The Accountant novel Chapter 5

After debating with herself the entire weekend, her answer was no. N.O. No. Nay. Negative.

There were a million reasons why she shouldn't do it. The most obvious one was, she would be exposed. Her identity has been kept a secret since she was a child. Yes, her colleagues from college might know her as a nerdy girl who studied hard and ended up graduating at the of the class. However, that Daniel guy has no idea of her genius. He never knew that everything was a child's play for her. A means to an end.

She was not worried about her egotistical former classmate. What worried her were her shady clients. From cartels and mafias to gangsters and yakuza organizations. She handled them all.

There was no way for them to go to a legit accounting firm and their laundering technique will never be on par with hers. Plus, they had a shitload of money that drew attention to all kinds of thieves and law enforcement. Even in their respective organizations, there were certain things that they shouldn't trust just anyone. Money was one of them.

She had lost count the number of times she had thefts exposed and hidden the truths from the authorities. What she read in newspapers and social media the next day still haunted her.

They have never met her. Never heard her voice. She was plainly known as the accountant. Passed around by word of mouth by the leaders. They knew her as the only man for the job. Her gender has never been asked nor her name.

With untraceable IP, payments through cash and transferred to prepaid cards, she was invisible. A ghost. Only called upon when needed.

And she will be fucking exposed if she went through with this.

Remember what you promised Lily. You never go back on your promise.

Oh, shit! That was the most important reason she have to do this. She needed to try for her sake. Just this once.

Live a normal life and all the bullshit that comes with it.

***

She will do it. Everything will be taken care of in a day or two, maybe even less.

Since she lived an hour from the city, she out of her driveway promptly at 7 am. Like any normal girl, she drive-thru McDonald's for a sandwich and ice-cold choco. Knowing she will arrive an hour early for her appointment, she dallied.

Being punctual has nothing to do with it, self-preservation was.

The weighing of pros and cons will be evaluated. Exits second. Observing people coming in and out of the building will be last.

Damn. She could never be normal.

These traits were too ingrained in her personality. An instinct to survive. To shield her from people who might do her harm.

How she wishes she could go back to that night, where she was an ordinary woman taken by pleasure. To forget the real her and bask at that moment.

She squirmed in the car seat at the memories. With her big brain, she could conjure vivid images. Colliding with what happened in reality and her future fantasies. Always the same man.

Dominic.

Her hoarse voice screaming his name numerous times will be remembered for the rest of her life.

Ok. Enough. That was history. He was long gone by now.

She drove around the financial district several times to pass the time. Reconnoitering. Observing.

Satisfied, she parked her Honda a kilometer away from the imposing building of DV Corporation.

The skyscraper with high ceilings made her tilt her head back for a moment, distracting her. Shaking her head, she squinted her eyes at the corporate ants. Most people that were milling about were in blacks and grays and there across the street was Starbucks. The works. This really made her want to puke.

Suck it up, Beau.

Her steps brought her directly to a bimbo at the front desk.

"Hi. Beau Anderson. I have an appointment at 9 am." Christ! Why does she have to wear a lot of makeup? In her thick glasses, she narrowed her eyes. The girl before her has no perforation. How does she sweat?

"Ms. Anderson?" An her bee-stung lips looked painful. Beau blinked, the receptionist sweetly irritated voice registered. Ouch! She forced a smile.

"Yes?" She squared her shoulders. Being forced to be overtly confident thing was killing her. How she yearned they could just send the data to her so she could work from home in her tank top and panties with a big jar of Nutella.

"Here's your executive pass. Last floor of the building. Elevators down the hall to your right. Sandrina Petriva will tell you what to do." All delivered in a monotonous tone. Wow. Girly couldn't be more welcoming.

The cake-face lady returned to what she was doing. Beau would bet her best cup of China that the girl was only browsing Facebook. Like she gave a shit! More reasons for her to hate the corporate world.

Muttering a dull thank you, she followed the instructions. The floor she found herself in was quite familiar. Too familiar. It kinda resembled the hotel...

Nope, not going there. She will not be thinking of THAT man while she was at work.