“And what is it that you think you’re seeing?” he asked, picking up a stack of papers off my desk. I didn’t mind him taking a look at all. Daddy had his own Registered Investment Advisory firm, and he and my mom were why I’d become a CPA. I wanted more opportunities, so I trained and became a CFA as well. While I preferred taking on portfolio clients as a CFA, I’d agreed to operate as Iman’s CPA because of my boyfriend Jay.
He told me that his boss had someone handling his business expense accounts and taxes but that he wanted someone different for his personal affairs. That should have been red flag number one, but I trusted Jay and didn’t think he’d get me entangled in any bullshit. At the most, I figured I’d need to help Iman keep his business and personal expenses from overlapping before filing his taxes, but that certainly wasn’t the case.
The level of auditing and accounting I’d have to do before he was tax ready was insane. All of his accounts and expenses were combined. And on top of that, a lot of what he was doing under the guise of his business was looking more and more illegal every time I took a look. If his plan was to separate his personal money from his business in case of future tax charges, I wanted nothing to do with this shit.
“If I’m correct, he’s intentionally making a lot of small charges to avoid detection and having to declare them. On top of that, he’s depositing a lot of large amounts and immediately withdrawing them into suspicious accounts. The biggest thing I’m seeing is the cash deposits and fake donations. Well, he said they aren’t fake, but the names and account information doesn’t look real. I’m going to look into these companies and organizations, and if they’re fake, I’m going to have to escalate his account and bring my manager in on this.”
“I understand wanting to be thorough, but from what you’ve said to me, you already know what’s going on, Princess. Why are you hesitating?”
Sitting back in my seat, I nibbled on my bottom lip as I stared at the ceiling.
“Honestly... I think I want to be wrong about this. This is Jay’s boss. I don’t want to cause problems for either of them. But I also don’t want to cause problems for myself. What if this is legit and I say something and we lose a client? That makes me and the firm look bad. But what if I’m right about this and he’s doing some illegal stuff that I get caught in because I overlooked it?” Groaning, I massaged my temples as my head started to throb harder.
“Hey,” Daddy called softly, lowering my hands and squeezing my wrists. As he massaged my temples he said, “I don’t care about Jay or his boss. I care about you. You can’t beat yourself down for this job, Heir. You’re smart and highly proficient at what you do. Trust your gut, and don’t let your loyalty to Jay make you question yourself. You’re not causing problems for either of them. If this man is doing some illegal things, that’s on him. It’s your responsibility to help your client, but you are also obligated to report any suspicious transactions or behavior to your CCO or AML officer. They’re the ones getting paid to handle this bullshit. Not you.”
Nodding, I released a shaky breath. When I first started working as a CPA and CFA, I loved my job. Now, I hated it. The responsibility and income I wanted I had, but the freedom and time I had to sacrifice to maintain it was taxing. And don’t even get me started on the long hours and how stressful it was. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I only worked as a CPA and held normal business hours, but I handled every account with a level of integrity and excellence that made it difficult for me to invest anything less than my all. Giving so much and feeling like I gotso little in return was starting to make me wish I hadn’t taken the safe route and gone to school for what I really wanted to do.
“You’re right, Daddy,” I said, shoulders slouching. “I’m going to look these companies up real quick, and if they’re fraudulent like I believe they are, I’m going to escalate the account and wash my hands of it.”
“That’s my girl.” He gave me a kiss on the temple before standing upright. “Finish that drink, and get it done within thirty minutes. I’m expecting you to be on your way home by seven thirty, Heir. If you’re not, I will come back up here and carry you out myself.”
I laughed and told him okay before making a list of the names and account information and searching for them online. Websites, email addresses, phone numbers... I would settle for anything. Anything that confirmed Iman wasn’t sending this money to himself. By the time I was done with my research, I could no longer deny the truth. He was laundering millions and giving himself an exceptionally large payout, and there was no way in hell I’d be able to make this look legit.
