Chapter 186

Chapter 186:

He stared at the floor like it might offer him an escape route.

I shrugged. “Setting aside the grope disguised as a handshake, there’s a more important issue at stake. Mr. Maxwell here accepted a bribe. He was this close to settling the kickback terms before dessert. Not his first time, either. He’s skimmed at least nine figures over the years p>

I looked at Ashton. “That’s straight from the horse’s mouth. LGH has an internal audit department, right? Might want to ask them to look into that p>

Maxwell’s forehead was drenched.

Sweat soaked the collar of his shirt and ran down his temples like he’d just crawled out of a sauna in a suit.

“That’s not true,” he protested weakly. “I’ve worked at LGH for years. I’ve always followed the rules. I was just joking. Must’ve been the wine… Someone misunderstood. Right, Franklin p>

Maxwell kept glancing at Franklin, as if trying to send him some silent message.

Finally, Franklin spoke up, stiff as a board. “Yes… it was just business talk. A regular discussion. Nothing else. Mr. Maxwell was asking about our compliance structure. He said he was impressed and wanted to examine it more closely p>

Preston jumped in. “Mira probably misunderstood. She doesn’t work at the company. She doesn’t understand the industry lingo p>

Ashton turned to me.

I lifted my phone. “I recorded everything—the entire conversation. I don’t understand industry lingo? Fine, we’ll get someone who does. Maybe an in-house lawyer from Ethics & Compliance p>

Maxwell refused to admit defeat. “Audio can be doctored. Everyone knows that p>

I stared at him. “Let’s play it now. We’ll see how doctored it sounds p>

“Wait!” Maxwell tried to stand up but failed and slumped back into his chair. “Mr. Laurent, sir, I’ve worked for the company for more than a decade. You’ve got to believe me! She—Mrs. Laurent, your wife—she’s not a businesswoman. There might have been some slight misunderstanding earlier. I apologize for my behavior if it offended her. But I swear I didn’t ask for bribes. She’s twisting my words p>

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“Jesus, you’re unbelievable.” I lifted my thumb to hit play. “Let’s hear your own words p>

Ashton sidestepped Maxwell’s bulk and walked up to me. “That’s not necessary. I believe you p>

“Mr. Laurent p>

Ashton cut him off. “You’re done. She doesn’t need to play it. If you think I’m just taking her word for it, we’ll send the file straight to Digital Forensics p>

Dominic Everett stepped in right on cue.

“Call the police, Dom,” Ashton said. “Gary Maxwell is dismissed from Laurent Systems & Solutions, effective immediately. LGH is pressing criminal charges against him for accepting bribes, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty—you know the drill. Mira’s got the recording. Give it all to the police p>

Dominic nodded.