Teri is the sort of woman whom I would ordinarily consider out of my league. She’s a leggy redhead and whenever we go out in public, I notice other guys staring at her. I also know that some of them are wondering: What is that woman doing with him?
One day, lying together in her bed, I asked her what she saw in me. I phrased the question in a gallantly self-deprecating, half-serious way, of course. (I’ve learned a lot about plausible deniability of late; and I wanted plausible deniability just in case the question was poorly received.) But I like to think that I know myself: I know that I’m no Sid Harper. Nor am I even a Donnie Brady, for that matter.
“I don’t know,” Teri said. “I guess I never really thought about it. You’re confident, I suppose. You project a quiet kind of strength. Women like that.
“Is that good enough for you,” she nudged me, “or are you just fishing for compliments?”
“That’s plenty good enough for me,” I said. “But sure, I like compliments.”
“I’ll show you a compliment…”
I didn't press her further. Before all of this happened, few people would have used the concepts of “confidence” or “strength” to describe Frank Joseph. But I suppose my ordeal changed me—as ordeals change us all—sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. I am no longer the man whom Sid so casually struck in a rental car in North Carolina, without fear of reprisal. I am no longer the man whom Donnie Brady so easily bullied.
I would like to tell you a lot more about Teri. But that’s an entirely different story; and this story is coming to its close.
It’s now the summer after that momentous winter. I’ve long since settled back into my old routine as a senior buyer at Thomas-Smithfield. I have a new manager, and a new set of coworkers. Unlike the previous ones, they’re nice folks.
My group also has a new department admin. As Special Agent Carson predicted, Thomas-Smithfield chose not to retain the services of Ellen Watson.
So life is much as it was, while at the same time, it’s very different.
I won’t be doing any more eavesdropping, though. When I hear my coworkers whispering in low tones around the water fountains and in the company’s break areas, I deliberately avert my gaze and tune out their words.
Every large organization holds many secrets. People gossip, they plot, they conceal misdeeds of various degrees. I didn't uncover the last secret at Thomas-Smithfield this past January, I am quite sure.
But perhaps it could be said that I uncovered Thomas-Smithfield’s largest, darkest secret. I have done my part in regard to such matters. I’m more than happy to leave the company’s remaining secrets for other ears.
THE END
Afterward
As Frank Joseph said, “If this were a made up story…” The fictive portion of this book ended with the words, “THE END” on the previous page. What follows are a few supplemental notes about the real-life (and largely autobiographical) background of The Eavesdropper.
Some readers are interested in where the ideas for stories come from, others aren’t. If you’re in the latter category, feel free to close the book or exit your Kindle now. No hard feelings, I promise. Those in the former category can continue reading on.
The basic idea for The Eavesdropper arose from a real-life case of embezzlement that occurred at a company where I spent significant time during the early 2000s. I was acquainted with at least one of the individuals who was involved. I had no idea what was going on until the embezzlement scheme was broken up, and all the guilty parties were fired and/or prosecuted.
Due to liability concerns, I am unable to provide you with the exact details. But the basics of the scheme were much the same as those in this book: A group of individuals in the company created a series of fake suppliers. They conspired to have purchase orders issued and invoices paid. They embezzled thousands of dollars before they were caught.
The rest of the conspiracy—the Russian gangsters, the murder plot, etc.—I made up. But it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine a real-life situation in which corporate embezzlement could involve organized criminal elements and threats of violence.
Consider that old cliché about truth being stranger than fiction. Perhaps the most unbelievable aspect of the main plot is the embezzlement scheme itself; and that part of the story is taken more or less verbatim from actual events.
Thomas-Smithfield Electronics is an entirely fictional company. That said, I did work for a number of years in the purchasing departments of several large manufacturing firms. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of companies like Thomas-Smithfield throughout the United States.
No one will ever tell you that corporate purchasing is exciting work. The daily routine of a purchasing agent in a large company is nothing like that of a beat cop, a homicide detective, a surgeon, or a fighter pilot in the middle of an armed conflict. It mostly consists of spreadsheets, meetings, and paperwork.
I therefore kept the details of the purchasing job to a minimum in The Eavesdropper, limiting my descriptions to only what was necessary to move the story along, and to make the situation clear for the reader. But the story’s descriptions of corporate purchasing functions and bureaucracies are largely accurate, so far as they go.
Most of the characters in this book are composites of people I actually knew, however fleetingly. None are straightforward, unadulterated versions of specific individuals.
Sid Harper and Anne Hull are representative of the alpha types who typically rise to the top in the hyper-competitive environments of large organizations. (The overwhelming majority of them, however, are nowhere near as sinister as Sid Harper turned out to be.) Sid Harper is a composite of three men I met at various points in my corporate career, with a generous dash of embellishment. Anne Hull, too, takes her shape from multiple individuals I encountered in corporate settings.
Ellen Trevor had a somewhat different inspiration. During the mid-1990s, when I was in my mid-twenties, one of my coworkers was a pretty, brown-eyed accountant who often caught my attention. She also captured my imagination to a degree.
The woman was already married, and several years older than me. Nothing was going to happen between us. But I often saw her in the company’s elevators and stairwells, as she went about her accounting work.
I don’t think our communications ever went much beyond simple, superficial pleasantries. She was always very nice; and perhaps I should apologize for associating her with the morally ambiguous Ellen Trevor. I hope that the real Brown-Eyed Girl is doing well, wherever she is.
Despite our shared experience in corporate purchasing, the main character, Frank Joseph, is not a stand-in for yours truly. To begin with, he is considerably younger. (I’m about the same age as Sid Harper.) Our personalities and life histories are quite different.
Frank Joseph is a composite of a particular type of young male that one meets—and hears about—a lot nowadays. This young man was born after 1980. He is struggling in a Brave New World where the concepts of masculinity, fatherhood, marriage, and career mobility have greatly changed since the youthful days of his father’s generation.
Many of these young men seem to fall through the cracks of life, to varying degrees. I’m happy that for Frank Joseph, at least, things worked out.
We’re almost done here. If you enjoyed this book, you might consider my earlier corporate thriller, Termination Man, which involves a very different set of characters and central plot line, but a similar setting.
Also—if you enjoyed this book—please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review or a rating on Amazon or Goodreads. In the difficult cause of getting out the word to a book’s potential new readers, no marketing or advertising is as effective as enthusiastic reviews from prior readers.
Finally (this is it—I promise), thank you, reader, for your time and attention. I hope this book fulfilled your expectations.
Table of Contents
The Eavesdropper
Edwar
d Trimnell
Thorton Wilder
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
THE END
Afterward