Chapter 4

Gail agreed to have dinner on Saturday night knowing Mr. Whitman never came over for his sex show on a weekend.

Gail was dressed and excited when the doorbell rang and she saw it was Ralph in the feed from the security camera. After all, it had been a couple of years since she went out on a date for just dinner. She called the boys to come into the living room to meet Ralph when she invited him up. She might as well get it over with. Hiding that she had two boys to increase her chances of a second date was foolish. If it bothered him then it was best to find out sooner than later.

The doorbell rang again and Gail buzzed Ralph in. He came up in the elevator to her floor and knocked on the door. Gail took a deep breath and opened the door. Ralph was dressed in a suit and tie and even brought flowers. Gail thought he looked especially handsome. If everything went well she thought she just might ask him to stay the night.

Gail held the door open and invited Ralph in, “These are lovely, let me put them in a vase. Steven, Billy, come and say hello to Mr. O’Brian. Ralph this is my son Steven and my son William but we call him Billy.”

Of course, Billy had to ask, “Are you going to take my Mom on a real date?”

“Why yes, I am. I have dinner reservations at a very nice restaurant. Does your mother have a curfew that I should be aware of?”

“Well ahh, gee I don’t know.” Billy stammered.

“You needn’t worry Billy, I will have her home at a decent hour.”

Gail smiled as she fussed with the flowers a little longer than she had to as she listened to Ralph tease Billy and engaged Steven in a conversation about sports. Gail had a feeling that her having two boys out of wedlock would not be a concern of Mr. Ralph O’Brian.

Gail announced she was ready to leave and gave the boys their final instructions about bedtimes and what they could microwave for dinner.

The restaurant was one of the more upscale restaurants in the city. Gail was very surprised when the Maitre ď addressed Ralph by name and in a very familiar tone without even looking at the reservations list.

“Yes. Mr. O’Brian, right on time as usual. Your table is ready sir. George will be your server tonight.”

They were seated at a table by the window overlooking the Marina. Gail was impressed by the decor and the service. They talked over appetizers and wine and had a wonderfully prepared meal.

They lingered over their after-dinner wine. “So how is the audit going?” Gail asked to make conversation.

“Good. A few hick-ups like with any large company that we need to look into before the quarterly taxes report is due. You know, transposed entries, missing invoices. Human error mostly. Except for a couple of things. Petty cash is showing about 75K unaccounted for. It’s not a large amount for a company this size, but it bothers me. This quarter alone almost every week 2K is withdrawn and recorded as miscellaneous. A few times 3K was taken and not recorded at all. I’m thinking embezzlement.”