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CHAPTER 2
Sam
When Chris talked about how exciting keeping our relationship a secret might be, I didn’t expect it to be quite so exhilarating. I was afraid I would feel pushed aside, but it turns out that we’re both great actors. It helps that there aren’t many people in the office to catch our admiring glances. When people come in to see him, I almost get giddy waiting for him to act all business.
Even if there were twenty people surrounding us, staring at us from their cubicles, I think we’d have them fooled. It’s only increased our attraction for each other. Our passion kindles even brighter.
Last night, Chris wiped my worries away with his lips onmine. And no one would ever know. I’ve been daydreaming abouthim on top of me all day long. I could sit in this picture forever, but I’m interrupted by a phone call.
“This Chris Jenkins office, how may I help you?”
An older gentleman responds, “Hello. I was wondering if you could make sure my paperwork was filed. We sent in our contract a few days ago and haven’t received confirmation yet.”
“Of course. What’s the name on the account?” People frequently call in to check on the status of their paperwork. So, I’ve learned to navigate the outdated method of vast numbers of folders filled with the documents of each project.
“Donald Fulmer.”
“Sure, one moment.” I put him on hold while I type his name into the search bar. The first three letters yield a large array of possibilities, including one I’ve never seen before. Typically, every contract has a folder titled by the first and last name on the account with a date at the end. But this one is simply a first name.
At the top of the screen, the first folder, is labeled “Don”.
I know it’s probably just an empty folder my father forgot to delete, but my stomach drops. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me. Quickly, I type in the rest of Donald’s name and find the contract.
“Hey, Donald. It looks like that contract is in our system. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“That’s all. Thank you very much.”
“Have a nice day.”
I don’t even wait until I’ve hung up the phone to go back to the folder I’m begging to open. Most client folders are filled tothe brim with documents, contracts, and wire transfer information.All things we’d need to complete the work we do. But this one has only one file titled, “05.18.99”. The date is well over a decade old.
When I open the file, I’m expecting a contract to work with us. It’s the first thing we need when we begin working with someone. Sometimes the clients will fill out that paperwork and then never use us. But instead, I find a billing statement, not a contract. Folders so empty are rare, but one without a working contract, they just don’t exist. Legally, we need one. So where did this one go?
Looking through the two page file, I see the client was billed for several hours of work. No description of what kind, it’s listed as ‘general consulting’. Which is a term used to say, ‘basically everything we don’t have a code for’.
I search for my dad’s name on the form, and I can see that he was the main contact for this client. He must have worked with them at some point. Then I look for the client’s name. At the very top, I find ‘Bill Carter’. Immediately I type it into google.
We work with a lot of top-tier CEOs and companies, so a lot of them have their own websites. But the top search results aren’t a LinkedIn page or group photos. They’re all news articles. I click on the first one.
Local Family caught in Franklin Bank Robbery.
William (Bill) and Carol Carter with their son, Nathan Carter, were caught at Franklin Bank with firearms holding several patrons hostage. The family has now been connected to several other robberies throughout the country.
While police tried to negotiate from the outside, SWAT eventually intervened after hearing gunshots inside of the establishment. Upon entry, they were able to recover all elevenhostages. William and Carol were taken into custody immediately. Nathan Cater lost his life inside while a hostage reportedly, successfully attempted to take the weapon from William Carter.
What kind of people was my father in business with? The article is dated after the billing statement, so I know that they hadn’t been caught before my dad worked with them. Was he just oblivious to their crimes? Did he worry when they were caught and delete most of their files connecting him to them?
Reading through a few other articles I can tell there isn’t much more information about the Carters . I find their mugshots. They look like normal people. William has a chin full of stubble, his mouth turned down in a scowl. The anger in his eyes frightens me. However, when I look into his wife’s eyes can feel her sorrow. Tears stain her cheeks, the wavy blonde hair sticks to her forehead. Her complexion is pale but sports bright red patches on her face.
Is this who’s threatening my father? Have I just stumbled onto our answer on accident? It’s more than we’ve had to go off of in a while. Chris doesn’t have a meeting right now, so I walk directly into his office.
“Hey,” he smiles at me.
“Do you know about this client? The Carter? Specifically, Bill Carter? Does his name ring a bell?”
“Who?” His smile fades into a confused frown.
“Bill Carter. Ever heard of him? It was before you joined companies and began working with my dad. But maybe, has he ever talked about a Carter account?”
