The heavy mahogany doors of the penthouse conference room clicked shut behind us. I took off my damp beige trench coat, handing it to a hotel staff member who brought me a warm cup of black tea.
Brandon stood at the end of the long glass table, nervously tapping on his tablet while my family lawyer, Arthur, opened a thick leather binder across from him.
Arthur: General Manager Brandon, we have reviewed the digital log for the VIP suite accounts over the past eighteen months.
Brandon: Everything in those logs should be completely balanced, Arthur! I personally sign off on every monthly ledger!
Arthur: That is precisely the problem. You signed off on forty-two complimentary stays in the Royal Suite under the name of Chloe Miller.
Coat Woman: Forty-two complimentary stays? That equals over two hundred thousand dollars in unbilled room charges, Brandon.
Brandon: Miss Vance... Chloe and I were planning our wedding! I used my manager allowance to host her family during their visits!
Coat Woman: Your manager allowance permits five complimentary nights per calendar year for immediate family members. Not forty-two nights for your fiancée's friends.
Arthur: We also found three hundred thousand dollars in catering charges billed to the corporate marketing expense fund for private parties held in the ballroom.
Coat Woman: Were those private parties official hotel promotional events, Brandon?
Brandon swallowed hard, unable to meet my eyes as he gripped the edge of the glass table.
Brandon: They... they were engagement celebration dinners for Chloe's high-society circle...
Coat Woman: You used my company's marketing budget to fund your fiancée's social status!
Brandon: I was going to reimburse the company after our wedding mortgage loan went through next month!
Coat Woman: You committed corporate embezzlement, Brandon. You didn't just break company policy—you committed a felony crime.
Brandon: Please, Miss Vance! Don't involve the authorities! I'll surrender my entire pension fund to cover the debt!
Coat Woman: Your pension fund doesn't even cover half of the half-million dollars you stole from Vance Hospitality.
The conference room door opened, and Chloe pushed past the assistant, holding her designer handbag while looking furious.
Chloe: Brandon! What is taking so long?! Security tried to bar my car from the valet line!
Brandon: Chloe, get out of here! I told you to go home!
Chloe: I am not going home while this woman threatens your job! I called my father's corporate lawyer!
Coat Woman: Call whoever you want, Chloe. Your father's lawyer cannot save a man who signed fake financial invoices.
Chloe: Fake invoices?! What are you talking about?! Brandon is an executive!
Arthur: Your fiancé embezzled over five hundred thousand dollars from this hotel chain to pay for your lavish parties and suit rentals, Miss Miller.
Chloe froze, her jaw dropping as she turned her eyes toward Brandon in sheer disbelief.
Chloe: Brandon... tell me that's not true! You told me you owned shares in this hotel company!
Brandon: Chloe... please, quiet down!
Chloe: You told my father you were a multi-millionaire partner in Vance Luxury Holdings! That's why he agreed to our engagement!
Coat Woman: He lied to you, Chloe. Just like he lied to my board of directors.