The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
Chapter 123

Grayson POV

"Timothy I need you to do me a favor" was the first thing I uttered as I entered the office, a confused Timothy looking up from his blackberry.

"If it's to do with your appointments today..." he began a little indignantly.

"No, nothing like that" I interrupted "Can you get your hands on the company's financials for the last year or so while it's been managed by Mr Ferryweather? He's the managing director coincidentally of the Deluca Company and something's not right. It's time I started paying a bit more attention to the company side of things."

"I can get our investigator onto it, but since when are you interested in the company?" Timothy raised a brow "Have you changed your mind about trying to get it?"

I nodded "Flair's influence is partially to blame" was all I would say as Timothy began to write down notes.

"What's on the agenda for today?"

"Just paperwork and you have a court appearance tomorrow" he murmured looking at our appointments "Nothing that's too strenuous" he joked.

By the afternoon Timothy had access to the financial accounts of not only the company but Mr Ferryweather as well. I began to eagerly peruse them frowning.

"He spends a lot of money on jewellery and lingerie" I muttered "but he uses his personal account for that, not the company. Surely his wife would put two and two together" "Maybe he's buying that for his wife?" Timothy suggested.

I shook my head"It's happening too often for that. No man buys his wife lingerie practically every fortnight, and it's always followed by a charge at a hotel" I pointed out smoothly "in the middle of the day" I arched a brow "which means he's away from the company at that time as well, but I don't see a change in his clocked in hours."

"He's on salary," Timothy said shrugging "probably forgets to clock in and out."

"Maybe" I allowed and then glanced at the company charges "But he's charged a few dinners to the company that is questionable," I said frowning "and there are several transactions that are difficult to track down. It's like the money has just disappeared." Timothy frowned "Do you think he's embezzling money?"

I shook my head "Not necessarily but he's not being careful with the company money. There's also a lot of shady deals where the profit is too high for the amount of stock we've received."

"Too high?"

"For the amount of stock we received. It doesn't add up" I frowned. "Get the investigator on this. I want to know who he's sleeping with. I have a feeling that it might reflect on what's happening with the company. Some of these dinners for example on the company credit card, are dinners for two" I said meaningfully.

"But isn't it part of the business to wine and dine suppliers or potential clients?" Timothy asked confused.

"Certainly but dinners for two so often aren't a coincidence. Generally, potential clients would have an assistant with them or a plus one. A dinner for two is intimate and happens too often for my liking. Have the investigator chase it up. At the very least Mr Ferryweather is using the company card to fund dinners with his mistress whoever she is."

"Shouldn't this be something your grandfather should be doing?" Timothy asked.

"He's already asked around and suspects but I don't want to bother him with this. He's already stressed enough and his health isn't the best still."

"But what do you intend to do if it's determined he is embezzling money or fraudulently using the company credit card for his own personal gain?"

"That will be a discussion for later. Right now it's just a feeling" I said exhaling and glancing at my paperwork "So let's keep this all between the two of us for now. Grandfather can be brought in if it leads to something."

"If you are right about this, it could mean a potential scandal for the Deluca company if it isn't handled properly" Timothy warned.

"I have no intentions of letting this turn into a scandal for the paparazzi to release all over the media. This will be done quietly and under the radar. Mr Ferryweather will also be told in no uncertain terms what will happen should he go to the media in regards to this, if it should result in his termination"

"What about his wife?"

"According to Grandfather, she's a friend of his. I think she would be grateful to be left out of the public scrutiny."

"If she's a wealthy heiress she'll be grateful indeed. Who do you suppose took his case seeming as you declined to for his divorce."

I looked at Timothy sharply "There are several lawyers that would have been more than capable of handling his divorce for him. But if he wanted a famous lawyer or one that had several on retainer then no doubt he went to Johnathon Rourke, sorry Deluca" I said with irony "which is also strange, considering his ties to the company. We could work around the conflict of interest, but any normal person would have gotten a lawyer who had no ties to the company whatsoever. So the question is why was he so determined for me to take his case and if Johnathon has taken it, why did he go to Johnathon?" "He just wanted the best?" suggested Timothy naively.

