Weighing the Options

By Margaret Summers

Alisha Ele is excited to be moving up the corporate ladder. Transferring to a large bank in the city comes with exciting new challenges for the young fraud analyst and she's eager to prove herself to her new boss and coworkers. So when an account comes up that raises suspicion she reports it immediately, detailing her reasons in the notes before sending it to her manager for approval. When she doesn't hear back on the account, she looks it up to find that her notes are gone and the account is active again. Knowing that her job might be at stake if someone were to catch this problem, she takes it to her manager and they make plans to shut down the account for good. Those plans come to a screeching halt when her manager disappears with one final message, a warning to Alisha that she's not safe.

As the police work to solve the mystery, her growing impatience and strong will lead her to conduct her own investigation. With help from her handsome neighbor and a flirtatious police detective she works to uncover the mystery all while keeping up with her job and falling in love. 

In the midst of coworkers, criminals, and boyfriends, Alisha finds her life a chaotic mess and she's stuck weighing the options of her many choices, including some that could mean the difference between life or death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Margaret Summers
• Release date: Nov 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215493304

Margaret Summers

Margaret Summers wasn't an avid reader growing up. She just never found books that she was interested in. During high school, a friend recommended a mystery romance novel to her and suddenly reading had never been more enjoyable. She found herself staying up late to finish a novel, and finding spare moments to read the next page or two in her latest book.  She never considered writing as a hobby or career until after college. It became a way for her to unwind after a long day at work, and now it's how she relaxes after a long day with her kids. In the past two years she has published several romance novels and she has plenty more unpublished romance and young adult fantasy stories in the works. Some of her hobbies include piano, singing, baking, paddleboarding, and spending time with her family.

Book preview

Weighing the Options

By Margaret Summers

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

WEIGHING THE OPTIONS

First edition. November 26, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Stephanie Stoker.

Table of Contents

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

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Alisha returned home after a busy day at work and dropped her purse on the floor before collapsing on the couch for a few moments. She’d found something odd today at work and couldn’t quite figure out what to do about it. Most of the traditional warning signs they look for were okay, but there were enough that it made her pause. The account holder had verified the transaction was something he’d initiated, but still, it seemed odd. She’d reported it for her manager to take a look, just in case. She was still considered to be in training, even after a whole month, and she supposed instances like this were exactly why.

Hey, her roommate Kelly said as she walked into the living room. We’re meeting some friends for dinner tonight, wanna come?

That sounds fun, Alisha smiled, But I’m having dinner with Mrs. Cunningham tonight.

The lady next door? Kelly clarified.

Diagonally down the hall, yes. I helped her with her groceries the other day and she invited me over for dinner as a thank you.

Kelly laughed, Well, I can’t say I’m jealous of you. Having dinner with a woman more than double your age might be slow and boring.

Yeah, Alisha admitted, I’m not sure we’ll have anything to talk about, but I didn’t know how to say no. She’s so sweet and I think she’s lonely. Besides, she shrugged, it’s only one night.

Good luck, Kelly smiled.

Alisha nodded and as her roommate walked back down the hall she pulled out her phone to check the time. I guess I’d better start getting ready. She sighed and stood, taking her stuff to her bedroom to get it out of the way.

She quickly freshened up and ate a small snack just in case she didn’t like anything at the dinner. She wasn’t a picky eater, but sometimes old people seasoned the food too much, rendering it almost inedible to everyone else.

We’re heading out, Kelly called as she and Jane, their other roommate, headed for the door. See you later.

Bye, Alisha called from her bedroom as she checked the time again. She still had about twenty minutes before she needed to go, so she browsed her phone and thought about the strange findings at work.

With her mind distracted the twenty minutes passed quicker than expected and she had to rush to the neighbor’s apartment in order to not be late.

Hi, Mrs. Cunningham, she said when the old woman answered the door. Thank you so much for having me over.

It’s my pleasure. Mrs. Cunningham smiled. Come on in, dinner is almost ready.

Alisha stepped inside to a small, but cozy, living room stuffed with old furniture. The drapes looked like they’d been made in the 70s and the pictures on the wall looked even older. Despite the age of the room, everything was clean, straight, and organized, except for several piles of books on one end table.

