Chapter 5 - The Corporate Fallout
On Monday morning at 8:45 A.M., the glass tower of Apex Global Logistics in downtown Denver was buzzing with executive activity.
Landon arrived looking haggard, his eyes bloodshot, wearing the same wrinkled suit jacket he had worn on his emergency flight from Phoenix.
He didn't bother greeting the receptionist; he marched straight toward the corner executive suite.
He assumed he could slip into his office, close the blinds, and figure out how to access his frozen funds before the week began.
Instead, he found two corporate security guards standing outside his office door, alongside Arthur Vance, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources.
"Good morning, Landon," Arthur said, his tone devoid of its usual country-club warmth.
"Arthur, what is the meaning of this?" Landon snapped, reaching for the silver door handle. "I have a nine o'clock briefing with the regional board."
"Your badge access has been temporarily suspended, Landon," Arthur stated, handing him a formal memorandum stamped with the company's legal seal.
"You're being placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into commercial expense violations."
Landon stared at the paper, his mouth opening and closing like a landed trout.
"Expense violations? What are you talking about? I’ve been running the logistics division for six years!"
"We received a formal compliance disclosure this morning at seven o'clock," Arthur explained calmly, adjusting his reading glasses.
"It includes itemized hotel invoices, private dining tabs, and luxury car rentals from Scottsdale over the weekend."
"All billed directly to the corporate client entertainment account under project code Delta."
"That was for a prospective client dinner!" Landon stammered, sweat breaking out along his receding hairline.
"Sloane Bennett submitted her resignation an hour ago, Landon," Arthur interrupted coldly.
The hallway went dead quiet as several junior analysts peered over their cubicle partitions to watch the spectacle.
"She provided the HR department with six months of text messages," Arthur continued, each word landing like an artillery shell.
"Messages where you explicitly promised her a senior promotion and salary bump if she accompanied you on these personal trips."
"She testified that you coerced her into approving the false expense codes under threat of bad performance reviews."
Landon gripped the edge of Arthur's clipboard, his knuckles white with panic. "She's lying! She wanted those trips just as much as I did!"
"That's for corporate counsel and the board of directors to determine," Arthur said, stepping aside as the two guards moved forward.
"You have fifteen minutes to collect your personal belongings under escort. Otherwise, we will box them and leave them with security."
Landon looked around the polished corridor, seeing the disgust and shock on the faces of colleagues who had once bowed to his authority.
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In less than forty-eight hours, his marriage, his reputation, and his six-figure corporate career were disintegrating into ash.
And the worst part was, he knew exactly who held the match.
