The Internship Ch. 05

Kathy scooted away as quickly as she could!

Dave then turned to Fred.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how pathetic these women are for being frightened away by a little videotape. Like you could care. If anything, I bet you're eager for the world to see how big your cock really is. Quite impressive, by the way. And of course, you couldn't begin to comprehend Paula's anxiety about her father. Fuck him! You've never had any parents to speak of. You're thinking she's a stupid fool and you still might be able to get to her after all. And the threat of jail? I doubt that concerns you."

"You're right. You have done a damn good job of setting me up. If I arrest you, I'm going to be dragged down right along with you. And even if I were completely cleared in the end, the uncertainty would be just enough and last just long enough to fuck me with the auto companies and ruin this deal. In the end, you haven't touched that money, so what, it'd be a little charge of fraud, a little b & e, not much jail time. No, I think getting arrested is just what you want."

"So in the end, what kind of leverage do I have over you? Not much I'd say."

Again Fred could not restrain himself. "You're right, asshole. You can't stop this with these petty little threats. I'm not some silly woman. You're hanging onto your company as it is by a tiny little thread, and the takeover, the buyout, is going to happen."

"The auto companies want your business, any way they can get it. If you're not attached to it, I doubt that will concern them in the end. When Preston, or Brad, or whoever, comes along offering your company to them at a cheaper price, with better terms... they'll have you over a barrel. They'll not only threaten to withdraw the offer, but all their dealings with you unless you sign all your rights over. You'd be finished."

Dave said, "And what do you think you would be getting out of it, Fred? A promotion? Is all of this really just for a few more bucks a year? I doubt that. Oh I'm sure Preston would offer you a little 'bonus,' but hardly a fortune."

"No, no no. You're much too selfish for that. And I think... you're sick of working for anyone else. There has to be much more in it for Fred Hayes, isn't that right? So much more you wouldn't even care if you had to do a little jail time."

Dave then turned to his intercom. "Come on in, guys."

Stacey, quiet all this time, had been quite enjoying watching Dave. She was so proud of him.

But she jumped up to attention and opened the door.

In came Carlos and behind him, Josh, both carrying boxes of files.

Dave said, "Stacey, take it away."

She came and plopped a big stack of files on Dave's desk, then took one and handed it to Fred.

When he saw it, Dave watched the color drain from his face and his eyes fill with fear, before they became enraged and he grabbed Stacey's hand. "Where the fuck did you get this?"

Dave immediately came over and moved Stacey away from him. "Not a good idea, Fred. You need to sit down and shut up. And don't touch Stacey again, right Carlos?"

Carlos—the "muscle"—looked like he was ready to kill Fred. "You got that right, Mr. Wilson."

Stacey took the file back out of Fred's hands. "I got it from your desk, Fred, along with all the rest of these."

"I found them at the same time I found the letter, and the photos."

"Daddy, and Joyce, told me to look through your things and see what I could come up with. I'm sure I never would have noticed anything, if I hadn't done a little research first."

She tossed the file onto the pile along with all the others.

"All of these companies are dummy companies, Daddy. They don't exist. Well, they did exist, at one point, but we haven't actually been doing business with them for years. They're all fake. He's done a good job of setting them up, but when you look closely, there's always something off."

"He's been taking random companies we once worked with, stealing and using all their information, and setting up shadow accounts with their information. It's called 'piggybacking' and it's one of the most common embezzlement techniques. He's got quite a billing scheme going on—'paying' these companies for 'services' and 'goods' never received, to companies that don't really exist. To put it simply, he's been using your company to write checks to himself-also easily and commonly done. It can go on for years and years and years. That is exactly how many companies have been bankrupted, because even if it can be proven, that money is gone.

"We probably never would have caught on if the fake embezzlement hadn't drawn our attention to it."

"Josh and I have figured out that in the eight years since we've stopped actually using 'Southeast Prime Auto Parts' and Fred started this dummy account, Wilson Enterprises has paid them about... $900,000. But of course, that money's going straight into Fred's pocket."

"But Daddy you have to hand it to Fred. He's taken it to an extreme, and he's been doing it for at least eight years. Looking at all the 'suppliers' here, and assuming they're all bogus, he has stolen—not just pretended to steal—nearly $56 million dollars from you."

Stacey wrapped up her presentation of her files. "Since this has been going on so long, you don't know exactly how much David Wilson Enterprises is really worth. It's at least twice as much as you think."

Dave went over and put his arm around Stacey and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Thank you, honey. And thank you, Josh. You can bet I won't forget about this and all of your hard work. Now, Carlos?"

Carlos got up to speak, eager to impress Stacey.

"Right, Dave. Well the big question, which Stacey brought to me, is where is the money? Is it gone? I mean, has the dude spent it all? Has he invested it? Well... uh... I have a little hobby at home... you know, I mean, I just love computers... and sometimes I experiment with hacking..."

Carlos cleared his throat and seemed very nervous. Stacey smiled at him. Dave told him "Go on."

