Chapter 5 - The New Boss in the PenthouseThe following morning, the sun rising over the city cast a golden glow across the thirty-second floor of the Larkmore Grand.
The executive penthouse was a sanctuary of dark mahogany, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and minimalist modern art. It looked nothing like the frantic, chaotic kitchens and ballrooms downstairs. It was quiet, pristine, and entirely controlled.
Thea stood behind a sleek, glass-topped mahogany desk, wearing a sharp charcoal blazer over a simple white blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a neat professional knot, and the bruise on her cheek had been expertly concealed with a touch of concealer Hazel had lent her before she left.
The heavy oak double doors opened, and Rowena wheeled herself into the room, followed by Marcus Vance, who was now carrying a thick stack of manila folders.
“Morning, Thea,” Rowena greeted, her eyes bright and alert. “I see you survived the elevator ride up from the trenches.”
“Barely,” Thea smiled, adjusting a sleek tablet on her desk. “Turns out nobody down there told me the penthouse espresso machine operates like a nuclear reactor.”
Rowena chuckled, wheeling herself over to her massive leather desk. “You’ll learn. Marcus, report.”
Marcus laid the stack of folders down with a heavy thud. “We’ve completed the internal audit of the banquet division, Mrs. Varden. As you suspected, it’s much worse than we thought.”
Rowena’s expression hardened. “Lay it out.”
“Merrick Sloan wasn’t just skimming the monthly tip pools,” Marcus explained, flipping open the top folder. “For the past three years, he’s been running a systematic embezzlement scheme. Siphoning service fees, pocketing vendor kickbacks, and falsifying payroll hours for ghost employees. Total estimated theft is upwards of four hundred thousand dollars.”
Thea gasped, covering her mouth. “Four hundred thousand? From the staff?”
“From the staff, and from corporate accounts,” Marcus confirmed. “We also found records showing he was working in direct collusion with Clara Varden to pad the wedding invoices.”
Rowena’s eyes flashed with a cold, terrifying fury. She didn't raise her voice, but the silence that followed her words felt heavy enough to crush stone.
“Have our corporate attorneys file criminal charges immediately,” Rowena instructed softly. “No settlements. No quiet resignations. I want a full police audit of his bank accounts by noon.”
“Consider it done, Mrs. Varden,” Marcus said, nodding sharply before turning and walking out of the penthouse.
Rowena turned her attention to Thea, her gaze softening as she slid a small, sealed envelope across the desk.
Thea looked down at it, her brow furrowing. She picked it up and pulled out a cashier's check made out directly to her university for the full forty-two thousand dollars of her nursing tuition, alongside a secondary check for her first month’s salary.
“Rowena... I haven’t even officially started working yet,” Thea said, her voice catching in her throat as a wave of overwhelming emotion hit her chest.
“An investment in good people is never a risk, Thea,” Rowena said gently. “Now, put that away. We have our first official meeting of the morning in ten minutes, and the entire executive board is downstairs, terrified out of their minds.”
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Thea looked at the check, then up at the billionaire who had changed her entire life overnight. A slow, determined smile spread across her face.
“Let them be terrified,” Thea said. “I’ll get the boardroom ready.”
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