Chapter 7

CHAD MALCOLM

Chad Malcolm was angry. Frustrated beyond simple annoyance. It had gotten to the point that a smoldering fire was heating up in his gut, embers flaring in brilliant colors. He was a teakettle about to boil over.

The whistleblower was still unidentified, and that... well, it really pissed him off.

He had a company to run, and those claims —those false claims— were giving him hell. Customers had been lost, and therefore money. Leviathan Inc.'s name no longer held the same status, was no longer associated with the same trust Chad and Darcy had worked so hard to build. He could get his company there again, but it would take time and work. And he knew he'd never be able to fully iron out that little wrinkle that whistleblower had caused.

Chad inhaled and then exhaled a slow, fiery breath.

Someone was going to get fired. He didn't know who, and he didn't know when, but someone was getting fired. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, but it was happening.

No, Chad silently corrected himself. No firing anyone out of anger.

Leviathan Inc. had already lost employees due to the claims— two-week notices had been handed in and some just up and left without warning. It was mainly lower-level employees who were more easily replaced, but employees had been lost. Chad could not fire anyone without good reason. It would not look good for his company.

Deep breaths. Inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Calm down. This is getting out of hand.

Chad and Darcy had been looking into possible employees who might've been the whistleblower. Malibu had been working with the tech department to analyze the possible employees and cross off those who didn't fit the criteria.

After what Chad had been hoping would be a short search for the whistleblower turned into a drawn-out hunt, Chad had devoted himself almost entirely to tracking down this person. Darcy, in all of her understanding and willingness to help, had taken on running the entire company while Chad tracked down new information. He would catch the whistleblower. He would not stop. This person had shaved down the time he could spend with his stunning wife to next to nothing. This person had tried to take down the company he had spent so long building.

Although a challenge in searching for the whistleblower was that it had become increasingly obvious that they were skilled at hiding that part of their identity.

And so he was left with potentially ninety-thousand suspects. He didn't like that.

Chad leaned back in his desk chair, and the joints of it creaked with the sharp movement. He looked around his office, eyes trailing across the blank walls, save for a clock and a few framed newspaper cutouts of their opening and their successes. Across the room, Darcy's desk was empty— she was out at a meeting to try to control the fallout over the claims.

Perhaps a change of plans was needed in the search for the whistleblower.

Maybe someone in Leviathan Inc. knew something.

Maybe someone had seen something.

Chad sat upright, placing a hand on his desk. Yes, that could be it, he thought.

He riffled through the stacks of paper scattered across his desk in messy piles he hadn't yet dealt with, but when he didn't find something blank he could write on, he swiped at the papers, sending them ruffling through the air and falling to the ground. Only after he'd nearly cleared the desk of everything except for his computer, coffee, and filing shelves did he manage to come across a little notebook, half empty and beat up. But it would work.

In a quick motion, Chad flipped it open to its first blank page.

Who would be the most likely to see something? Chad asked himself, and he wrote that down in scrawling letters.

But the thought soon turned into who would be the most likely to interact with lots of people? Who would have the most opportunities to notice potential suspicious people?

Chad's pen hovered over the page, mind annoyingly devoid of any ideas. He knew there were people who, by nature of their job, would come into contact with a wide variety of people.

His desk had a cool touch to it when he rested his elbows on it and cradled his chin in his palms, nibbling on the end of his pen. There was someone. There had to be. He had been stuck in the same frustrating place for far too long, and he needed a new direction to take. He needed to put this bump in the road behind him before it turned into a mountain that flipped his company on its back, soft stomach exposed.

The silence in his office was nearly audible. Chad had pushed for the walls of his office to be thick, to muffle the sounds of people chatting, of meetings taking place, of those obnoxious little pencil sharpeners that were like nails on a chalkboard, just grating against his ear-.

No, he told himself firmly. Stay on task.

"Take a deep breath and focus," he whispered to himself in the quiet of his office. The clock on the wall ticked along, half a soothing presence that gave him something to hold onto in reality and half an infuriating sound that made him want to fling it across the room like a frisbee.

Chad wished Darcy was with him. One smile from his wife, and any stress or worry he was feeling would just melt away. One touch from his wife, and any buzzing in his head would settle. She could read a dictionary, and he'd know that everything would be ok in the end.

