Naive by Charles Royce (world best books to read .txt) 📕

Distant memories flash by as she makes her way to the corner office. She can almost hear Lennox screaming at her after he found out she was leaving, coworkers whispering the words traitor and bitch in those final two weeks.

She approaches James West’s assistant, whom she recognizes. They used to work together, him as West’s assistant, and her as Lennox’s assistant. They were in constant communication. An older man with a crewcut and week-old scruff, Kimberly Nicholson, or Kimbo to most who know him, is considered loyal to his boss, almost to a fault. Being an assistant herself, privy to her boss’s business and personal lives, Jenna knows he knows what’s going on.

He is typing on his computer. Probably messaging West, she thinks.

“Mr. West is expecting you.” Kimbo gives a friendly wink.

“Jenna? Is that you?” James West says from behind the half-open door. “Get in here!”

There we go, Jenna thinks as she enters, breathing a sigh of relief at his familiar tone.

“Close the door, would you?” he says.

And there we went, she thinks. Jenna is now uneasy.

“Packing up already?” She glances at the boxes on the floor.

“Yeah.” He acknowledges the mess. “Jenna, we don’t have much time. The police detective in charge of Lennox’s murder case is on his way, so I’m just gonna get right to the point.” Mr. West motions for her to sit down. She remains standing. “I know you must still be quite shaken about Lennox. But for the record, we had nothing to do with his horrific death. You understand that, don’t you?”

She fumbles with a response. Is he fishing for information that she might share with the police? Is he winking at the fact that they both know there’s something else going on, and that she should also act just as dumb as he is?

“I do, Mr. West.” She decides to play his ambiguous game. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but rest assured I know you had nothing to do with Lennox’s murder.”

“Sir, Detective Bronson Penance is here to see you,” his assistant says over his phone’s speaker.

“One moment,” Mr. West responds to Kimbo, then looks at Jenna. “Sorry, I thought we would have had more time. I’m going to be blunt here. I know that you helped Lennox with certain, let’s say, transactional dealings. And I think you might know where these transactions have been collected, so to speak. Now, as you can tell by the commotion here, our company is in a bit of transition, and I need your help. I’m going to ask you a question, and trust me, you’ll want to answer it truthfully.”

Jenna tries not to swallow. “I’m listening.”

“Do you know where Lennox hid this account, and most importantly how to access it fully?”

Jenna knows where the account is, and is fairly certain she knows how to access it. The files and account numbers and passwords are all safely tucked away from this ridiculous company.

“Sir, I can with one hundred percent certainty tell you that I have no idea what you’re talking about. My job was to input numbers and to not ask questions. So I did input the numbers, and I didn’t ask questions. Period. End of the road.”

James West laughs. He’s always loved the way Jenna speaks. “Thank you, I just wanted to make sure, in person, you know, so I could see your face.”

“Oh, absolutely.” She musters as much confidence as she can while trying to understand the importance of his seeing her face. “Sorry I was so late.”

“And please refer to the nondisclosure agreement you signed when you left us, just to make sure we’re on the same page. I wouldn’t want you to lose anything else you hold dear.”

She feels another gulp begin to form in the back of her throat. She knows Mr. West can read fear, and she wants to reassure him that she knows nothing.

“Absolutely,” she says. “Is that all?”

“Yes.” He motions through the window to Kimbo.

Jenna turns to leave, while Detective Penance enters.

“Oh, after you.” Detective Penance motions for her to pass.

“Thank you.” Jenna leaves with her head down, as if she’d just been punched in the gut. She waves a defeated goodbye to Kimbo as she passes him.

“Detective, so nice to meet you in person,” Mr. West says, with a half smile.

“We have a warrant for your servers, so my guys have begun that little process.” Detective Penance jumps right in, hoping to elicit a response he can use. “Quite the past few weeks for your company, don’t you think?”

“Stocks go up, stocks go down. We’ve seen worse.”

“Ahh, yes. And the murder of one of your consultants in Union Square. Oh, and yet another employee right in his home.”

“This city can be quite random, can’t it?”

“Too much random might be considered by some to be a pattern.” Detective Penance picks up an ebony-and-ivory elephant trinket off Mr. West’s console table. He has remained standing, continuing to pace the room.

Mr. West says nothing.

“What can you tell me about Lennox Holcomb?” Detective Penance asks. “What exactly did he do for you here?”

“As vice president of finance, he was in charge of all aspects of accounting, payroll, financial reporting, overseeing transactions related to general ledger—” Mr. West stops himself after he realizes he is simply orating the job description. “You know, stuff like that.”

“As I mentioned, we are seizing your servers, sir.” Detective Penance looks at James West. “Seems a tiny little hard drive is missing from our evidence room, so we have decided to see what’s in the motherboard, so to speak.”

“Great, have a look. We’ll get anything you need, Detective. Lennox was a good man and didn’t deserve what he got.”

Bronson Penance is a seasoned detective and takes note of West’s phrasing. He walks toward the window. “Quite the monstrosity, isn’t it?” Detective Penance is looking north across the skyline at the mostly completed new building, the one to house Élan’s growing empire. “Building a high rise, consistently outperforming Cooper Harlow, hiring and hiring and hiring … with