Raising her brows, she mumbles, “Whatever,” then shuts the door behind her.
The first thing Lisa notices is the volume that people are talking in. Some are yelling, some are just pissed. Furrowing her brows, she sets out to find Mariah, hoping she can shed some light on the situation. Looking towards her desk, Mariah isn’t there. She hears someone yell, “There she is!” Quickly turning around, the owner of Elite PR & Marketing is making his way towards her. She’s only met the man a few other times; it’s been a least a year since she’s seen him.
He’s tall and thin; his skin is tan and his hair is salt-and-pepper, cut short. Shawn Masterson approaches her and opens the conference room door. “Inside, Ms. Adams. We need to talk.” She swallows and walks inside, Shawn shutting the door behind them. “Take a seat. There’s a lot we need to cover in a short period of time. Seems that the shit has hit the fan over the last few days, and the shit is Samuel.”
Taking a seat, she crosses her legs and forces herself to remain calm. “Okay, may I ask what has happened?”
She watches Shawn’s brows furrow as he takes a seat. Resting his elbow on the table, his hand slides down his face. “I know Samuel shared a lot of information with you. He boasted about how you were going to be his right-hand man, so to speak.” He sighs, looking out the window of the conference room. The storm that hit New York has finally passed, allowing the sun to shine once again. Lisa takes notice of Shawn’s face. He looks as if he’s not slept in a few days, maybe weeks. His gaze returns to her. “It seems Samuel has been embezzling money from me for quite some time. He set up an offshore account and has been slowly sending funds there. As we were closing in on him, he caught wind of what we were doing. He’s bolted and no one can find him, his accounts, anything. His phone is off the map and his residence is empty, like he moved out suddenly.” Shawn looks directly at Lisa. “After some digging and checking around, there’s no evidence tying any of this to you. Lisa, if you knew about any of this, you need to tell me. Now!”
Shock covers Lisa’s face and her mouth drops open. She thinks of everything Alex has told her about Samuel. Blinking, she shakes herself back to reality. “No, I had no idea. I knew he was out with clients a lot but, honestly, I had no idea.” Her eyes wander and she looks through the glass walls, watching the people speculate on what has happened. She looks back to him. “Mr. Masterson, trust me when I tell you that I had no idea.”
Nodding his head, Shawn stands and walks towards the window. Looking outside, he crosses his hands behind his back. “I didn’t think you had anything to do with it.” He looks over his shoulder at Lisa. “At least that’s what the FBI has told me.”
“You had the FBI check me out?” Feeling a little shocked, she sits back in her chair for a moment. “I guess I can say that I’m glad I’m clean, considering I knew nothing of what he was doing.”
Shawn nods and turns his head back to the window, looking outside. “There’s the matter of finding you a new assistant, as well.”
“What?” The shock returns and Lisa sits forward in her chair. “What happened to Mariah?”
“We’re not sure. Like Samuel, she just disappeared.” Shawn sighs and returns to the table. Taking a seat, he leans his elbows on his knees. “Honestly, Lisa, I’ve never had anything like this happen before. Trust me when I say that I’m as shocked as you are. I’m fucking pissed that he embezzled from me but, unless he’s found, it’s my loss.”
Lisa’s gaze remains on him for a few more minutes. She shakes her head. “I had no idea.” She pauses for a moment, then recalls her brief conversation with Steven. She wants to ask what’s happened with him, but feels like its unchartered territory.
“There’s more.” Shawn sits back in his chair and offers a friendly smile. “With everything that’s happened, I need to name someone CEO. That someone is you.”
Lisa’s brows rise, not expecting any of this, especially the promotion. Her eyes remain on him for a few more minutes. Finally, she blinks, her gaze shifting to the wall with the photos of celebrities, a few of them containing her.
“You’re CEO now. You’re damn good at what you do and you bring in the most revenue. The position is yours, if you want it.” Shawn watches her for a moment. “I suggest you take it. It’s a one-time offer that I won’t present again.”
Lisa’s found herself shocked too many times to count in one day. “Wow, Mr. Masterson. I’m extremely flattered, thank-you.” Lisa pauses, wanting time to think this decision over, but knows if she does, she may lose this opportunity. “If I accept this proposal, I’ll need you to be here to mentor me. I don’t feel comfortable blindly taking this on after everything that’s happened.”