"The transaction went through. Sorry about the delay. There was a little transactional error with the mule account. Check out the account now."
Reyona set aside her phone as she got the message and looked up at her assistant, who was standing in front of her. The lady was telling her about one company that would like them to handle their audit this year.
The owner of the company intended to use the audit to test the strength of ReyDexter LLC. If they are satisfied with Reyona's company, they intend to hand over their portfolio to them and make them their official accounting firm.
Reyona was a Certified Public Accountant who had realised earlier that she would rather have a firm of her own than be in a company where she only dealt with the company's finances. Reyona loved challenges, and she believed that one way she could get them in her chosen profession would be to have a company of her own where she could handle the cases of the different companies, as she believed that no two transactions could be the same.
It might just be accounting to a layman, but to Reyona, the kick she gets from balancing a book, connecting the dots in a company's ledger, and solving company issues that could have stemmed from an unreconciled account was more than anything else. She loved her business, and she wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Reyona's company dealt with forensic accounting, personal financial planning, and taxation. ReyDexter LLC had clients that ranged from individuals to corporate entities to government bodies.
Her firm had grown from a company of two accountants to a full-fledged firm of about eleven seasoned accountants, four of whom were currently certified public accountants like Reyona and Samantha.
The first accountant who had believed enough in Reyona to join her company when she started was now doing a part-time course to get a PhD in accounting, all expenses paid by the company. Reyona currently has more than fifty people working under her, including secretaries, investigative officers, cleaners, and freelancers.
ReyDexter LLC now had a whole building of eight floors to itself, unlike when she just started with an office in a business complex."Charlotte, just inform Phil about this, okay? Tell him to come up with a draft for them and ask him if he can take this on with the Robocop work.
"Okay, Mrs. Lanoth," Charlotte answered as she noted something down.
"That will be all for now. You can go." Reyona dismissed her as her mind had already switched to the next thing she had to deal with, a challenge she had never expected to take up.
One that her dear, dear husband had dropped in her lap.
Charlotte turned to leave, then turned back to her boss just as she was about to leave the tastefully furnished office.
Reyona, who had turned towards her system, raised her head to look at her assistant. "Any other things, Charlotte?"
"No, ma. I just wanted to ask if everything is okay, ma."
"Yeah, of course. Why did you ask?"
"I am sorry, ma. It is just that I have noticed a change in you for some months now. At first, I thought it had to do with the work we have been swamped with, but I can see that even now that the pressure has reduced and everyone is working at a regular pace, that change in you has only seemed to increase more, especially in the past few weeks. You used to smile more, but not anymore now. You seem on edge, like something is about to happen"
Reyona smiled and looked at her assistant.
She had employed the girl directly without going through the HR office, as she had seen how observant and intelligent she was. The same traits she was displaying now. That was a little over a year ago. Months before she discovered her husband's deceit,
"I am okay, Charlotte. As you said, It could be the strain of the work. Moreover, I am not getting any younger, you know. I can't be expected to be as chirpy as you."
Says who? You are a beautiful woman who only gets better with age, ma. Just like a fine wine, my ma would say. You just need to smile more and let go of those strains on your face,"
Reyona laughed. Genuine laughter that she couldn't remember the last time she had experienced "Your ma is a wise woman. Thank you, Charlotte. I will keep your advice in mind. Now go and explain to Phil before he gets off work," she said as she looked at the clock.
It's almost time to go home. It was almost time to switch on her pretence face.
She sighed.
Charlotte left, and Reyona turned to her system again. Even a stranger could detect the change in her, but not her so-called loving husband. He bought all the fake smiles, all the chirpy behaviour, and all the doting wife charade. Whereas she could see how tense he was, despite how much he pretended otherwise.
He had no idea how much she burned inside with rage. The bastard. She had meant nothing to him after all. Neither her feelings nor her time. The fact that she felt guilt for what she was doing to him now infuriated her, but she couldn't help it. She tossed and turned when she was supposed to be having a guilt-free, love-filled sleep in her happy-ever-after marriage.
The bastard had turned her into a wreck as she held her breath whenever he wanted to say anything. Oh, he would confess everything now, and they would find ways to sort it out, she would think. Only for him to say something else, and disappointment would lay cold in her heart, fueling her determination. She had to teach this bastard a lesson.
Reyona opened a new tab on her system and logged in with the details the man had given her. The site displayed it right there. Sitting comfortably in the Cayman International account was the money that had been intercepted. Had it all been because of this? Had her marriage all been a sham because of something as fickle as money?
She laid her head on her table and wept.