You must like to read. Alisha commented as she followed Mrs. Cunningham through to the small dining room and kitchen area.

Oh, yes. Mrs. Cunningham smiled. You don’t teach English for forty years without loving to read. And now that I’m getting old, it’s how I keep my mind young.

Alisha was about to ask what kind of books Mrs. Cunningham liked to read but she got distracted when she noticed the table had three plates and a fourth seat with a high chair strapped on.

The timer went off in the kitchen and Mrs. Cunningham shuffled over to pull a casserole out of the oven. As she did this, a knock on the door stole Alisha’s attention.

Would you mind getting that? Mrs. Cunningham asked as she sprinkled some parmesan on top of the food.

Sure, Alisha said, wishing she had not come to dinner after all. Knowing that she wasn’t the only guest tonight changed everything and threw her off. She’d been prepared for long conversations about Mrs. Cunningham’s grandkids, now she’d have to listen to two old people swap stories about the good ole days for hours.

I should’ve gone with Kelly and Jane, she thought as she made her way to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see a young man in his twenties with a little girl in his arms. It was the man who lived in the apartment across from her, and she embarrassedly remembered how her roommates had discussed him one night when they were talking about men they could date. Alisha had laughed at their pleasant description of him, but now that she had a moment to really take him in, she had to admit, her roommates were not that far off.

Is this a set up? She wondered as she took a moment to admire his sky blue eyes. No, it can’t be. Mrs. Cunningham wouldn’t do that.

She’d only seen this man in passing once or twice, and all she knew was that he had a daughter and no wife. At least, that’s what her roommates had guessed, because they’d never seen another woman go into his apartment. As she stood there speechless while her mind recalled all the embarrassing facts it knew about him, she couldn’t believe she’d have to spend an entire evening thinking of what she could possibly say to him that wouldn’t incriminate her roommates for the snoopy spying women that they were.

Mrs. Cunningham came around the corner and said, Come on in, Jason.

Thanks, he smiled and stepped through the doorway. Did I get the wrong night?

Oh, no! Mrs. Cunningham assured him as she took the beautiful little girl in her arms and gave her a big hug. I’ve got the table set for all of us. I just met this lovely young woman the other day and thought she might like to join us too. She lives in the apartment across from you. Have you two met?

No, we haven’t. Jason said as he turned to Alisha. Hi, I’m Jason. He held out a hand and Alisha shook it quickly.

Alisha, she said.

It’s good to meet you. Then, turning back to Mrs. Cunningham, he said, Sorry we’re late. Traffic was terrible coming home. Can I help get anything ready?

Everything is all set. Mrs. Cunningham said as she put down the little girl and hurried into the kitchen. Jason, the little girl, and Alisha followed and soon they were all seated at the small round table to eat.

Alisha noticed the little girl staring at her while the food was being dished up, so she said, What’s your name?

The little girl continued to stare with her mouth slightly open and looked at her daddy for help.

This is Peyton. he supplied, rubbing his daughter’s back in support.

And are you ... two? Alisha guessed, holding up two fingers as a visual aid. The little girl smiled and nodded and excitedly looked back at her dad for reassurance.

She’s about 18 months old, he clarified as he rubbed her blonde head. Her growing excitement at having all of the attention mixed with her nervousness at having someone new at dinner, and she decided to shove a bunch of food in her mouth as fast as she could.

Not too fast, Jason said as Alisha and Mrs. Cunningham laughed. You’ll choke on it.

Peyton looked up at her father and smiled, kicking her legs excitedly in the high chair.

Jason is in medical school, Mrs. Cunningham said, turning the conversation to him.

Of course he is, Alisha thought with a smile. Her roommates would die when they found that out. What could be more attractive than a doctor, or well, doctor in training. Wow, that’s impressive. she said.

It’s a lot of work, he said tiredly but with a good-natured laugh. But I enjoy it.

What kind of doctor are you going to be?

I don’t know yet. I’ll probably go into internal medicine, but we’ll see when I get to rotations.

