Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“No, I’m just surprised you didn’t trust me going in.”
“I wanted to trust you if that counts for anything. But I didn’t invite you in here blindly. I’m not an idiot.”
“I know you’re not. I just thought—loyalty, right?”
“Because your dad worked for my dad? Because your brother’s my friend and works with me? You’re your own woman, Katie. I thought you’d want credit for that.”
“I know I’m a nepo hire.”
“No, you’re not. If I wanted a nepo hire I’d get Ragucci’s dipshit nephew with the hair gel. You’re qualified. You just happen to belong to a family that’s been associated with mine for a long time. It’s something to be proud of but it didn’t get you hired. You did that yourself with your credentials and the way you talk, everything you know.”
“Keep talking all nice and complimentary like that and everybody in Boston’s gonna find out you’re not an asshole.”
“Well, I can’t let that happen, can I?”
I shove away from the table and throw the door open to the hall with a bit too much force.
10
KATE
“Don’t overcomplicate the disclosure notes. That’s the main thing.”
“When I studied the Uniform Commercial Code, I learned the basic red flags,” I say, “but I need to learn the ins and outs of all this. What’s it look like on Peachtree or SAP?”
“Facts are facts, and we stick as close to them as possible,” Sal Vilamonte tells me. “You’re a fresh set of eyes and it helps to have that, to be able to spot anything that looks fishy to you when you look at the numbers.”
“I don’t have the criminology expertise a certified forensic accountant needs to investigate, but this looks seamless. Ragucci’s a damn wizard. I’ve looked at these transactions till I could recite them from memory and I’m not seeing a damn thing.” I shake my head in astonishment.
“He’s been cookin’ these books for thirty years. He oughta be good at it,” Sal chuckles. “He’s doin’ good this morning. I talked to his missus before breakfast.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been praying for him. And now I need to pray for myself because I don’t have anything near this level of ability to conceal things in the numbers.”
“It’s about a delicate touch. Mostly he and the boss take care of it, but we handle the day-to-day stuff. Logistics, inventory, payroll. If you have questions about any of it just let me know.”
“Thanks. I will. I just want to keep us out of audit until Ragucci’s back in action,” I say.
The guy isn’t just a wizard, he’s an artist. It’s incredible. I comb through the last quarter’s records, the projections for the remainder of the fiscal year. Not one decimal is out of place, and if I were auditing this, I wouldn’t know where to begin claiming if I suspected misappropriation of funds.
Sal goes through the email from Ragucci with me, the one that lays out what he does in a day and in a week for the most part. A lot of it is networking, it seems like. Keeping in touch with the different departments, checking in on the legitimate businesses and keeping tabs on the operations under the table as well.
I’m writing out a sample schedule to look over with Mickey later. The job is part politician, part accountant and reports direct to the man himself. It makes me sweat just thinking about it.
All I’ve done for the last couple days is learn about the job, ask questions about the job, and avoid my brother who does not know about the promotion yet. He’s high enough in the organization he’s bound to hear about it sooner or later and I’d prefer that he hears it from his friend and not me. Me, he’ll yell at for putting myself at risk. I can’t imagine him shouting in Mickey O’Halloran’s face.
By three-thirty I’m closer to figuring out whatever his method is of hiding the illegal funds in plain sight. I had to go back seven quarters to pick up on it. Cleaning supplies and services including personal protective equipment expenditures. Seeing big budget numbers for those line items after Covid is unremarkable. It’s just the fact that I’ve traced the billing and know the actual cost of those products and processes so I know the figures are padded. I know that’s not the only thing, but I feel triumphant knowing that I cracked this much of his method.
My phone beeps, the new secure one I was issued yesterday. It’s a text from Mickey asking if I can come to the crow’s nest early. I programmed my contacts to list him as BOSS in all caps to remind myself exactly who he is to me. Not a friend. Certainly nothing more than that either. So, I reply in line with that resolution. Be right there, boss.