Page 120 - In Five Years

My phone buzzes again. This time I pull it out and answer.
“It’s Dannie,” I say.
“Where the hell are you?” I hear my case partner Sanji’s voice through the
phone. She’s twenty-nine and graduated from MIT at sixteen. She’s been

working professionally for ten years. I’ve never heard her use a word that wasn’t
absolutely necessary. The fact that she added “hell,” speaks volumes.

“I’m sorry, I got caught up. I’m on my way.”
“Don’t hang up,” she says. “We have a problem with CIT and corporate.
There are gaps in their financials.”
We were supposed to complete our due diligence on CIT, a company our

client, Epson, a giant tech corporation, is acquiring. If we don’t have a complete
financial report, the partner is going to lose it.

“I’m going down to their offices,” I say. “Hang tight.”
Sanji hangs up without saying goodbye, and I book it down to the Financial
District where CIT has their headquarters. It’s a company specializing in website

coding. I’ve been there a little too often for my liking lately.
We’ve been in constant contact with their in-house counsel for over six
months, and I know how they work extremely well now. Hopefully, this is an

oversight. There are tax reports and statements for a full eight months that are
missing.
When I arrive, I’m let up immediately, and Darlene, the receptionist, shows

me to the associate general counsel’s office.
Beth is at her desk and looks up, blinking once at me. She’s a woman in her
mid-to-late fifties and has been at the company since its inception twelve years

ago. Her office resembles her in its stoicism, not a single photo on her desk, and
she doesn’t wear a ring. We’re cordial, even friendly, but we never speak about
anything personal, and it’s impossible to tell what greets her at home when she

leaves these office walls.
“Dannie,” she says. “To what do I owe this displeasure?”
I was in her office yesterday.

“We’re still missing financials,” I say.
She does not stand up, or gesture for me to sit. “I’ll have my team review,”
she says.