hesitantly.
Lorenzo took a deep breath, visibly relaxing, and smiled at Charlie. “Yes, come on in Charlie. I need your help with a couple of things. Have a seat while I show my . . . guest out.”
Lorenzo stood from behind his opulent desk and nodded his head toward the door. The guy stood and walked toward it, nodding an acknowledgement at Charlie before his departure. His ocean blue eyes were similar to Lorenzo’s, but also very different. Charlie couldn’t help the chill that came over her at the slight acknowledgment from the man.
The wait was brief, and Lorenzo was back before Charlie could completely dissect the conversation that had taken place. Lorenzo walked in with his usual swagger, his dark gray suit and crisp blue shirt bringing out the blue in his eyes.
“Hi, Charlie, sorry about that. I hope I didn’t interrupt your day. I know you weren’t supposed to be here today.”
“No problem, it really is ok. What’s the emergency?” Charlie asked, wanting to get straight down to business.
“A straight forward type. That’s why I like you, Charlie.” Lorenzo’s mouth formed a smirk, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. He cleared his throat and got to the point.
“I know that you have a lot on your plate right now with you helping out at both clubs, and I really appreciate your hard work. I also know that you have some forensic accounting experience, am I correct?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Lorenzo took a deep breath before continuing. “Some things have come to my attention, and now is the time to get my house in order. You know, before the other club opens its doors.”
Charlie nodded as she listened intently. “Right, that’s understandable. But why exactly do you need my forensic accounting experience?”
“Right. Well, what I need you to do is go over all the financial records for Premier from the past, specifically everything from the last five years. Only the past two are on computer, so I need you to go through the previous three manually.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. The system Mr. Simms left in place is very accurate. He was very thorough with his record keeping.”
“Ah, well like you, Mr. Simms didn’t do the payroll either. He was pretty much just bookkeeping to make sure our financials were correct, and the IRS couldn’t touch us.” Lorenzo seemed to be mulling over what he wanted to say. Charlie noticed his previously relaxed demeanor was now taut with tension as he spoke about the books.
“Everyone is getting paid, and the cash flow seems to be accurate, but something is amiss with the books, specifically payroll. I can’t place my fingers on the problem, but maybe you can. It’s a gut feeling that I have.
Charlie was intrigued. She loved forensic accounting, and although she wasn’t hired for that specifically, she was happy to help anyway that she could.
“Ok, Mr. Moretti, I would be happy to go through the books. How long will I have?” Charlie questioned.
“I want to make sure this problem is put to rest before Prime’s opening. But I want you to be methodical. Don’t rush through it and overlook anything. I just need a fresh pair of eyes on this thing to make sure everything is in order,” Lorenzo stated bluntly.
“Yes, sir, I can be methodical. No worries.”
Lorenzo’s eyes twinkled again. “What’s with the ‘Sir’ and the ‘Mr. Moretti’
Lorenzo took a deep breath, visibly relaxing, and smiled at Charlie. “Yes, come on in Charlie. I need your help with a couple of things. Have a seat while I show my . . . guest out.”
Lorenzo stood from behind his opulent desk and nodded his head toward the door. The guy stood and walked toward it, nodding an acknowledgement at Charlie before his departure. His ocean blue eyes were similar to Lorenzo’s, but also very different. Charlie couldn’t help the chill that came over her at the slight acknowledgment from the man.
The wait was brief, and Lorenzo was back before Charlie could completely dissect the conversation that had taken place. Lorenzo walked in with his usual swagger, his dark gray suit and crisp blue shirt bringing out the blue in his eyes.
“Hi, Charlie, sorry about that. I hope I didn’t interrupt your day. I know you weren’t supposed to be here today.”
“No problem, it really is ok. What’s the emergency?” Charlie asked, wanting to get straight down to business.
“A straight forward type. That’s why I like you, Charlie.” Lorenzo’s mouth formed a smirk, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. He cleared his throat and got to the point.
“I know that you have a lot on your plate right now with you helping out at both clubs, and I really appreciate your hard work. I also know that you have some forensic accounting experience, am I correct?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Lorenzo took a deep breath before continuing. “Some things have come to my attention, and now is the time to get my house in order. You know, before the other club opens its doors.”
Charlie nodded as she listened intently. “Right, that’s understandable. But why exactly do you need my forensic accounting experience?”
“Right. Well, what I need you to do is go over all the financial records for Premier from the past, specifically everything from the last five years. Only the past two are on computer, so I need you to go through the previous three manually.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. The system Mr. Simms left in place is very accurate. He was very thorough with his record keeping.”
“Ah, well like you, Mr. Simms didn’t do the payroll either. He was pretty much just bookkeeping to make sure our financials were correct, and the IRS couldn’t touch us.” Lorenzo seemed to be mulling over what he wanted to say. Charlie noticed his previously relaxed demeanor was now taut with tension as he spoke about the books.
“Everyone is getting paid, and the cash flow seems to be accurate, but something is amiss with the books, specifically payroll. I can’t place my fingers on the problem, but maybe you can. It’s a gut feeling that I have.
Charlie was intrigued. She loved forensic accounting, and although she wasn’t hired for that specifically, she was happy to help anyway that she could.
“Ok, Mr. Moretti, I would be happy to go through the books. How long will I have?” Charlie questioned.
“I want to make sure this problem is put to rest before Prime’s opening. But I want you to be methodical. Don’t rush through it and overlook anything. I just need a fresh pair of eyes on this thing to make sure everything is in order,” Lorenzo stated bluntly.
“Yes, sir, I can be methodical. No worries.”
Lorenzo’s eyes twinkled again. “What’s with the ‘Sir’ and the ‘Mr. Moretti’
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