Chapter 3 - Champagne in the Rockies
Two thousand miles away, the morning sun rose over the snow-draped peaks of Ajax Mountain, bathing the private terrace of Suite 404 in brilliant, golden light.
Julian Blackwood stepped out onto the heated stone balcony in a monogrammed cashmere robe, holding a steaming mug of black roast coffee.
Behind him, through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, Isabel Cole was sitting up in the king-sized bed, scrolling through her phone while wrapped in four-hundred-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.
"Julian," Isabel called out, her voice playful and demanding. "What time is our helicopter tour to the private peak? The concierge said we need to confirm our reservation by nine."
"Ten-thirty, sweetheart," Julian answered smoothly, turning back into the suite with an easy, practiced smile. "Take your time. Everything is arranged under the corporate executive hospitality account."
Isabel giggled, reaching toward the bedside table where the velvet Harry Winston box sat open, revealing a three-carat sapphire pendant framed in micro-pavé diamonds.
"You really don't think Elena is going to notice the statement from the Madison Avenue boutique?" Isabel asked, holding the pendant up to the sunlight, admiring the deep blue refraction against her skin.
Julian chuckled, walking over to the bed and brushing a hand through his dark hair.
"Elena doesn't check the corporate credit statements, Isabel," Julian said with dismissive confidence. "She’s at home in Connecticut making gingerbread cookies and taking Harrison to see Santa at the mall. She thinks I’m currently stuck in a conference room in central Tokyo negotiating regulatory hurdles."
"You're terrible," Isabel teased, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "What if she calls you on FaceTime to show you Harrison opening his gifts tomorrow morning?"
"I already handled that," Julian replied, gesturing toward his laptop on the desk. "I sent her three pre-recorded video messages from the private terminal lounge before we boarded the charter. I told her the Japanese telecommunications lines at our secure audit site have strict corporate firewalls that block outbound international video streams."
He sat down at the desk, opening his laptop to check his work email, expecting the usual holiday silence from the board of directors.
Instead, his inbox showed seventeen unread high-priority messages flagged with red exclamation marks.
The first was from the Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Subject: Immediate Extraordinary Board Assembly — Emergency Governance Review.
The second was from Blackwood Capital’s Chief Legal Officer.
Subject: Notice of Audit Hold: Corporate Travel and Entertainment Sub-Accounts.
Julian’s smile vanished, a tight knot forming in the center of his stomach.
He clicked on the Chairman's email, skimming the opening lines as the blood drained rapidly from his face.
Dear Mr. Blackwood, effective 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the Board of Directors has convened an emergency governance session pursuant to formal evidence of gross fiscal misconduct, unauthorized private aviation charter utilization, and falsification of official corporate travel manifests.
Below the formal text was an attached PDF file.
Julian double-clicked the attachment.
May you like
On his high-resolution screen appeared the photograph Isabel had snapped of him twelve hours ago by the stone fireplace, complete with his engraved whiskey bucket, his Aspen keycard, and the exact GPS coordinates pinpointing the luxury resort.
Julian dropped his coffee mug onto the antique desk, dark liquid spilling across the polished mahogany, as his phone began to ring with an incoming call from New York.
