Anna didn’t waste time.
She picked up her phone and called Nana, her friend, a CFO at KPMG, to help review and verify our findings.
If this thing was going to scatter the company, we needed someone external. Someone solid. No bias.

At that point, I knew this was no longer small play.

Then she turned to me.
“Loop in Reti.”
Reti. Assistant Head of Finance.

Ah.

So we’re now bringing in second-in-command.
This case just upgraded from office drama to somebody might actually go down.

I adjusted in my seat.
Because if Nana confirms what I’m seeing…
and Reti backs it up…

Then Thomas is not just in trouble.
He’s finished. 

Suddenly, the office door burst open.

And then he walked in.
Tolani.

Not just any CFO, the kind that doesn’t talk twice.

Blue suit. Sharp cut. Everything about him screamed structure and control.
Even his tie looked like it obeyed rules.
His face was tight, no smile, no softness.

Just pure authority.

The kind of man that can sack you with one sentence and still go back to his coffee like nothing happened.

The air in the room shifted immediately.

Problem don enter.

Josh followed behind him, but it was clear who owned the room.
Tolani didn’t rush.

He walked in like time itself was waiting for him.

Then his eyes landed on us.
Sharp. Direct. No hesitation.
That was when I knew, 
this one didn’t come to ask.
He came to collect.

Josh came closer.
“They’re looking for the file. Give it to them,” he said quietly.

Before I could respond, Tolani stepped forward.
“Hi, Bobola and Na. I’m fully aware you’re both holding custody of company property. Kindly release it before we involve the legal team.”
Hold on…

Who is “Bobola and Na”?
You must be kidding me. I scoffed.

“Excuse me,” I said, raising my eyebrow.
“The people you’re addressing don’t exist. There’s no ‘Bobola’ or ‘Na’ here.”
He stepped closer.

“You know I’m referring to you. Hand over the financial statement. Now. I don’t like repeating myself.”

Oh, you will repeat it today. 

Before I could reply, Anna spoke calmly:
“We don’t have it.”

Tolani stared at us for a long five seconds…
then turned and left angrily.
He knew.

We weren’t giving him anything.

We went back to reviewing the file when.

5 minutes later.

Then Reti entered.

Walking in like he owns the company and maybe the building too.
Tall. Dark. Clean.
Suit perfectly tailored like it was stitched on his body. Not a wrinkle. Not a mistake.

His steps were slow… controlled… intentional.

The kind of walk that makes people adjust themselves without knowing why.

His face? Calm. Too calm.

The kind of calm that doesn’t come from peace, but from knowing something others don’t.

His eyes scanned the room once, sharp and calculating.
Nothing escapes this one.
As he moved, there was this faint scent, minty, clean… dangerous.
Ah.

This is not ordinary fine boy.
This is problem in human form.
As he approached, one lady, Amanda suddenly bumped into him and dropped her files.

Intentional. 100%.

I don’t blame her. She has been trying to get his attention since forever.
K-drama style.

In my head, I was already predicting the scene:
They’ll bend, touch hands, fall in love…
Next thing, Reti will end up in prison. Love story cut short. 

But no.

That’s not what happened.

Reti bent down… picked up his own customized pen… and walked away.

No eye contact. No “sorry.” Nothing.
Ah. This one is not a K-drama lead. This one is a villain.

(And a fine one for that matter. God abeg.)

He finally got to us.

“So while the company is going down, you two are here pressing your phones? Let me guess… Instagram?”
Calm voice. Dangerous tone.

Anna didn’t even flinch.
“Why are you here?”
Anna said.

He smirked.
“Just checking what you’re up to. Now I’ve seen.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait,” Anna said.

He paused.

“You came to confirm whether we have the financial statement… because you realized it’s missing,” she said with a victory tone.

Silence.

Then he smiled slightly.
“Which I have now confirmed… and you can keep it.”

And he walked away.

Anna and I looked at each other.
We thought we had won.

Then Nana’s voice came through the phone, she had been listening the whole time.

“This doesn’t add up. This document alone can’t prove money laundering. Some files are missing.”

My heart dropped.

Then Reti’s words echoed in my head:
“You can keep it.”
Oh.

It wasn’t confidence.

It was strategy.

Anna and I looked at each other again.

Back to square one. 😭🔥