Alisha had almost no idea what he was talking about, but she nodded and smiled politely. She had never once thought about being a doctor, or nurse, or anything dealing with blood or sick people. She much preferred computers to hospital beds, and numbers to needles.

And what do you do? Mrs. Cunningham asked her.

Alisha smiled, I’m a fraud analyst at a bank downtown.

Wow, Mrs. Cunningham said in a calm voice. That sounds very intimidating.

Alisha smiled and shook her head. I look at a lot of numbers and transactions. Nothing too intimidating about me. She barely glanced at Jason, hoping he wouldn’t think her odd for having chosen a profession that was traditionally male dominated. She didn’t know why she even cared. It was her roommates who were in love with him, but it was hard for her to not get caught up in what they thought about him, and so she was stuck, wondering what this handsome, smart, stranger thought of her career choice.

Jason, on the other hand, wasn’t concerned about her career choice at all. He was simply happy to have company for the night, and a home-cooked meal. He knew he needed to learn how to make at least a few simple things for dinner, but he just didn’t have the time.

I suppose I do have the time, he thought as he quietly chewed his food. I just don’t make it a priority. Such was his life though. School and Peyton were first, and everything else was just survival. Relaxing took priority over learning to cook, cleaning took priority over relaxing, and so on with everything that vied for his attention day in and day out.

He listened to the conversation, commenting when he had something to say, and enjoyed the atmosphere in Mrs. Cunningham’s small dining area. It felt good to be there, and to have someone new to talk with. He and Mrs. Cunningham had that in common, they both loved getting to know other people, which is probably why they became fast friends despite their age differences.

He tried not to, but sometimes he missed having other people around at dinner. He wasn’t an extrovert by any means, but he enjoyed being with people, especially in small quiet settings like this, and he had never imagined that he would only have his daughter for company after school. On the nights where it was just him and Peyton he always felt a twinge of disappointment when she was in bed and he was once again alone. But that was his life. He hadn’t exactly planned for it to be that way, but he had accepted it now, and was content ... most of the time. Some nights were hard still, and the longer he was in school, the harder they seemed to be. Medical school was stressful, and being a single parent was stressful, and living so far away from family and friends was stressful. Sometimes he still thought he had made the wrong choice in coming here because he felt like he was a circus clown juggling a bunch of explosives. If any of them dropped, life would be over. But his advisor told him that everyone wants to quit at some point or another, and that once third year hits and you’re seeing patients it would all be worth it. He sure hoped it would, because he couldn’t go back now. At least Peyton was happy and seemed to enjoy daycare. Knowing she was safe and well taken care of made his life so much easier.

Herb was just finishing up his dinner for the evening when he got a phone call that he couldn’t ignore. It was from a number he recognized, and he knew something was wrong. The only time he got a call from this number was if there was a problem.

I’ve got to take care of something at work, he told his wife as he left the table. He hurried into his study and answered the phone as quickly as he could.

The transfer didn’t go through, the person on the other end of the line said. Fix it.

Before Herb could respond the line went dead. He grumbled and pulled out his other phone and called a friend at the bank. Though, friend was hardly the correct term for Clarence. Herb was blackmailing the guy, and he had enough dirt on him that he’d do anything Herb asked.

I need an account looked into. A very important money transfer was supposed to happen yesterday and it didn’t. Find out why and fix it before midnight.

Which account? Clarence asked.

Herb pulled up his private computer and unlocked the folder with all of his sensitive information on it. Not even his wife knew the code to it. Of course, she didn’t even know this folder existed, and had no idea where half of their money came from. She assumed it was all from his day job and that was why their marriage worked. She’d divorce him if she knew he got most of his earnings from illegal means. But she never questioned his paychecks, and he never bothered to explain them. 

He scrolled through the folder until he found the file with all of the account information. They had so many it was hard to keep track of them all, but that was Herb’s specialty, and he had a way to organize everything so he knew exactly which account was having problems because it was the only account that was supposed to be transferring money out yesterday.

He read off the account number and waited impatiently while Clarence looked it up.

Looks like this account was flagged as potentially fraudulent. Clarence said in a bored tone.

