CheckMate

Chapter 6

Relief floods through Philip as he gets off the elevator and he can feel happiness radiating down the hall.  At the front door he can hear giggles and laughter, his heart giving a sigh of relief.  Walking in he finds Sam and Gregory play attacking each other with silly kisses, nips, and licks.  He stops for a minute to just take in the joy that they have in one another.  This is what he longs for.  This is what he wants.  Someone he can just be himself with, whether it’s a good day, bad day, or normal, average, every other day.  Sam catches a glimpse of him and the spell is broken.

Sam takes action to repair everything between the three of you.  Even with Fenrir getting jealous of he and Sam's hug, all is forgiven.  However, according to Sam, nothing was damaged in the first place.  Philip's heart still aches, the actual problem hasn’t been resolved and it still weighs heavy on his shoulders.  

As Gregory and Sam make their way to bed, Greg makes a snide remark that it isn’t Tabitha’s fault that his sniffer is broken.  It gives him pause for a minute.    How can it be broken for only one person?  I can smell everyone and everything else around me.  No, it has to be coming off her.  There has to be a mask or barrier between us and that definitely  smells like a traitor to me.  Speaking of…he quickly pulls out his phone and shoots off a quick text.

PHILIP:  I am home Ms. Faeleen.

TABITHA:  Thank you sir.  Sleep well.

He stares at her text for a minute.  She doesn’t speak or act like a traitor.  She seems to actually care about Gregory and Sam.  Am I off base? Or am I a fool falling for a con?

***

The next morning, Philip still hasn’t slept.  He did his workout for hours into the early morning.  He then showered and dressed before Sam and Greg made their appearance.  He was in his home office when Greg showed up at the doorway looking sleep tousled.  Greg raises him a toast with his coffee cup. 

“Thanks for the java bud.  I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.”

Philip nods.  “At least your train crashed somewhere, mines still heading down the track at 200 mph.”

“No sleep huh?  I’m sorry.  You're not still mulling over our problem are you?”

“Your problem, the company’s problem, my assistant problem; it’s like a tornado whirling around in my head.  It's hit  category five.”

“Ouch."  He straightens up and downs the last of his coffee.  "Alright, let me get dressed and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

Philip nods, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Thirty minutes later both Sam and Gregory enter his office with coffee and a refill for him.  Philip looks at his watch and then over at Sam. 

“I’ve never known a woman to get ready in under thirty minutes.  Are you secretly a witch?”

Sam laughs, “It helps when you aren’t twenty and looking to impress the world.  Minimal make-up works for me and my hair is usually put up so wet or dry, it makes time fly!”

Philip looks over at an amused Greg.  “Does she always rhyme so early in the morning?”

He nods with a chagrin.  “Annoying isn’t it?  And yes, she does.”

While Greg gets punished for calling Sam annoying, Philip brings up the report that Tabitha was working on for the last two days.  Gregory takes the laptop over and within ten minutes he has several different types of formulas running on the Excel spreadsheet.

The first formula has taken all the similar companies and is lumping them together.  He takes that adjustment report and moves it to a different spreadsheet.  He begins running the next formula when Sam looks over his shoulder and takes the laptop away from him.  She jumps down to the current formula and begins tweaking it a little more.  She's showing Gregory what she did and how it will narrow the fields down even further for what they need.  He nods and Philip sits across from them sipping his coffee.

“Are you nerds done yet?  Don't get me wrong, it's cute to watch you communicate in your own language and all but I have no idea what on earth you're doing.”

They raise their heads and look at him over the laptop screen.  Sam just stares at him blankly, her mind still focusing on the formula she's adjusting.  Gregory of course has to retaliate.

“I’m sorry your highness.  This nerd," he says pointing to himself, "just saved you hours of comparing pages and his beautiful,” he turns and gives Sam a kiss on the cheek, “nerd mate just saved us both an additional few hours by making the formula even better!”

“Ah, nerdgasms.  Don’t get me wrong, I love you...you are my nerds.  Without the two of you my life would be utterly meaningless.”

Greg raises an eyebrow at his sarcasm. “You’re going to orgasm when you see what she just did.”  He pushes a button that runs the new formula and turns the screen back to Philip.

The information has all reorganized itself  and one company stands out multiple times and the subsidiaries they use are listed beneath them, all lined up.  Those with multiple expenditures that have had doubled or 'mistakes in invoicing’ are highlighted and listed in a different area on the sheet.

Philip jumps up, immediately leaning across the desk and grabbing Sam by the face.  He lands a big fat kiss square on her lips.

“Sam, you’re amazing!”

He laughs as he gets pushed back forcefully from Sam by Gregory.  On the way back he trips over his chair, only to land on the floor.  He throws his head back and laughs even more.  Sam looks at Gregory in confusion.

“Someone didn’t sleep last night.”

“Oh.”  No other words are needed, she simply picks up her coffee and takes a large gulp.  

Philip stands up, pushing Greg’s words away.  “That doesn’t matter.  We have our embezzlers!  Now, how do we find our moles and get everything wrapped up nicely like a present for the DA?”

“Perhaps we can set a few different traps,” Sam comments.  Both men look at her with unhappy faces and arguments on their lips. She holds her hands up in defense, “just hear me out.  Okay?”

Once she's shared her ideas, Philip is on board.  Gregory, however isn’t happy.  He has to realize, since it was his first thought when starting the investigation, that there may be a mole in Sam’s office.  To 'wrap' this up nicely, as Philip said, they need to catch every little cog in the wheel.

Philip decides to set his own trap.  Better to do it first  before setting the others in motion.  He can't shake the feeling that he can't trust his new assistant.  He fills Sam in on his idea since Tabitha seems to have taken a liking to her.  That again, gives him pause.  Does she really like Sam or is she just a  part of her game?  Get close to her and learn things most people wouldn’t since she’s close to the men at the top? These thoughts keep crowding into his head.  Yet every time they do, something niggles at the back of his mind.  What can’t I remember?  

Frustrated with the whole situation he decides to set his trap off now.  It's best to have only those you can trust to be close to you.  That includes those who sit outside of your office door. 

He pulls out his phone and shoots off a quick text.

PHILIP:  I’ll be going to the QuickFix construction site tomorrow.  Please arrange for the site manager and oversight manager meet up with me at 10 am.

TABITHA:  Yes sir.  The site and oversight managers at QuickFix at 10 am tomorrow.  Anything else?

PHILIP:  That will be it.  Please stress for them to be on time. I have a tight schedule since I'm traveling.

TABITHA:  Yes sir, I will make mention of it.

PHILIP:  And Ms. Faeleen, tell no one else of my visit.  It’s a surprise inspection.