Seaside Manor Bed and Breakfast - Lilly Mirren Page 0,8

British accent always sounded vaguely odd over the telephone, as though he was putting it on.

“Ethan, this is Chester. Give me a call when you get into the office. I’m on my mobile. It’s important.”

Ethan’s lips drew into a tight line. He hardly ever heard from Chester. His boss took a hands-off approach when it came to his staff. A weekly status meeting was about all the attention he gave them unless something went wrong. If something went wrong, he was on them every single moment of the day.

Something was clearly wrong.

Ethan dialled Chester’s number, it seemed like he wasn’t going to answer it rang so long. Finally, his boss’s voice filled his ear. “Ethan, thanks for calling. Just wanted to let you know that the company, I’m afraid, has had its day. I appreciate your loyal service, but it’s time for us all to move onto something new.”

Ethan’s brows pulled low over his hazel eyes. “What do you mean? What’s going on Chester?”

Chester sighed. “I’m afraid a few things have caught up with us. I can’t say more than that, solicitors you know, anyway. I’ll be at the office in a few minutes, we can talk more then.”

Before he could say another word, Chester had hung up the phone. Ethan set the hand piece in its cradle and leaned back in his chair. He leapt to his feet, paced down the length of the hallway and found a man standing in the reception area, a messenger, dressed for cycling, his helmet still on his head and hands full of manila envelopes.

“Are you Max Woods?” asked the man.

Ethan shook his head.

“Lee Nguyen?”

Another shake.

“Ethan Flannigan?”

Ethan’s stepped forward. “Yes, that’s me.”

The man pushed an envelope into his hands. “This is for you.” He spun on his heel and click clacked down the concrete hallway in his clip-in cycling shoes.

Ethan slid a finger beneath the end of the envelope and ripped it open, his heart thudding against his ribcage. What was this about? He felt as though he’d walked into the middle of something he didn’t understand.

He scanned the single sheet of paper in the envelope. It was a letter from the CEO expressing sorrow at the dissolution of the company, thanks for the work Ethan had done, and luck for the future. There was a veiled reminder that they’d all be in this together and anything that befell one would have an impact on them all.

Ethan folded the page and shoved it into his suit pocket then hurried back to his desk. He spoke to a few colleagues along the way, but no one seemed to know anything more than he did, although many of them didn’t seem as surprised. Had he missed something that was obvious to everyone around him?

Even as he packed up his desk, staff streamed from the office, boxes and bags tucked under their arms. The whir of the paper shredder continued and someone from the IT department was going from workstation to workstation wiping computers. He emailed himself some key contacts, emails, and client details. Unsure of what else to do, he shut down his computer, picked up the briefcase he’d packed his few personal items into and walked away.

At the lifts, he waited patiently with a group of staff. They made idle chitchat, and one woman sniffled into a tissue. Most looked glum. When the lift doors opened, his boss, Chester stepped out, a harried expression on his usually cheerful face.

“Chester, we need to talk.” Ethan fell into step beside his boss who marched along the hall towards the fishbowl he called an office.

“Righto, Ethan, what can I do for you?”

Ethan frowned. “I want to know what’s going on. Why is the company going under? We’ve got more business than we’ve ever had, I landed a big contract this morning. I don’t understand.”

Chester stopped, faced him with a sigh. “The owner’s being charged with fraud, I’m afraid.”

“Hank Mammoth?”

“That’s right.”

“Fraud, what did he do?”

Chester cocked his head to one side. “I can’t really talk about the specifics. He’s under investigation. I’d suggest you make sure all your contracts are in order… these things tend to spread once they get started.”

Chester spun around and strode away.

“What do you mean by that?” Ethan called after him.

Chester didn’t respond. Ethan stood in the hallway for several moments, hands clenched at his sides. Now what would he do? He’d spent years getting to this point in his career. He’d worked hard to build a name for himself as a Mammoth engineer