If he wasn’t my boyfriend’s boss, I wouldn’t have given him the benefit of the doubt the way I had. Jay was his saving grace and the only reason I’d worked so hard to disprove myself. Standing, I called both Iman and Jay to make them aware of the fact that I’d have to stop working on the account. I wouldn’t go into detail as to why over the phone, but I would at least give Iman that courtesy. When neither of them answered, I decided to go to Jay’s job and tell him face to face. We weren’t scheduled to see each other tonight, but I’d have to get this off my mind and chest before I’d be able to rest.
Chapter
Three
Marz
“You sure youdon’t want me to pull up?” Shiloh asked, not to my surprise.
If my friends and brother had it their way, they would have come to the meeting with Iman with me. Just like my father had gained brothers in his friends, I’d done the same. We all grew up together and had a close bond, but I was closer to some than others. I’d consider my entire crew my friends, but Shiloh, Winston, and Junior? Those were my brothers. Shiloh was Asylum’s son, Winston was Beethoven’s son, and Gabriel Junior was Bully’s son. They all had siblings like I did, but our closeness had locked us in as brothers for life.
“Yeah, I’m sure. You sliding through to grab a few drinks tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there. I’ma slide through and pick up Neptune so we can ride together.”
“Aight, bet.”
He reminded me yet again that I could call him if I needed him before we ended the call. I’d intentionally pulled up a fewminutes early to review the information I’d gotten on Iman. We hadn’t talked long when he asked to meet. In fact, the call was less than two minutes. He’d talked to Karrington and Beethoven about me before reaching out to me himself, and I think that was part of why Pops didn’t want me to work with him too. Beethoven didn’t get a good vibe from him, which was why Shiloh and Winston had been trying to pull up on me for the meeting.
I could tell just from the brief conversation I had with Iman that he was going to annoy me, but I wanted to feel him out for myself. If I was going to turn down the job he was offering, it would be because of my own experience and opinion of a person, not the opinion of someone else. I did respect the opinions and wisdom of my elders, and I was taking that into consideration. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if there was anything Iman could say that would make me take on the job, but I agreed to at least hear him out.
From the brief research I’d done, Iman appeared to be a businessman but not quite a clean one. He operated out of the building I was parked outside of—Hildon Enterprises—as the CEO of several businesses. The problem I was having was finding anyone connected to those businesses. They had no reviews, I could tell the addresses were virtual, yet the man was a multi-millionaire. He was definitely into something illegal. The only legit thing I’d found on him so far was his real estate company.
On the outside looking in, I saw a few people in the building and considered the fact that maybe all of his employees worked here and he used virtual addresses for a specific reason. Either way, if he was crooked, that didn’t have shit to do with me. He was obviously into something crazy if he was looking for a new enforcer.
Figuring meeting him would be the best answer for my curiosity, I got out of the car and headed inside. I checked in with the receptionist, and while I waited for him to approve of her taking me to his office, I became familiar with my surroundings. On the first floor, there looked to be around eight offices, most of which were empty. Based on the pad on the front of the elevator, the building had six floors total, but the top two floors could only be accessed with a password.
Camille let me know Iman was ready to see me, and she led me toward the back of the first floor. The darkly tinted windows made it impossible to see what was going on inside. She used a keycard that opened the door, letting me inside of what appeared to be the true headquarters for Iman’s operation.
I had to go through a metal detector and leave my gun and knife behind before two guards led me to the far right corner of the room. Based on my intel, the short, light skinned man with salt and pepper hair was Iman. He hurried off a call before standing and shaking my hand. My eyes shifted toward the group of five men that surrounded his desk, and it seemed a bit obsessive.
Number one, no one would see or know how to get into this office. Number two, he had guards all over the front of the office. And number three, even if someone was to get inside, his desk was right in front of an exit door. Either he was weak and paranoid or the kind of man who didn’t want to face the consequences of his actions and the lifestyle he was living.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Marz. I had to work like hell for Karrington and Beethoven to even agree to giving me your name. You’re a hard man to connect with.”