Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia and Ethan) novel Chapter 35

“Exactly. Nine employees getting paid who don’t exist. That’s

payroll fraud.”

He whistled under his breath. “If that’s been happening for ten

years-”

“It’s a million–dollar bleed,” I finished. “Someone’s been

syphoning money by inflating the headcount.“‘

He began pacing. “This means someone inside the system-

maybe mid–level or even at the auditing stage–knows how to

manipulate the checks. The list goes through layers, but no one

really verifies every name manually at the top.”

“Which is why it never triggered a red flag until now,” I

murmured. “It’s disguised just enough to look clean, but the

numbers don’t lie.”

“We need to report this to Alpha Alexander,” Gai said

immediately.

I nodded. “Yes. But he’s going to be swamped with the alpha

summit tomorrow.”

Gai rubbed his temple. “Then?”

Chapter 5

“I’ll go to the factory,” I said. “In person. Quietly. If we can

identify who’s behind it before bringing it to Alexander, we’ll

have a stronger case.”

Gai looked at me with something between concern and respect.

“You’re serious.”

I didn’t answer. I just turned back to the screen and started

scrolling for more anomalies.

What neither Olivia nor Gai noticed was the man who had

stepped out from a nearby booth just moments before. His

cigarette dangled between his fingers, forgotten, as he stood

frozen–only partially hidden behind a glass panel. His eyes

narrowed, face hardening with every word he overheard.

What Olivia and Gai had stumbled upon… wasn’t just a minor payroll error. It was a thread tied directly to something he had

worked hard to bury.

And they were pulling it loose.

Olivia’s POV

The dinner ended later than expected. The moment we stepped

out of the restaurant, I caught a glimpse of Alexander walking

ahead with a stiff, serious look etched across his face.

“Is he… Drunk?” I muttered, half to myself.

“Yes. He is,” Gai said beside me. “When he tapped his card to

check out just now, he fumbled twice. That man only misses the

mark when he’s been drinking.”

My eyebrows lifted. That didn’t quite match the Alpha’s usual control. But before I could reply, Jess suddenly surged forward.

She looked radiant under the streetlights–heels clicking, her

pace brisk and focused. She reached Alexander quickly, her hand slipping through the crook of his arm with the familiarity

of someone who had done it a hundred times before.

“Let’s go back to my room,” she said in a light, persuasive tone. “I

Jess glared at me as if I were the one who’d planned it. Her heels

pivoted and she stormed off, muttering something under her

breath.

I watched her retreating figure disappear into the parking lot.

She looked somewhat envious.

She could walk away whenever she wanted. I couldn’t. I was

still the new hire. Barely three days in. I didn’t have the luxury

of outbursts or exits. Not yet.

We all got into the car. I slid into the seat beside Alexander, and

Gai sat in the front with the driver. My knee throbbed faintly,

reminding me of the moment I had collided with Alexander’s

shin as he jerked me forward.

Beside me, Alexander leaned against the car window. One hand

rested on his temple, his eyes closed. Calm. Untouchable. I

couldn’t tell if he was asleep or just disinterested.

Neither would surprise me.

When we reached the hotel, I tried shaking him gently.

Nothing. I called his name. No response. Gai and I exchanged a

look.

With the help of a hotel attendant, we finally managed to lift

him out of the car and into his suite. I let Gai take most of the

weight while I limped slightly behind them.

Chapter 36