Fated to the Ruthless CEO

At Devlin’s company, Agent Smith was engrossed in discussions with the IT expert who was providing crucial assistance for their ongoing investigation. They had been diligently reviewing the footage from all the CCTVs installed throughout the premises. Alongside this, they were meticulously scrutinizing the records of the company’s employees in search of any leads that could potentially shed light on the situation. Thus far, their efforts had not yielded any remarkable findings.

Agent Smith, the team leader, leaned forward in his chair and directed his inquiry towards his dedicated team members. “So , what’s the progress so far?” he inquired, his tone a mix of curiosity and determination.

“We don’t have the names of our suspects yet .” Said one of his team members.

“What about our persons of interest from the accounting department? Find anything about them?” He inquired further.

“We couldn’t trace yet how they took the money.” Said one of his team members with a touch of frustration, the weight of the investigation bearing down on him.

“Alright, let’s keep working,” Agent Smith declared seriously. His unwavering commitment to any case he handles was well-known among the team. “You know that we only have a short span of time to get our culprit.” Agent Smith added.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, fully aware of the high stakes and the meticulous approach their leader took in these matters. They knew that every tiny detail mattered to solve their case.

An hour later, Devlin entered the room to check on their progress. “Good morning everyone. How’s everything going so far… Agent Smith?” He asked casually, scanning the room for any signs of breakthroughs or setbacks.

“Nothing special right now. So far, we keep reaching a dead-end. Their work was exceptionally clean. We’ve spent more than three hours now checking every employee in the accounting department. We could not find any digital footprints indicating any financial irregularities. It’s clear that they took the money in cold cash, directly from the company. How they managed to do that likely required some involvement from your trusted employees.

Devlin furrowed his brow, clearly concerned. “This situation is getting more complicated by the minute. I can’t believe that some of my own trusted employees might be involved.” He paused, for a short while, contemplating something.

Agent Smith sighed, rubbing his temples. We’re continuing our investigation. I have someone right now who is interviewing the accounting team one by one and cross-referencing their financial record. We’ll find the paper trail soon, even if it’s well hidden.”

Devlin nodded, looking around at the determined team of investigators. “By the way, Agent Smith, could you spare me a few minutes?” Devlin asked, his expression giving no hint of what they were about to discuss. Agent Smith swiftly instructed his team to continue their work and excused himself to accompany Devlin. They walked in silence until they reached Devlin’s office. Waiting inside were Amber and Abby.

Upon opening the office door, Devlin was greeted by the sight of both Amber and Abby sitting patiently on the couch. Devlin hadn’t informed Agent Smith about Abby’s presence, but her reaction was quite intriguing. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw Agent Smith.

Devlin noticed Abby’s initial reaction but it vanished quickly, replaced by her usual blank expression. He cleared his throat before addressing the situation, wondering if there was a history between the two.

“Abby, this is Agent Smith.” Devlin began, eyeing both Abby and the agent, who seemed equally enigmatic. “He’s working on the case involving the stolen company funds, and he just started his investigation yesterday.”

Abby offered a slight nod in acknowledgement but didn’t bother to make eye contact with Agent Smith. Her demeanor remained cool and detached.

“Agent Smith,” Devlin continued, shifting his attention to the stoic investigator, “This is Abby. She is currently working on a separate case. I thought that you could work together and exchange some notes? It will speed up this whole investigation process.” Devlin stated, still observing both of them. Something is telling him that both knew each other before. Whatever it was, that is their personal thing. He just hopes that it is not a serious personal issue that would hinder them from executing their jobs properly.

“And, by any chance, have you crossed paths with each other before?” He asked further.

There was only silence from both Abby and Agent Smith, leaving an air of intrigue hanging in the room. It was as if they were each guarding some undisclosed secret. It was Abby who shook her head gently, while Devlin glanced back and forth between her and Agent Smith.

Amber, observing the tension, couldn’t help but break the ice with a soft chuckle. “You know, Devlin, just because they’re both investigators doesn’t mean they automatically know each other, right, Abby?” She looked at Abby meaningfully. She caught Agent Smith staring intensely at Abby a few times while her husband was busy introducing them.

Abby finally looked up, her lips curving into a faint smile. “Amber’s right, Mr. Wesley. Investigations can be quite solitary affairs sometimes. But who knows, maybe our paths will cross more meaningfully now.” She said seriously but quickly smirked at Agent Smith without the others noticing.

Agent Smith had that enigmatic smile on his face. He nodded in agreement. “Indeed, Abby. Maybe it’s fate bringing us together for a reason.” That made Amber’s eyes widened but Devlin just dismissed the agent’s last words. Amber now is positive that they definitely had something in the past. But she is not going to ask her friend about it. Whatever it is, they look good together.

Half an hour later, Abby was left alone with Agent Smith to give input on their case together. Devlin left with Amber to attend a meeting with the investors.

“Since when did you become Agent Smith?” Abby asked immediately right after Devlin closed the door behind him in his office. They decided to do their discussion in the office since Devlin will be out all day. He won’t be using his office.

“Why? Miss me?” Agent Smith gave her his biggest smile. She only rolled her eyes at him.

“Let’s just get to work, Mr. Whatever.” Abby said sarcastically. She knew Agent Smith very well. And that’s not his real name at all. Anyway, she doesn’t care anymore. It’s none of her business.

“Very well. You haven’t changed at all. Instead, you have become more feisty.” Agent Smith remarked while looking at her intensely. It made her uncomfortable and she had to clear her throat.

Abby got herself busy by opening her laptop and began reviewing the case file that Agent Smith shared with her earlier. “So what do we have so far?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation toward their case.

Agent Smith leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Well, it’s not looking great. The leads are running dry, and we still can’t connect the dots between the recent stolen funds in the company and the suspect or suspects we have been tracking. Everything was clean. No trace of digital footprints.”

Abby frowned. The case she has been handling for years had been a thorn on her side. And she was growing increasingly frustrated that new problems arise.

Agent Smith continued looking at her intensely. It’s like he was trying to remember every feature of her face. Abby was in deep thought that she didn’t realize what he was doing. And the moment she caught him staring at her, he immediately moved his gaze to the papers on the table.

She took a deep breath before sharing her thoughts on the case. ” I am not sure how far along Mr. Wesley told you regarding my investigation. I am doing an independent investigation regarding serious issues that started five years ago in this company. And I have to fly here to personally investigate the person whom I thought is our mastermind. I followed him discreetly for days now. Like you, I was also stuck but I found a small breakthrough. I just could not pin him down for now. I need bigger, solid evidence.”

He nodded in agreement. “I know, Abby. I’ve been working every angle I can think of, but it’s like our suspect is always one step ahead. I do hope you could provide me with the name of our suspect. I am sure that whoever stole the money from the company is the same person that you are trying to find more solid evidence of.”

Abby told him the name of their mastermind. And his connection to the company and Devlin’s family. After Abby narrated everything she knew, Agent Smith had that interesting spark in his eyes.

“You never disappoint, Arabella.” He said but was cut off short by Abby.

“Don’t call me that.” She interrupted. She doesn’t want their discussion to lead somewhere else except the case they are working on right now.

“I always love your name, mi amor.” He said softly.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“If you don’t stop talking like that, I swear I am going to step out of this office. And you inform Mr. Wesley why I won’t do the job with you.” She hissed at him. Ever since she set her eyes on him earlier, she was already feeling uncomfortable. She was hoping that he could act as professional as her but she was wrong.

“I am sorry. My apologies.” Agent Smith said. He didn’t dare talk about their personal lives again. He knew how the woman would react. And the last thing in his mind right now is to jeopardize their investigation just because of their personal issues.