The Blackmail Bride

Chapter 43

Hello!

Genius

As promised, Sierra sent the documents via a company driver the next day. She also gave me her personal number, "If you find out anything—and I mean anything. Please inform us."

It has been two days since Jace left for work. And by the third day, it appeared he didn't want to return home.

The whole time he was gone though, Sierra made it her duty to update me about the course of their office work. I didn't ask for it... but as I was finding out, it was something that gave me a bit of peace.

They were preparing a presentation on Sand Castle, El Nido and all the prior information they brought up was being collated again. Jace was talking to the private investigators he hired. But it wasn't like he was only focusing on the investigation. As Sierra had briefly described, Jace was working on a few joint ventures with critical due dates.

I could only imagine some of those were initiated due to our marriage. It was the same case on Prestigio's side. Projects were started and the main office staff were working like the building was on fire. Even Grandma who was mainly oversight took in a few projects under her wing.

This was so common that a lot of personal concerns took the backseat.

"Could you ask him to slow down? I know work comes first but he's going to collapse at this point. We all are," Sierra sounded very tired.

Last night, Jace flew to the Philippines to meet the previous accounting manager this morning. He only planned to stay there for eight hours before going back to the office here. A one-way flight was at least twelve hours. And due to the increasingly hellish schedule Jace was taking on, all my thoughts of a personal conversation with him took second priority.

It shouldn't be a big deal if I did my work in Jace's office. I sat in his in-home swivel chair and spread out the files over his enormous oakwood desk.

I pored over the documents that Sierra provided me as diligently as I could.

I already knew this, but our hotels operated as differently as day and night did. And I had to consistently remind myself that we catered to completely different social classes as peculiar rules popped up here and there. And that meant a completely different cashflow structure.

When I realized that, for a second I was confused again because apparently, a longer accounts receivable turnover period was common with their company. The numbers looked fine if that was the case. But recalling the conversation Jace and I had about the financials, even he agreed that the cashflow was strange.

So what was the problem about it? What was I missing? Possibly 4 million dollars down the drain but how? Where did I start to look?

Reading the audit reports of their company gave me a migraine that wasn't going away. And Sierra's complaints about Jace not taking enough rest in between binders of reading materials—It was a problem that I had too.

It was difficult to simply pause when you were in "the zone". And I went through the files Sierra provided me diligently. A good thing she included a folder of some critical notes along with the audit reports. Then there were the policies—general company policies that were of no use. But the accounting policies included was telling of the relationship with the clients and suppliers.

By evening, I had ten pages of my own notes. Messily scribbled—sure—but as I was the only one to use them, who cared? And I was still praying I didn't have to intervene.

Sierra called sometime that evening to tell me Jace already boarded his plane. I wanted to ask how his meeting with their former employee went, but I didn't. I wasn't even supposed to be working on these files.