"Well, uh, you were able to give me some of Fred's account information, and, um, looking into his banking activity, I think it's pretty clear that that money is not gone. It's being channeled into some offshore funds, the usual kind of thing. Two that I've found... one for $10 million, the other for $5 million... just sitting there, gathering interest."

"Ok, thanks guys. You can leave now."

Finally it was just Stacey, Dave, and Fred left in the room.

Dave spoke. "So, let me correct what I said earlier. The actual truth, the full truth, is that you've been enjoying being a kind of double agent. It wasn't enough just to screw me over. Hell no. When Preston and the gang came to you with this scheme, you knew this company was worth much much more than anyone knew. So you were going to let them come in and sell me out for an absurdly low price to the auto companies. Then, of course, you'd just take the $56 million, or however much is really is, and sit back as you watched the real income of this company rise. Wow, ever since Wilson Enterprises went national, it's suddenly worth triple what it was when they bought it! And the guys in Raleigh would be standing with their dicks in their hands watching as they let a company worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, slip right through their hands."

"Now, I've got investigators looking into this as we speak. And do you really think if my daughter and a low level accountant could find this much out that the whole truth isn't going to come to light? You're fucked, Fred. And well, I can't imagine that Preston, Brad and the guys at SAS are going to be too happy when I tell them what you've been doing behind their backs, are they?"

At that Fred finally seemed riled. It was one thing to screw over Dave. But if he lost all that money, and every last one of his 'friends' in Raleigh, then he truly had nothing. He'd be finished. Homeless, even! He'd never work again. He'd be right back to being the poor, desperate kid on the make he once was. The thought filled him with sheer panic.

"What do you want?" he said desperately. "Tell me exactly what you want from me."

After being so calm for most of the meeting, Stacey finally saw Dave getting mad.

"What I want, first of all, is the same thing I asked of Paula and Kathy. Keep coming into 'work,' keep reporting to Preston, don't let them know anything has changed. Second of all, that money's going to be returned to me. All of it. Immediately. I want it all in my accounts, my real accounts, by the time of that convention. If you do this, I'll consider—consider—what to do about filing charges. If you don't, I'll have you arrested this second."

"But most of all, Fred," Dave said, as he slammed down a box full of files so hard that they exploded all over his desk, "I want a fucking

explanation."

Stacey had never seen Dave so angry.

"I know why Kathy did it, and why Paula did it, but I want to hear from you why you chose to screw me like this, and how the fuck you could sit there year after year knowing you were doing what you were doing while I paid you and supported you and trusted you. That's what I fucking want."

Stacey saw Fred shoot up out of his seat.

"You can't be serious!"

She saw between her father and Fred an intense look, and she got the feeling she was finally seeing the past before her eyes. The history these two had was exploding between them right in front of her.

"Dave, I made you! I did! Me! You would be fucking nothing without me!"

"Where would you be without me? I'll tell you: you'd still be slaving away in that shithole of a garage, thinking you'd really done well for yourself just because you could pay your rent. I'm the one, not you, who made this all possible."

Fred turned savagely towards Stacey.

"I bet he's never told you, has he, where he comes from, who his 'family' really is. The Wilsons," he spat out. "The most pathetic bunch of hick redneck morons I've ever seen. Stupid Bible thumping trash. What, couldn't they even afford a trailer, Dave? That's what your beloved Daddy is, Stacey—dirt. Poor white trash, just like me."

"I taught you everything, Dave. I'm the one who got it. You thought you were going to just work hard enough and eventually things would somehow magically turn out great. You never wanted to dirty your hands with sucking up to the rich fucks in this town, but you certainly learned from me, didn't you? I'm the one who got you out of that garage, and I'm the one who taught you how to stop talkin' like a stupid country hick. Oh, I cain't do that!, Fred mocked Dave. You would still be there, fixing their cars and their spoiled little bitch daughters' cars, wondering where your life went."

"And so I helped you out. ME. I did a lot of shit, so much you don't even know, for you! I poured business your way, I never stopped talking you up, I begged and pleaded, practically bribed everyone I knew, used all MY connections, to make your first shop a success and to get you the funding and staff. I did all of that for you. So I don't think I'm exaggeratin' when I say I believe Wilson Enterprises partly belongs to ME."

Fred was on a roll. He just couldn't stop himself.

"You know how fucking stupid you are? You never understood these people, but I did. And now—what, you think you're just going to waltz down to Emerald Isle and walk away with that deal? Hardly. Even if this little scheme Preston set up falls through, they will never let it happen. Never. You have never understood that there is no way a hick piece of trash like you is ever going to walk away with the profits of Raleigh's best and brightest. After all, who are your customers? The rich fucks of this town. As far as they're concerned, they own you."

"They're gunning for you, Dave. They're obsessed with you, Preston most of all. You think I screwed you over? Just you wait until Brad Broughton hears about this. You can't even begin to comprehend the assfucking that's coming your way."

"I see it, and I've always seen it for what it was. And Dave,"

Fred suddenly seemed to lose all his anger. Stacey was fascinated!

