere private. "We'll use the defense area off the side of the courtroom."

“I’ll let my sister and the others know.”

Allison turned towards where our family and friends sat. “Your sister is here?”

“Yes, her and my brother-in-law.”

“Ask her to join us, please?”

“Of course. Her husband?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

When I asked Janice and Steve to come with us, she lifted an eyebrow in question to which I shrugged since I had no idea what Allison had to say.

When we reached the room, Allison closed the door and asked us to sit. I sat on one side of the table with Andrew beside me, Janice and Steve were opposite, and Allison took the chair at the head of the table, before tapping a folder with her finger to gain our attention.

"After David spoke to me a couple of days ago and voiced his concerns about the money situation at the company, I organized a snap audit on Pennant Electronics. It's nowhere near done with but I wanted to give you an update. It appears your father and the five directors have had their hands in the feeding trough. Because of what was found, and the fact they are all wealthy men with means to flee, I obtained an emergency order. Their passports have been seized and they have been placed on home monitoring."

“Why? Who is running the company?” I really didn’t care about either answer to my questions, but I was curious.

"A condensed version, because I don't have all the details is, your father and the directors seem to have been embezzling money to the point they have plunged the company into trouble. Their private funds have been hidden in overseas accounts to avoid paying taxes." Allison withdrew papers from the top folder and pushed one toward me and another toward Justine.

Andrew leaned over my shoulder as I read, Steve did the same with Justine.

“Three million dollars a year! This paper says he was paying me three million dollars a year!” Janice exploded. “The most the bastard ever paid me was eighty thousand a year.” My sister was pink with anger, and I understood how she felt.

“The bastard recorded that my salary was three million and when I became CEO it jumped to five million.”

Allison tapped the table to regain our attention. "I'm going to present this information to the judge to add to the other evidence and statutory declarations. I'm afraid, after having a quick glance at the company finances, that our countersuit is unlikely to succeed. The company is two hundred and forty-nine million, eight hundred and four thousand dollars in debt to creditors and suppliers."

“Fuck. That’s why he came after my money. He knew if the company was forced into receivership all this would come out and he and his minions would spend time in jail. I wonder why he didn’t use his own money to clean up his shit?”

Janice reached across the table for my hand. "That's why he was so angry about you leaving the company, David. He thought if you stayed and found out about the mess, you would willingly use your money to bail him out. He has been used to you obeying him and when you quit, it blindsided him. This the only alternative he had so he could clean up the mess and still keep the money he stole."