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Joseph sat hunched over the stack of written evidence with his head in his hand. His lawyer sat next to him and Jason was on the other side.
Everything finally added up, from the first cent that was taken down to the very last. At least he had the good sense to stop stealing from him when the investigation started. What Joseph didn't understand was why the man had decided to go ahead and sell company information.
"Why?" he asked, his voice, cool calm, and collected as he lifted his gaze to stare at the man across the table.
The man also had the good sense to look ashamed for what he had done. Still, that was no excuse for steal force hundred and fifty thousand dollars and selling information for their biggest client to the media.
"I... I'm sorry Mr. Walters." the man apologized, his eyes begging Joseph to be merciful.
"I want to know, why?" Joseph repeated. He brushes the papers aside and folded his hands and waited.
"I got word that my firm would be laying me for inappropriate conduct with a client. I slept with a woman that was seeking a divorce from a very influential man. He had private investigators following her around and found out about our affair." the man explained.
"What do you sticking your dick and another man's wife have to do with betraying me?!" Joseph snapped." he was losing patience and fast.
"It's just a part of it all. One day when I came here to have a meeting with you, you were late. Some papers were left on your desk with some financial information." the man swallowed and shook his head. "I...took pictures and used a foreign web address created by your secretary who has been my mistress since I started having marital problems."
Joseph's glance switched to the woman quietly crying next to him then back to the man. He couldn't see her as the type but then again, never judge a book by its cover.
"I was, am, bankrupt because of my wife's spending habits. I had to find a way to keep her happy with me. When I saw the papers on your desk, I couldn't resist. Her father is friends with my boss and they've been whispering in his ear about my infidelity." the man further explained.
"I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart, if you're trying to keep your wife happy, why would you go dibble dipping outside your marriage?" Joseph countered.
The man looked at him with an almost angry expression, as though he wasn't seeing Joseph at that moment but someone else.
"Come on Mr. Walters, you and I both know Ian has his needs. If my wife decided to stop performing her duties as a wife she left me with no choice but to seek it somewhere else. That's why she was so upset when she found out that I had fallen for someone else."
Joseph was surprised at the tender gaze the man had for his secretary though she didn't look so happy with him at the moment.
"So all this is over some lovers quarrel?" Joseph scoffed disgustedly.
"I would never sell information about your clients, my wife found that information in my briefcase when I took work home one night. She sold the information to the press. Her father must have paid them to keep her name out of it. I wouldn't do that to you." the man begged him to believe.
"No, you just stole from me instead." Joseph shook his head.
He pushed away from the table, aware of every eye in the room following his angry pacing movements. He walked over to the wall of windows and looked out.
"Am I going to jail?"
Joseph looked over his shoulder at his secretary. The woman looked terrified.
"Why would you go along with his crazy plan to steal from me?" Joseph asked her.
"Todd knows I'm good with computers, very good actually. When he asked me to create an untraceable web address I was skeptical but I trusted him. I didn't think he would ever use it for something like this. I found out when it was too late." she examined.
"Yet you continued to see him, yet you said nothing to me?!" Joseph snapped "You stayed here late nights with me leading me on a wild goose chase, searching through employee files." Joseph accused.
"I stopped seeing him, I didn't feel right betraying you that way. You were always good to me, the first person to give me a chance in this city when I moved here, I would never betray you that way," she said between sobs.
"She's telling the truth." the man backed her up.
"Why should I believe you? And why should I care?" Joseph argued "I could have lost my company over all this nonsense, they sewed me for crying out loud! For something both of you did!"
"I'm telling the truth, sir." she cried even more.
Joseph turned away from the scene, he hated seeing women cry, and that was one of his weaknesses. He could see for himself she was an innocent that had gotten caught up in the politics of the elite affairs.
"You're free to go, Ms. Sanders," he said with his back to everyone.
"I am?" she asked
He heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor and assumed the woman had taken her to leave. He was surprised to see her silhouette mirrored in the window standing behind him.
Joseph turned to look at her puzzled. "What?!" he snapped
She jumped a little at his tone and twiddled with her thumbs, Miranda had the same nervous habit. He started getting annoyed again. He would much rather be home with his woman and his child.
"Am I fired?" the tiny woman asked.
"Don't push your luck," he warned, but then went on to say. "I haven't decided yet."
She nodded and took one last look at the older man sitting across the room before she left. He didn't miss the way the man's eyes followed her. Seems his secretary had captured the man's heart after all. Too bad. Something like this was unforgivable. Joseph knew he had to make an example of the man.
"I want her name to stay out of this. She is an innocent dragged into your mess. If she had good sense she would run as far as she can away from you." Joseph said as he returned to the table to reclaim his seat.
"I love her." the man argued "she has been a better woman to me than my own wife had been from the very beginning of our marriage. If I lose her, I will have lost everything."
Against his better judgment, Joseph felt sorry for his former lawyer, yet he knew his hands were tied.
By the time the authorities came to take the man away Joseph felt wrung and tired. All he wanted was to go home to his family.
"I think I'm going to head back to the ranch tonight. I'll fly out and surprise Miranda. Are you coming home or staying in the city?" he asked Jason as he collected his jacket.
"I'll stick around here," Jason replied.
"You alright man?" Joseph asked staring at his younger sibling.
"Yeah I'm good, I just understand why that man did what he did. He's stupid for doing it, he should have just walked away, Just like I did." Jason replied then walked out of the office before Joseph could question him.
Joseph knew this had something to do with Amara but obviously, she was still a sore topic for his brother. Joseph looked around before pulling his cell phone from his pocket and turning to leave. It was time to go home to his woman and his son.
