"I'm sorry I'm late." Adam rushed into the main boardroom of The Pinnacle. It was not the full ensemble he expected. Instead, the main CEO and several senior executives were the only ones there, sat in a line on the far side of the long boardroom desk. Adam nervously made his way around to the long, empty side of the desk facing them. Kevin Beechwood was present, but he was sat at the far end, on his own.
"We have invited you here because we've been made aware of some serious allegations." The Chairman of the Board stated. "Very serious allegations indeed. First of all, we are aware of your personal relationship with Director Beechwood. He has been asked to attend but to remain silent. He is here to ensure his, and the rest of the senior board carry out our duties as expected. He is not, however, to intervene at any point without being directly asked a question." The Chairman turned and nodded at Beechwood, who nodded back sheepishly. Adam didn't say a word, he just kept his hands by his side, and looked forward.
"You've been with the company a very long time, Adam", this time one of the Senior Directors spoke, the one in charge of the Finance division. "You've maintained a near-perfect record. No disciplinaries. No complaints. Up until recently, you've never even been recorded as showing up late for work."
"I pride myself on my commitment, my work ethic, and my drive for excellence. It's why I am genuinely in the dark as to what allegations you could have heard. I know that I can be short tempered at times with staff, but it's always in the pursuit of delivering for this company." Adam was impassioned, the scared man who walked in started to sit larger in his chair as each word emboldened him.
"We know, Adam," the CEO interjected this time, "which is why your future very much depends on your answers here today." Adam crumbled instantly. He realised that this wasn't a conversation about an allegation, it was an interrogation before someone was taken down. But if Martin was telling the truth, and Adam had no reason to believe he would lie, then he struggled to think of what could have been shared with the board to warrant this.
The Finance Director took control of the interrogation. "You've been in charge of the Sector C project at Calder Energy Prime for 17 months, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir. Before then I was-"
"Please stick to the questions being asked. You do not need, nor should you desire, to embellish. As Project Manager of the Sector C expansion, you've held one of the most senior positions in the company. Correct?"
"Operationally, yes, Sir." Adam gulped, unsure if his qualifier would result in him being scolded a second time.
"This is by far the most senior position you've held since you joined Calder Energy at 17, is that correct?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Why were you awarded this privilege?" The Chairman instantly interjected, "I don't believe that is relevant to this meeting, nor is it for Adam to speculate. Stick to the agreed questions, Director Elliot."
The Finance Director apologised and returned his gaze to Adam. "Have you ever been personally responsible for the budget of the project at Sector C?"
"Yes, I have. One of my main duties is to manage all financials related to the project, ensure they are accurate and provide regular updates to the board. That includes current run-rate, projected expenditure on any particular aspect of the build. I don't manage the funds directly, I believe that falls to someone in your team, Sir?"
"But you DO have oversight of the finances?"
"Yes, Sir. I do. And I provide regular updates to the Board."
"Do you manage the reporting directly, or do you have your Personal Assistant perform any of your duties for you? Before you answer, I wish to inform you that we have already interviewed Ms Marie Heverley." Adam was caught out by the question. He certainly had offloaded some of his work to Marie. Surely she hadn't been fiddling the books, Adam thought.
"I did. It was always administrative in nature. There were times I would ask Marie to put together reports for me, if I had a busy schedule." The Directors each looked at each other, none of them showed any emotion on their faces, but Adam had said something that had triggered a silent understanding in the room.
"Mr Ashworth," this time the Director of Operations had taken over the conversation, "are you aware that much of the information within those reports was highly sensitive?"
"Of course. And I always treated it with the care it required. What is this about?"
"Shut up, Adam and just answer the questions!"
"That is ENOUGH, Kevin. Another outburst and you'll be ejected from this meeting." The Chairman shot Kevin Beechwood a look that would terrify any man.
"If you treated the sensitive, and highly classified information so carefully, can you please explain how a member of staff at Aegis were able to acquire the details of the budgetary fund belonging to the Operations and Infrastructure department?"
Adam was caught off guard entirely, he had no idea how anyone at Aegis could have gotten bank details. He looked across the long desk at Kevin Beechwood, who was staring, motionless, at the floor.
"I-I don’t, Sir. I don’t think Marie would have seen those accounts?"
"She did. She's already confessed to having seen details of several accounts used to fund this project. You just confirmed that our decision to fire her was the correct one."
"Wait, Marie? No!" Adam's hand left his pants pocket and thrust out into the air in front of him.
"We have evidence that sensitive information has been leaking from your office for a very long time. We know that the leak wasn’t you, because your assistant confessed. But that does NOT make things better for you!" The Director of Operations was furious. Far more emotional than everyone else in the room.
"Someone was fed that leaked information and used it to access that bank account. They had stolen hundreds of thousands of pounds, all from under your nose."
"That isn't possible, Sir. Any withdrawal or payment not connected directly to the project would have flagged instantly. Even if I missed it, CILLA would have-"
"The funds were paid as contractor invoices. Billed directly to Aegis Security, and distributed to several bitnet accounts. The funds being stolen appeared to pay for the security of the site. It's ironic, really. The individual involved was terminated for this six months ago. However, it appears that Aegis did not think we deserved to be informed of this theft. Until a whistle blower contacted us directly on Wednesday evening."
"I have no-" It hit Adam like a train to the side of the head.
"Sir, I was not involved in any of this. I didn't know!" Adam pleaded.
The CEO spoke for the first time, "we know, Adam. Which is why you are here before us and not in handcuffs with your assistant. But you allowed this to happen. It was not a plan of a mastermind. It was an opportunist who took advantage of their family member’s blind spot."
"Leo." Adam whispered, shamefully.
The CEO continued, "there was a time you used the same weakness against your own. We expected better, Adam."
Adam knew precisely what the CEO was referring to. He could not hang his head any lower.
"You are to be placed on paid Garden Leave until we are able to fully investigate this matter. Your absence yesterday caused a great delay. And some of us around this table thought your absence was incriminating. Until you turned up this morning."
"Wha-what's going to happen to my brother? What about the project?" Adam asked, holding back tears.
The Director of Operations replied, "for now, nothing. We need to meet with the whistleblower to review the evidence they've procured before we take any further action. We suggest you cease any and all contact with your brother, Leonard." Adam sighed heavily. As he raised his head to look at the men in front of him, he noticed a group of Aegis Security guards walking up the staircase to The Pinnacle. They entered the boardroom and stood in front of the only doorway.
"Both you and Director Beechwood will be escorted directly to the main lobby, where these gentleman will ensure you are taken home. You will not be permitted entry back into the building until further notice. Please ensure you remain contactable as we will certainly have further questions for you both in the coming days." The Chairman motioned to the Aegis Security guards, who split into two groups of two, each moving down each flank of the boardroom. Neither Adam nor Director Beechwood put up a fight. They stood and made their way toward the exit.
"Wait, I-I need to go back to my office. I've left some personal belongings-"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that sir" The guard said flatly, as Adam attempted to press the elevator button for floor 42. Adam began to struggle with the two guards, who each grabbed an arm.
"NO, YOU DONT UNDERSTAND! I LEFT SOMETHING....GET OFF ME...IMPORTANT IN MY-" Adam was knocked unconscious almost immediately, as the Aegis guards slammed him to the floor of the elevator.