The Sandstone Affair (An Erotic Romance Novel) by Priscilla West Page A

“But most of the money I’ve made happened
before the economy melted down. I’ve managed to put some of Sandstone Ventures
money into good projects, and I’ve kept my investments in low risk stocks until
we rebound so I didn’t lose much. But I haven’t made a fortune these last four
years—particularly the last two. No one has. Well, no one except one person.” “Who?”
     
    “Blake. He has increased his tax margin,
added a new boathouse to his upstate property and rented an apartment near the
park for ‘over-nights’ when he claims he is stuck in the city. He purchased a
bunch of high risk stocks and is making big bets on odd things. He’s flush with
cash and playing high stakes at a time when the rest of us are holding our
cards tight.” “So you think Blake is involved in investment
fraud?” “I think Blake is embezzling money from
Sandstone Ventures and taking funds from the base accounts we use for
acquisitions and mergers. It’s the money we’re supposed to use to make money. I
think he is gutting our company, and what’s worse, I suspect he is using Lynx
to do it.” “What? Lynx? My Lynx?” I see red the minute
Mark suggests it. “He’s using my magazine to fuck his own company over and
fired me to do it?” “It appears there’s some connection between
Lynx and the base accounts at Sandstone. I’m not sure what it is yet. I need to
do more research and I need some information from the inside. Not just inside
Lynx, but inside my own company as well.” “It’s your company, Mark. How hard can that
be?”
     
    “Plenty. Kenneth Allen is into this up to his
neck too and I suspect there is a third party involved although I’m not willing
to disclose that at this time. So any searching I do needs to be discrete and
that takes time. I’m going to need someone at Lynx to do some digging for me.” “What are you talking about? We don’t need any
time. We need to go to the police. Tonight. Blake can be arrested by tomorrow
and I’ll be back in my office by the beginning of next week.” I stand up from
the couch and walk to the kitchen counter to set my wine glass and grab my
purse. Mark just stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Julia, sit back down.” “No! I will not sit down. This is it, Mark!
This is what we’ve waited for. Blake is breaking the law and that’s a matter
for the police. Let’s just file charges and get this ball rolling. We don’t
need to do all this sneaking around. Get the cops involved and let’s get it on
the road.” “It’s not possible. We do need to do the
sneaking around and we do need to protect both companies while we’re doing it.” “Look. You’re an investor. I’m an editor.
Neither one of us are equipped for this kind of thing.” I try to use my best
rational argument but I’m also so buzzed by the idea of seeing that fucker put
in cuffs for screwing up my company I can’t sit still. “Cops are trained to do
this stuff. So you do the investing, I’ll do the editing and we will let the
cops do the copping!” I turn into a hot-headed manic bulldozer. I’m
pacing around his apartment trying to figure out which police station we need
to go to, rambling at about ninety miles an hour about all the ways Blake can
get arrested and everything we need to do. Suddenly Mark stands up. “Julia, stop!”
     
    “What?” “Just stop. Sit down.” “I’m too excited to sit down, Mark. Let’s go
now!” Mark’s voice takes on the same tone he saves
for the moments he is instructing me sexually—clear, severe and commanding. “I said sit down.” I plop on the couch with a thud, the memory of
his strong passion aching in my womb. “Look,” he says as he takes a turn pacing
around. “First, I don’t have any evidence Blake is cheating, just a gut feeling
and some unusual accounting. Second, I don’t have anything tying Blake’s
ill-gotten income to Lynx. Because he had to have gotten to that money before
he fired you, there’s too