With Love

Chapter Thirty

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The school's graduation ceremony was being held in the school's assembly hall. Parents lined the rows with their children. Only immediate family members were permitted to this private event given the exclusivity of the students.

However, I didn't need to follow that rule, one perk of being a part of the Love Family. Harvey and Lorenzo remained by the entrance doors, keeping their eyes out for any suspicious behavior.

The walls of the auditorium are wrapped in silk drapes, the navy blue and maroon colors shining through the room. The stage is decorated accordingly, their school colors were strewn over every surface.

Two rows on either side of the aisle were empty, reserved for the graduates and our family's row was reserved right behind them. Uncle George, Elijah, Jasper, and Corinne sat in their seats, Amari shuffling quickly to sit with them while Santiago and Franco walked a few steps behind Finn and me.

His hand brushed mine every few moments but I refused to take the hint and entwine our fingers. The last thing I needed was for people to know Finn and I were together which would only put a target on his head if he doesn't already have one from being in my general presence.

We came to a stop at the row of seats when my phone started ringing. I released a harsh breath, ready to decline the call so as not to miss Atticus but when my family accountant's name flashed across the screen I knew I couldn't ignore her.

I handed off my purse to Franco and pivoted on my heel, gesturing for them to take a seat while I walked out of the auditorium so my call would not be overheard. I pressed accept and raised the phone to my ear.

"Jerika, can't say I'm not surprised to hear from you, how's my money?" I asked, already picturing her grinning from her home office desk.

Her laugh echoed over the speakers. "Locked away just how you like it," she answered.

Jerika Jones had worked for my family since she graduated from NYU ten years ago, top of her class. She struggled to get a job in finance on Wall Street. Wall Street barely accepted women in the finance world there and her chance was slimmer as an African American but my father saw her potential and hired her on the spot.

I barely ever saw her since she worked from the comfort of her own apartment but she never failed to outdress me every time we did meet up. As much as it pissed me off, she knew how to dress and I could only respect that.

"Look, Ana, I wanted to call because I noticed a charge on one of the accounts for a large sum of money," she informed me, the sound of nails tapping on her keyboard in her background.

My eyebrows furrowed as I exited the auditorium, Lorenzo branching off from the wall to discreetly follow me as I stepped outside. One hand rested on my hip as I strolled towards the small garden. Parents and their children leisurely made their way up the stairs, passing me on their way in. "People are allowed to spend money on the family accounts, I have no problem with that."

My men all had their own credit card linked to one account where they were allowed to purchase anything they needed for themselves and the family as long as the charges were not astronomical, then a conversation needed to be had.

"And if that charge is almost one million dollars?" She pointed out.

My jaw dropped. Who the fuck needed to spend one million dollars? And not tell me? "For what?" I asked in disbelief. Look, I spend a lot of money, I know my faults but I don't spend that amount in one sitting, even I know that's too much.

Jerika's nails tapped along her keyboard again as she hummed to herself. "It was written off as a car payment but I traced the paper trail and it led me to an apartment on Fifth Avenue."