Chapter 4: Investigator

The next day, he called a private investigator he trusted; they usually called him to investigate the companies they were acquiring—before making the acquisition, of course.

They briefed him on the case and told him they wanted to find out two things, which might be related.

They wanted to know if someone had sabotaged the company—that is, if, after the go-ahead to start construction, someone had altered the blueprints. They wanted to know who did it and when the documents were changed, and they also wanted to know if Benjamin Lee had been murdered.

Henry Green, the investigator, was astonished; he himself had investigated that company a few years earlier on their behalf, before they bought it.

“Lee Company belongs to you; I investigated it myself when it went bankrupt.”

“Of course, but we need to know what really happened to the company and its owner.”

“Okay, I’ll start with the company.”

“Start wherever you like.”

They didn’t tell him they had documents that would make his job easier; they wanted to know where an investigation would lead if he started from scratch.

Meanwhile, they met with an engineer friend of theirs—an expert in telecommunications—to decrypt the messages and audio files on one of Benjamin’s cell phones.

That was going to take a couple of weeks.

Joseph was anxious, so he urged his friend to hurry.

-“Nothing’s magic.”

David, his friend, replied.

“I understand, but please hurry.”

“I’ll make it a priority; I’m taking it to the technicians right now.”

“Handle it with care,”

Victor advised him.

“I’m really curious—what’s this all about?”

The partners looked at each other; they trusted David, which was why they were handing him the cell phone—they had a deep friendship with him.

Joseph spoke up.

“It has to do with Benjamin Lee.”

“The one who committed suicide?”

-“We don’t think he killed himself. That cell phone belonged to him. We’re investigating, and we believe he was murdered.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with you guys or why you have his cell phone.”

David was completely confused.

They explained to him what had happened over the last few days.

-“I know his wife—she’s beautiful. Actually, her parents used to live near my parents’ house. When I was a teenager, she used to make us all swoon every time she walked by.”

-“She’s still like that. I swear, she takes your breath away. As soon as I get the chance, I’m going to make a move on her.”

Joseph made it very clear to his friend that he had his eye on her—just in case they ran into each other—he didn’t want to have to fight David over her; he was truly blown away by her beauty.

David burst out laughing; he found it funny how Joseph had staked his claim, having seen her only once.

“She’s got you all wrapped around her finger.”

he said, hoping his friend would deny it.

“Yeah, totally.”

Immediately afterward, Joseph asked the HR department for the schedules of the employees in Noah’s department—he didn’t even ask his secretary to put him through.

David and Victor looked at him in disbelief.

“When the kid gets off work, I’ll meet up with him and take him home.”

He said with great determination.

-“You’ve lost your mind.”

Victor said.

“Not yet—after I get her, I’ll tell you.”

-“You’re delusional.”

Joseph was laughing, but he thought to himself that yes, that was exactly how it was—he was delirious with desire for that woman.

He had to dive right into that ass and those tits.

They made plans with his business partner and his friend to go out to dinner the next day.

When it was time for Noah to leave, Joseph headed to the building’s exit; he was already in the car with his driver, waiting for his employee to come out. The driver didn’t understand why they weren’t pulling away.

Twenty minutes later, Joseph saw Noah coming out and told the driver to honk the horn while he rolled down the window.

“Hi, Noah. I was just leaving when I saw you.”

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Get in—I’ll give you a ride.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“Get in—I’ll tell you what we’re investigating.”

Noah got in, hesitantly.

He was wondering what interest the man standing next to him could possibly have in seeking justice for his father.

He wasn’t naive and knew that powerful businessmen like Victor and Joseph didn’t care much about others; he knew he’d tried to save them from a catastrophe, but the promotion was enough—though he also understood that the documents he’d given them—not about the investigation into his father’s death, but about that fateful mistake—were important to them; there are mistakes that should never be repeated.

Joseph planned to get off at the young man’s house; he was dying to see his mother.

He couldn’t stop thinking about that woman.

He didn’t say much during the ride, so Noah figured they’d have to talk about it in the privacy of his home; it even made sense to him, since it was such a sensitive topic.

As they were pulling up, the young man took the remote out of his pocket and opened a gate so the driver could pull the car in.

That’s what they did; he parked in the open garage, which had room for five cars. A twinge of guilt crossed Joseph’s mind, since the amount he’d paid Benjamin Lee for the company was significantly less than its actual value, and at that moment he even felt, in part, responsible—not for his death, but for the overall situation.

They entered the mansion and went straight to Benjamin’s office.

“Aren’t you going to let your mother know you’re home?”

he asked, as if in passing.