His coffee had long since gone cold, but he still took a sip from it. Maybe the caffeine would be the boost his brain needed.

And perhaps it really was— what couldn't have been more than two minutes after he finished off his cup of coffee, the thought crossed his mind.

"Reception," he breathed. "Of course! They just sit there all day and watch people. If anyone saw anything, it would be those who work at the front desk."

Chad scrambled up out of his chair, and it was a miracle he didn't trip and fall on his face. The door to his office nearly slammed into the wall as he hurried out into the hallway, all but sprinting to the elevators. He pressed the down button again and again and again, as if it would make the elevator come any sooner.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The ride down to the lobby of the Corville Leviathan Inc. headquarters seemed to take hours, although Chad knew it was little more than about ten or twenty seconds. He took the time to straighten his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles and buttoning the cuffs of his sleeves. He knew Darcy would've chastised him if he hadn't. You need to look sharp, she would've said. You shouldn't be running a company when you look like you just slept in your dress clothes.

Once the elevator stopped moving and the doors opened, Chad was greeted with a relatively empty lobby. Only a handful of people occupied the space, sitting on the chairs and couches. Waiting for someone to meet them, Chad guessed. A few were looking over brochures that were arranged on the tables in the middle of the seating areas.

It used to be bustling. The revolving doors at the entrance used to only stop after closing— people used to constantly be coming and going. But as Chad paused and watched those spinning glass panes slow after someone walked through, they came to a complete stop and stayed that way.

I will get them moving again. They will move faster than ever. I will have to fund extra doors to accommodate the volume of people at the Corville headquarters of Leviathan Inc., Chad vowed. Those doors will start up again.

xxxx

Freya Fisk worked at reception.

She wore a loose blouse that had a floral pattern, and her name tag printed with the Leviathan Inc. serpent logo and her name had a little songbird sticker stuck to the blank part on the right. A dusting of freckles were sprinkled across her nose and cheekbones. Her curly hair had been pulled up into a messy bun that was now starting to fall, and locks of frizzy hair stuck out to the sides.

Her name tag wasn't technically following the rules since it wasn't supposed to be decorated, but Chad would overlook it— he needed Freya's help.

"Hello," he said, approaching her desk.

Freya immediately looked up from her computer, fingers ceasing typing as she offered a warm smile. "Hello! How may I help you?"

"Hello," Chad repeated. "I have a few questions."

"You have come to the right place. I can assist with whatever you need. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Chad Malcolm."

Freya paused, and Chad could see the exact moment where she realized who she was talking to. Her face flushed a deep scarlet, and she stiffened. Chad kept his expression flat as he watched her swallow thickly and hold back a panicked reaction.

"Oh, my!" she said after a controlled exhale. "I sincerely apologize, Mr. Malcolm! I didn't recognize you!" Freya placed a hand on her chest, drawing in a sharp breath.

"I have some questions I was hoping you could answer."

"Of course, Mr. Malcolm. I can help with any questions you have, and if I do not know the answer, I will find out for you right away."

"Wonderful. Have you seen anything recently?" Chad rested his forearms on the high desk. He plucked a pen from the basket and reached over her computer to take one of the notecards from Freya's collection. She watched with wide eyes but didn't say anything.

"Have I seen anything?"

"Yes."

"Could you please be more specific, Mr. Malcolm? I am more than happy to help, but I'm afraid I do not quite understand what you are asking."

"As I'm sure you know, there were those... claims made about Arkreon."

"I have heard about them," Freya murmured slowly.

"Have you seen anything unusual since then?"

Freya pursed her lips, eyes scanning the lobby. There were only a scattering of people that Chad could count on one hand. Anger curled in his gut, a prickly little demon that he would feed until he found the whistleblower.

"I mean," Freya said, drawing Chad's attention back to her. "I've seen that there are fewer people here, and I have opened far more hate mail for the company than usual. Many more people have come in to give rude comments than usual as well. But if you're looking for specific people acting out of the ordinary, I haven't really noticed anything. I'm sorry. I wish I could be of more help, Mr. Malcolm."

Chad hummed.