I shook my head decisively "It's more than that" I muttered.

He sighed. "I'll get these to the investigator."

He bent down and something fell out of his pocket, dropping to the floor with a heavy thud. It was a small square box, a ring box, plain black and I looked at Timothy who was blushing as he went to pick it up. "Timothy is that what I think it is?" I asked gravely, my lip twitching.

He looked at me helplessly. "You weren't supposed to see it. I'm not even sure it's a good idea as it is" he confessed, gathering the papers together and putting the ring box back in his pocket. "Why wouldn't it be a good idea? Are you nervous about asking or worried she might not say yes?"

"Both" Timothy said miserably "I know I'm way out of her league and I can't give her the lifestyle she's clearly accustomed to, but part of me can't help but think..." he trailed off and gave a heavy sigh.

I was happy for him. "Timothy, Rachel adores you. How can you think she won't want you? How long have you had that ring box?" I demanded, staring at him.

He flushed "A week," he said uncomfortably "I'm still trying to come up with the perfect proposal."

"You've had the ring for a week," I said incredulously "and still haven't asked her?"

"It has to be perfect," he said a little shrilly "I can't just ask her without putting some sort of effort in."

"Timothy, Rachel is going to say yes," I said solemnly, certain of it "That woman loves you to pieces and I've never seen you so happy. I doubt she's looking for a grand gesture when it comes to you proposing."

"Maybe not but I get all flustered when I'm thinking about asking her and the words get all stuck in my throat" Timothy admitted wryly.

"So don't think" I suggested as he looked at me indignantly "just do it. Take her for a walk and find somewhere that's got a nice view and get down on one knee. Go for it."

"You make it sound easy" Timothy grumbled "but girls expect you to be all romantic and stuff."

"Well generally they only get the one proposal," I said with consideration "and they always want the perfect wedding." "Mrs Oakes didn't," Timothy said.

"Flair didn't get a choice," I said regretfully "She's never complained but I bet she had a perfect wedding in mind" I added remorsefully.

"I just hope Rachel likes the ring," Timothy said quietly "I couldn't afford an elaborate one so I had to go simple."

I chuckled "I think she'll love it because it comes from you."

He looked pleased. "Do you think she'll accept the proposal from me?" he asked suddenly "Do you think that I'm worthy of a girl like her?"

I stared at him incredulously. "Timothy, you're one of the nicest, kindest, and loving men I know. Rachel is fantastic and the question should be is she worthy of a man like you? Stop fretting about it" I advised him as he nodded tightly "I guarantee you that yours is going to be a happy ending."

"I just want the kind of marriage that you and Mrs Oakes have" he admitted shocking me "You're both so in tune with each other and the way you talk about one another, it's easy to see how much in love the two of you are with each other. There's nothing you wouldn't do for each other."

My lips curved "Isn't it ironic how we end up with somebody so precious to us when we offer nothing more than a contract marriage? I never thought that Flair would be the one but now that she is, I can't complain let alone imagine anybody else as my wife. I hope that you have the same feeling with Rachel, even though you won't be offering her the contract marriage part" I said with twinkling eyes.

He chuckled "Not unless you count the part where I tell her I will love her for the rest of our lives."

He grabbed all the papers and nodded at me. "With your permission, I'll take this to the in-house investigator again and issue him your instructions."

"Thanks, Timothy. Why don't you go home early today? Have some time to think about how you want to approach the proposal. You might be able to get some dinner reservations if you hurry" I suggested.

"Well if you're sure."

"I'm sure," I said firmly "and I expect a phone call telling me you're engaged, or no doubt Rachel will call Flair to tell her when you've popped the question" I laughed imagining it "Those girls can't keep a secret from each other to save their lives."

"Their friendship is something to be envious of" Timothy agreed, grabbing his jacket "but I'm glad they have each other to get each other through the hard times. I'll see you later Sir."

I watched him go before grabbing my stuff as well. I was missing Flair and wondering how she was going.