“No, she’s already left for work by now.”

“Shit!”

Joseph thought.

However, for the moment, he didn’t say anything else.

He informed the people he’d put in touch with—he did so vaguely, not wanting to give them all the details—with the idea of coming back at another time and on another day; he wanted to see that woman.

“I think we should talk to your mom to explain that we’re looking into everything all over again.”

“I just don’t know if that’s a good idea—she suffered a lot after my father’s death; they really adored each other.”

Joseph didn’t like hearing that she adored her late husband; he didn’t know why, but it gave him a strange feeling.

“In any case, she’d have to know.”

“If you think it’s a good idea, then I’ll talk to her.”

-“It’s a sensitive topic; I’d have to be there, in case she asks anything specific.”

-“I don’t want to bother you—you’re already doing so much for me, for us.”

“Noah, you have no idea how important it was that you recognized your mistake.”

-Yeah, well, actually I don’t know, but I know the consequences that mistake had for my family at the time.

-“I can imagine. What does your mother do for a living?”

He asked, trying to sound merely polite.

Noah didn’t answer right away; he was ashamed that he couldn’t support his mother and couldn’t be the one whose income would allow her to live like a queen.

At that moment, they didn’t even have any household staff; nothing remained of the splendor they’d once enjoyed.

What’s worse is that, on top of everything, she had to go out to work to keep the household afloat.

Joseph noticed the sorrowful look on his employee’s face.

“She’s… a waitress at private parties.”

he confessed, deeply ashamed.

The CEO was surprised, and something bothered him even more.

“They’re high-end events. She has a friend who, when she got divorced, was practically left on the street by her husband. He offered her a job with her… They pay well, and until I graduate and can support the household and treat her like a queen, we’ll have to make do.”

-I'm sorry, but I still think your mother would prefer that you study and graduate, get a professional education, while she takes care of the house.

-“Yes, she’s wonderful. She works without complaining and always has a smile for me.”

Joseph thought that aside from her looks and her face, she was a great woman, and he wanted to be the one who made her smile—at least the sensual ones, the ones she must give when she’s seducing someone.

She’s young and beautiful; it would be easy for her to find a man who could support her, her son, and the household.

He thought it must be expensive to maintain the house and the car; at that moment, he couldn’t remember what make of car she’d told him they had, but it was a top-of-the-line model.

She wondered how, with a job as a waitress, she could afford that house and the car.

She didn’t say anything, but the doubt lingered.

“Tell me when we could talk to your mother.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, maybe Saturday… I don’t know her schedule; my mom doesn’t usually get up very early—she works late.”

“Don’t worry, that’s fine with me—I don’t get up early on Saturdays either.”

“Thank you so much—I really don’t know how to thank you… Would you like a beer or some coffee?”

Joseph was about to decline the invitation, but he wanted to know more about this woman who was stealing hours of his life just by making him think about her.

Just then, his phone rang—it was his girlfriend.

“Sorry.”

he said, answering the phone.

-“Hi, Emily.”

“Hi, honey. It’s been three days since we’ve seen each other.”

“I’ve been swamped with work; I’m still at the office.”

Noah was unintentionally eavesdropping on the conversation—or rather, on the lie his boss was telling.

“I want you to leave—let’s go to dinner.”

Emily snapped at Joseph.

-“I’ll call you—it depends on what time I finish. We’ll talk when I get out.”

He hung up, thinking there was no getting out of it that day, because Emily was persistent.

“Women, okay, I’ll have a beer with you.”

Noah was confused; it seemed like she was his girlfriend and was blatantly lying to him.

The young man went to the kitchen and came back with two cans of beer.

-“I have dark beer, if you’d prefer.”

“This is fine, thanks.”

Joseph sat down, settling into the armchair.

The house was cozy, but it was still a mansion; he kept wondering how they managed to maintain it.

“My mother prefers dark beer, but she buys the milder kind.”

He was glad to hear that.

-“Women usually drink light beers.”

“That’s true—she’s like that with a lot of things. She likes pop music, although when she works out, she listens to disco.”

“What kind of workouts does she do?”

He asked curiously, but kept the conversation going.

“She dances, but she says she works out.”

Noah smiles, thinking of his mother.

-“The gym is well-equipped. My father spared no expense for my mother, even though she never asked him for anything. Luckily, she isn’t demanding; otherwise, it would have been much harder for her to go out and work as a waitress.”

Something was nagging at him; Joseph didn’t believe that a waitress’s salary could cover all their expenses.

They chatted a little longer until the CEO left.

He was thinking about looking into Jennifer Donato as well, simply because he needed to know more about her.