Fred seemed to morph into the less twisted person she had seen in the photos.

"I can still protect you."

Stacey heard hurt and pleading in his voice.

"I still think the only thing to do is gut your company before they take it from you. Because they will take it, Dave. That is one thing I am absolutely sure of."

"Dave. Things were so great between us. We were friends. You were the best friend I had. The only friend. I was happy with you. And if we had stuck together, if we still stick together, there's no limit to what we can do!"

He turned towards Stacey in fury.

"Everything would have been so great between us if this little bitch hadn't come along!"

Stacey knew Fred hated her, but she had never in her life seen such malicious loathing being directed at her. It frightened her, and she moved further away from him.

At that Dave put up his hands. "Enough. Enough, Fred, enough. Stacey, come here, baby." He held out his hands and brought her to him and held her by the hips.

"You know, that's a good story you spin, Fred, and I'm sure it makes a lot of sense to you."

"But the fact is, a lot of people get start-up money at the very beginning, and most without having to prostitute themselves to closeted gay men to do it. They eke it out, or get loans. I'm sure I could have gotten some seed money from a bank. I never asked you to do all that for me."

"The real test of success comes with what you do with the opportunity. More businesses fail at that than at any other thing. And considering where I ended up after five years—thriving—and where you did—broke and out of a job—I think we can see how much you really 'did' for me."

"Your little narrative was egocentric and self-serving, as always."

"Yes, it's true, we were friends. And I did admire you. For a while, I wanted to be you and was quite a bit like you, much as I'm ashamed to admit it. But all that changed when Stacey came into my life."

"From the second I held my baby in my arms you lost your charm. I would have dumped you as a friend the minute I could, if I weren't worried about what kind of shit you'd pull to get back at me. And I was right, wasn't I? It took twenty years, but here we are."

"When I hired you on later, it was purely out of pity and, yes, an old sense of obligation. And that's why I kept you on. I did feel like I 'owed' you something. But I think we can agree now that that debt's been more than paid."

"So remember what I told you. Keep your fucking mouth shut and repay me my money, and we'll take it from there."

"As for Stacey"—Dave drew Stacey into his arms, and pushed her hair out of her face. He kissed her tenderly. "This 'little bitch' is the whole reason I didn't turn out exactly like you."

"Come here, baby," Dave said, and drew Stacey into a deep, passionate kiss, right in front of Fred's eyes. He let Fred see his open mouth, his tongue touching hers, and his hands traveling down to caress her hips and ass. They made out for a whole minute.

"Now get the fuck out while I kiss my daughter."

Dave heard Fred swearing, and probably kicking some shit out of his way, but heard the door slam.

Dave had eyes only for Stacey. "Did I tell you how magnificent you were today?" he said.

"Me? It was you. I hardly did anything."

"Yes, but if it weren't for your 'files'..." he laughed.

"So never doubt me again."

"Come here, baby. 'Daddy' wants to ask you something."

Stacey laughed. The meeting had gone just as they had planned. There were a few minor surprises, but overall, it had been a success.

He brought her to the couch and laid her down gently, and started loosening his tie. He ran his hands up her legs, already hearing her moan as she started to spread them a little for him.

He moved up towards her, caressing her face and looking in her eyes.

"Are you sure, baby girl? Are you sure you don't want to just... I don't know... take the money and run? Take the buyout? It'd be a lot less hassle. I could retire."

"Because," he said, as he kissed her neck and his hand found her the wetness between her legs. "Things are going to get a lot more dirty from here on out."

"Hmmm," she said, laughing and sliding underneath him and pushing against his hard cock, "Do you promise?"

"Mmmmmm... " Dave moaned. "Yes, baby girl, I promise... though, in a different way as well. None of this embezzlement shit. It's going to get much more personal."

"But we have the advantage. They don't know that I know everything, and they sure as hell don't know about the $56 million. So it might be a little more like... getting some sweet revenge, how about that?"

He quickly reached down and unzipped his fly. He rolled on top of her, pushing her skirt up and pulling down her panties. He quickly sunk his cock into her in one smooth thrust. She was so wet.

"We'll go to Emerald Isle..." he whispered, kissing her neck.

"I'll rent a beach house."

Stacey moaned as she began to rise and fall right along with his deep slow pushes.

"We'll make love outside, under the stars."

"Oh yes," Stacey said, smiling at him.

"And fuck in the ocean..." he said as he thrust deeply into her.

"Oh yes!" Stacey said again. She liked that!

"And we'll see what happens with everything else."

Stacey looked into his eyes as he throbbed deeply inside her. She gazed at him seriously. "Yes, that's what I want."

She kissed his lips and folded her legs over his hips, drawing him to her.

"Yes, I want to go." She said, loving him as much as she possibly could.

"Why shouldn't the world see who you really are?"

Stacey held Dave's face in both her hands and kissed him. She wrapped her entire body around his and strained to get him closer and deeper as she whispered in his ear, "Why shouldn't David Wilson have it all?"