Herb swore. They always have to push the boundaries! He had told his comrades on numerous occasions exactly what aspects of money transfers would get them flagged as fraudulent, and he specifically told them to stay within those boundaries so they wouldn’t have any trouble. But, criminals have a way of thinking the rules don’t apply to them, even when it’s completely ridiculous to assume so. He was so tired of cleaning up after these fools.

Remove the flag, reopen the account, and push that transfer through. Herb said.

Already working on it.

Herb waited as patiently as he could, tapping his fingers on his desk to keep from asking for a status update. Finally, Clarence confirmed the account was ready to go. Herb then hung up the phone and sighed as he leaned back against his chair.

I don’t get paid enough to deal with this, he grumbled, knowing that his life was on the line if any of these accounts ever didn’t get reopened. He was tired of the idiocy, tired of having to fix the problems these people caused, tired of being the one they relied on. But he was in too deep to back out now, he had been in the game for decades. The only way out was death, and he had a long way to go before that.

Chapter 2

Alisha pulled up the account she reported last week to see if it had been resolved. She scanned the file for any new notes and was confused to find that even her original notes weren’t there anymore. The account had been reactivated and all documentation showing she had flagged it was completely gone.

That’s odd, she thought as she looked elsewhere in the file for any indication of what had happened. I know I wrote down my findings and reported it to Hayley. Her notes should still be there, even though it was reopened, and if Hayley had reopened it, she would’ve at least written something about it.

Maybe it’s the wrong file. She told herself, pulling  up her email to make sure. She searched through the messages she had sent last week until she found the one she was looking for. This is definitely the right file. She thought with just a touch of concern. I must not have saved my notes.

She quickly reviewed the file again, looking in the past three months for all of the  suspicious transfers that had been made, then she wrote down another detailed note about the file, made sure to save it this time, and sent another message to Hayley to review and approve it.

Just as she was closing down the account, she had a thought to email a copy of the notes to herself, so she pulled up a new email and did just that.

I probably just forgot to save what I had written last week. She thought to herself, knowing she was being a bit paranoid, But if I didn’t and the file is being messed with, I’ll have proof this time.

The rest of her day passed without anything suspicious happening and by the time she logged off of her computer she had forgotten all about the account. She took the I-30 toward Dallas and exited at Arlington before weaving her way through the side streets back to her apartment.

As she walked to her apartment she saw Jason coming the other way and waved casually to him.

Hey, he smiled, stopping to chat for a moment. How are you?

Oh, I’m great. It’s Jason, right? she asked, pretending to not be one hundred percent sure of his name. How are you?

Good. And, remind me, is it Alisha?

Yes, good memory. she grinned from ear to ear. Usually if a man remembered your name, it was a good sign that he was paying attention to you.

Though, he’s going to be a doctor, so it’s his job to be personable and have a great memory. She thought realistically, preventing her confidence from growing too big. She didn’t want to become the annoying neighbor girl who wouldn’t leave him alone just because he remembered her name. But, she was charmed by him, and hoped he would ask her out if they kept running into each other.

He was interesting to talk to, attractive, and somehow single, at least according to her roommates. And since she had a chance today to talk with him right now without Mrs. Cunningham listening in, she wanted to take advantage of it, at least for a few minutes. So, as she smiled up at him, she racked her brain for something the two of them might talk about, and came up completely blank. She was quite the social butterfly, and could strike up a conversation with just about anyone, and yet, here she was with the attention of an incredible man solely on her and she had absolutely no ideas come to mind.

There was something about him that just made her unsure of herself. It was probably the fact that she liked him and had no idea if he liked her back, a situation she was completely unfamiliar with. She’d always been good at reading people, especially high school and college boys, but Jason was either too good at hiding his feelings, or he had no feelings either way toward her. Some men were like that, though they were rare.

Finally, she settled on, I don’t usually see you around at this time, and let it awkwardly hang in the space between them. She should’ve followed up with a more direct question, but she wasn’t sure how much he wanted to chat and she didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. Kind of like I feel right now, she admitted to herself.

He didn’t seem to notice any of her nervousness, he simply nodded and said, "Yeah,