Chapter 4

The next morning Gerald had been busy for a while, getting piles of documents ready for Lenna to register and check. He checked the time on his phone for the third time, wondering why she hadn’t arrived yet. He was about to pay Ellen a visit when Lenna walked into the office, carrying two cups of coffee.

“Hi,” she said sweetly as she put down the cups on the table, “I’m sorry I’m late but I had to organize a few things before I could come to the office.”

Gerald stared with an open mouth at the stunning girl who was dressed in tight fitting jeans and a crop top which blatantly showed off her diamond navel piercing and her generous sized chest. Her hair was braided in a messy ponytail and combined with her subtle makeup she looked like a feisty chick, ready to go on an adventure.

As she walked back to the door he could admire her gorgeous behind and he liked the cute canvas boat shoes she was wearing. She closed the door and as she turned around she said, “I’m lucky I didn’t gain any weight.”

“Sorry?” he asked, still dumbfounded by her sexy appearance.

“You see,” she said meekly, “My suitcases are lost by the airline and what I’m wearing I had left at my aunt the last time I was there.”

Gerald chuckled as he shook his head, “We better keep that door closed.”

But then he realized what he had said and as he grabbed a sheet from his desk he said, “Erm maybe you should go to the archives in the basement and look for documents which fit this profile.”

“I’m sorry,” she said meekly, “I thought it would have been worse not to show up on the very first day.”

He sighed and as he looked her straight in the eyes he said soothingly, “Personally I think you should be able to wear anything you’re comfortable in but you and I know that what you’re wearing now is somewhat too far away from the respected attire of a lawyer’s company.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Don’t get me wrong Lenna,” he said with a warm smile, “You do look amazing.”

“Thank you,” she murmured and her nervous smile was adorable as she conceded, “I spilled cranberry juice on the blouse yesterday and wearing the suit with this crop top just didn’t work.”

He stood close enough to smell her delicate perfume and said soothingly, as he handed her the sheet, “No worries, I only condemn you to the dungeons.”

Her laugh was cute and then bantered, “Oh thou art cruel, to send a damsel into the scary and dark chambers.”

“Well,” he replied with a warm smile as he pointed at her phone which was just poking out of her crop top, “You are armed with your magic tablet to summon help.”

Her face had gotten a little warm as she replied, “I’ll get a call from my aunt as soon as my suitcases have arrived.”

“Do what you need to do Lenna,” he said relaxed, “You know what’s at stake here and a small delay here and there won’t make that much of a difference.”

“Alright, Gerald,” Lenna said sweetly, “I’ll probably go back to my aunt at lunch time. I hope my suitcases have been delivered by then.”

He handed her the coffee and as he leaned against his desk he said, “Have you been to the archives before?”

She nodded before she took a sip of her coffee. “Yes and if they’ve followed the rules of the system I have set up I’ll be done in a few hours.”

“I sincerely hope that is the case,” Gerald said as he picked up a large pile of sheets, “These are the others we need to investigate.”

Her face fell as she groaned, “Oh dear. How much are we talking about?”

“On average there are about 25 transactions per month per entity. So we’re looking at roughly 2100 documents per year and the growth was about 5 percent each year. I’ve done the math and we’re dealing with 15000 documents of which 9000 are filed in the paper archives.”

“Shit,” she cursed softly, “And the bookkeeping?”

“We are lucky they have a separate accountant for that and it came out clean,” he answered, “If something has been tampered with it had been approved and booked.”

“So,” she said as she was contemplating the new information, “Basically my current task is to filter on common sense and any suspicious looking documents.”

“Exactly,” Gerald said relieved, knowing he could rely on her expertise, “Do you need any special equipment down at the archives?”

She tapped her index finger on her lips and then a smirk appeared on her pretty face, “I need muscles to move a light box.”

He rolled his eyes as he bantered back, “Now I’m only seen as muscles.”

She bit her bottom lip as she eyed his broad chest and said with a fake innocence, “I can’t carry it on my own and neither can you, it’s just too bulky.”

He finished his coffee and as he threw the cup in the bin he almost growled, “Alright Miss. let me escort you to the dungeons.”

It was Friday morning of the third week that he was working at the case of Hunsky and Sons. Lenna had been working her butt off but so far she hadn’t found anything which indicated that something was out of the ordinary.

Every day they had lunch together and on Fridays they went with the rest of the company for a drink at the local pub. He had asked Lenna to do something fun on the weekend but her aunt had claimed her already for both weekends. He thought it was a fair price to pay to appreciate her aunt’s hospitality but he had sensed a certain reluctance by Lenna.

It was frustrating that his brother hadn’t had the chance to investigate any further and he knew he had to have patience, something which became harder every day. He stepped into the elevator looking forward to paying Lenna a visit to discuss her progress and any other issues. As he stepped out of the elevator to have a chat with the beautiful woman he bumped straight into her.