Freya sat back in her chair. "Well, I may have actually seen something, Mr. Malcolm."

"What is it?" Chad leaned forward, forearms on the top of Freya's desk.

"I saw these three people outside the doors a couple of times. I never really thought too much of it, but I have seen them several times."

Chad's heart sank. He had been hoping for something more, but he would take it.

But perhaps he could press her, learn more. Maybe he should've bought that book on how to get information out of people, like they did in those police shows Darcy had once binge-watched.

"Have you seen anyone acting unusual? Any people acting out of the ordinary?"

"My brother drank too much, but I'm pretty sure he just had a rough week." Freya laughed at what Chad guessed was some sort of inside joke. "But other than that, Mr. Malcolm, not that I can think of. I haven't noticed an increase in paid leave days taken or in people just not showing up to work without communication. I could compile those into a list for you, if you'd like."

"Yes," Chad replied. "I would like that."

"Ok, I can do that. I can talk with my brother and have him walk me through it."

"Who is your brother?"

"His name is Felix. Felix Fisk. He works here in tech support."

Chad paused. Tech support.

"Send me his contact information. I'd like him to help me with something."

Freya smiled, although there was a flash of tightness that crossed her eyes before being replaced by the pleasant warmth one would give to a customer. "I can absolutely do that, Mr. Malcolm. I will send that information your way as soon as I can."

"Make it quick, Freya. I need it."

"Of course, Mr. Malcolm."

Chad gave a curt nod at Freya's response. He patted the top of her desk with an open palm before casting one last distasteful look at the lobby, still far too empty compared to how it once was.

The doors will be moving once more. They will start up again, he told himself. They will not stop moving.

xxxx

The elevator ride back up to Chad's office went faster.

Really it was the same length, but it felt faster. There wasn't the waiting, the standing still and not doing that he hated so much.

Darcy was sitting at her desk when Chad opened the door, manicured nails tapping away on her phone. "Oh, hello, honey," she said when Chad walked in. "I was wondering where you were. I was just about to call you, actually. All those papers on the ground had me worried and you weren't responding to my messages."

"It wouldn't have done you much good, Darcy," he replied, plucking his phone up from his desk where it had been laying, half hidden beneath one of the organizers that stored stacks of folders. "I left in a hurry and forgot to bring my phone."

"Maybe we need to get you a bungee cord. I'd be devastated if I lost you." She stood up from her chair and walked between the couches in the middle of the room, placing her hands on Chad's chest. He wrapped his hands around her wrists, fingers resting over hers.

"Maybe we do." A smile curled at the edges of Chad's lips. He melted in Darcy's gaze, and her palms were like brands on his skin, fiery hot, but he welcomed the heat.

"Would you care to explain why most of your desk is on the ground, though?" Darcy looked over Chad's shoulder.

He huffed a short laugh. "Well... let's just say that I got... very into my latest plan on identifying the whistleblower."

Darcy laughed, and it was like music to his ears. A song he wanted to record so he could play it again and again and again.

"Do I want to know what your plan is? Or should I just leave you to it?"

Chad moved his hands from Darcy's so he could wrap his arms around her waist.

"We have so many employees that I felt I had no realistic way to go through all ninety-thousand of them one by one. So I asked our receptionist in our lobby, Freya Fisk, about if she had seen anyone suspicious. Upon my request, she sent me a list of those who have taken sick days or paid leave days. And she sent me the contact information for her brother, Felix, who works in tech support."

Darcy hummed. "That's wonderful, my love. I think we are truly on our way to rebuilding our company."

"I agree, darling." Chad leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips to Darcy's.

xxxx

Chad's computer dinged about an hour later.

When he looked at it, his inbox had an unread email from Freya.

She sure works fast, Chad thought.

She had included a link to a spreadsheet with employees who had taken sick days and paid leave days organized in neat lists. Felix Fisk's contact information had also been included.

This was what Chad needed. Perhaps this would be the break he needed, and now all of the pieces would fall into place. His previous attempts at finding out the whistleblower's identity had failed. That was ok— no one was perfect. But now he had a new direction.

This time will work, Chad told himself. I will prove both my innocence and Darcy's innocence, and we will rebuild our empire. The doors will start up again.