“Oh, sorry” she squealed as she tried to grab his jacket to prevent herself from falling.

Instinctively he had embraced her, pulling her close to his chest, fighting to keep his balance. They stood there for a moment, feeling each other’s warmth before Gerald asked softly, “You’re okay?”

She looked up and as she stared into his grey eyes she nodded slowly.

Captured by her amazing blue eyes he smiled, not really wanting to let her go

Suddenly she moved her head forward, ready to give him a kiss.

“Lenna,” he said softly as he slowly moved away from her, “I, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“There’s someone else?” she asked softly.

“There is Lenna,” Gerald conceded as he gently grabbed her hand, “Just before this job I’ve met a woman called Hazel. Since then it seemed I have lost my heart to her but the problem is I can’t find her and I probably never will. Starting something with you feels like a betrayal because somehow I hope she will show up into my life again.”

Her smile was soft and as she gently caressed his cheek she told him, “There’s nothing to be sorry about, Gerald. You are a sweet man and you have a heart of gold. I like you a lot and I hope we can be friends.”

As she rubbed her thumb over his hand and continued, “I like the way you’ve managed to keep me happy doing this incredibly boring job.”

He laughed, relieved he finally could share his secret with her he replied, “Thank you Lenna, I’m pleased you’re not upset.”

“I am just a little jealous about this Hazel who has claimed you and I think it’s a real shame she has disappeared.”

“Yes,” Gerald confirmed with a sigh then suddenly asked, “You were rushing to the elevator when we collided. I assume you were very eager to tell me some news.”

“Oh uh, yes,” Lenna said as her face started to shine, “The last batch is actually a yearly confirmation that Hunsky and Sons is providing the services with the statement that it only can be stopped by a written request.”

“Brilliant,” he replied with a huge grin as her radiant smile was positively affecting his mood, “Now you finally can join me in the office.”

Her smile suddenly fell as she said with a pouting face, “But then you will see how hard I actually work.”

“Yes,” he said unperturbed, keeping his face free from any emotions, “I finally can make use of the fine whip I have bought.”

Lenna giggled and then purred, knowing he might take this the wrong way, “You can flog me whenever you want.”

“Only if it will make you work harder,” he said as he raised his eyebrow, “And from experience I know that won’t be the case.”

“Well Mr. McCrawl,” she said dryly, “I guess I just have to start working.”

“Excellent choice Miss erm,” he stopped realizing she never had told her last name.

“Grimalda.”

“Right Miss Grimalda,” he said as he pushed the button to summon the elevator, “Let’s have coffee first to celebrate our little success.”

It was Saturday morning and Gerald had trouble finishing the last mile jogging, knowing he had drunk too much last night. Lenna had left early leaving him with the others from the firm in the pub. A few of the younger men had confessed they had tried to get Lenna’s attention but she had turned them down. Gerald was wise enough to keep his mouth shut about what happened that morning.

Some of them were right out jealous that he could work with her and they couldn’t understand why he hadn’t made a pass on her. He felt sorry for the guys and bought them all a drink which resulted in him staying at the pub way too long.

He slowed down to regain his breath as he walked along the river’s shore, looking at the little sail boats which were floating because there was hardly any wind.

His phone rang and as he saw the caller was his brother he knew he was in trouble. Early this morning he’d seen the large number missed calls he had during his extended stay at the pub. He took a deep breath and answered the call with saying, “Hi Mark, sorry I was at the pub till late last night and I only saw your calls this early morning.”

“You still have the stupid behavior to get drunk on Fridays?” Mark asked gruffly, “I stopped doing that when I was half your age.”

Gerald had no intentions to fall into his brother’s trap of defending and meekly replied, “Sometimes.”

“Well,” said his brother with a sigh, “It probably was for the best because I would’ve chewed you out completely.”

“Oh?” Gerald spoke softly, “So shit did hit the fan?”

“Big time bro,” grumbled Mark, “Within 5 minutes I was summoned.”

“Oh fuck,” he whispered.

“Yup,” he responded quietly, “Because I was not the only one who was summoned. My superior had been dressed down already before I got there.”

“Oh shit! I, I’m sorry,” stammered Gerald aghast, “I shouldn’t have called you asking you to help me out.”

Mark chuckled and then said, “Well we know one thing now for sure; the chick’s father is someone high up and I’m afraid you don’t have a chance.”

“But,” Gerald said, surprised, “I thought you’re up high as well.”

“Exactly,” Mark replied curtly, “and actually I’m not supposed to give you this info at all because it’s classified.”

“That means,” Gerald said slowly, contemplating what his brother just had said.

“Don’t say it,” Mark retorted.

Gerald instantly understood his brother’s warning and said, “I won’t.”

“Life sucks, little bro,” he conceded.

“It seems so,” Gerald replied quietly, “I hope our adventure doesn’t have any permanent consequences for you.”