Page 7 of All The Wrong Notes
An hour and a bit later, Randall stepped back, and the choir took a break. As Elise gulped from her water bottle, one of the other choir members came to talk to her.
“Hi, Kevin. How was your summer?” she greeted the tenor.
Kevin was fairly new, having only joined the previous January, and Elise didn’t know him well. He was charming at first glance, and more than handsome enough to attract anyone’s eye. With his blond hair, bright blue eyes, and movie-star features, he could have stepped off a Hollywood set. Elise had rather fancied him at first, but he seemed quite pleased always to be surrounded by the single ladies of the choir, and that was enough to keep her a little distant. Still, if he wanted to chat, she would happily oblige him.
“Summer was busy. I’ve had to take on a second job to get caught up on some bills, and that means a lot of hours poring over the books. I wish I’d had more time for fun, but, well, we do what we can.” Elise muttered something appropriate, and he continued. “Look, I know Janet Lange is a good friend of yours, right? Who is that guy she’s with? He looks familiar. Are they a couple? They looked it when they came in together.”
Elise let her eyes trail over to where Janet was standing with a group of singers, introducing Carlos to everyone. “His name is Carlos Nevarez. He just transferred here from his company’s Vancouver office. Do you know him?”
Kevin’s forehead wrinkled. “I think so. It’s been a while. Did he once live in Montreal?”
“Long ago. I think he went to university there. He has a PhD in economics or something equally dreary-sounding, and he works with some of the banks.”
“Then it must be him.” A frown crept over Kevin’s handsome face. “I’m not sure if I should say hello or not. We knew each other a bit, but it wasn’t always a smooth acquaintance, if you know what I mean.”
This was surprising. “No? But he’s always so cheerful and easy-going. I can’t imagine him not getting along with anyone.”
Now Kevin let out a short chuckle. “Oh, it wasn’t him. He was always fine. It was one of his close friends, always hanging around and being generally annoying. Thought the Pemberton name would excuse his antisocial behaviour.”
Elise’s eyebrows shot up. “Pemberton? As in F. William Pemberton?”
“You know him?”
“And I wish I didn't. I—”
Just then, Randall called the choir back to their places for the rest of the rehearsal.
“Let me buy you a coffee sometime, Elise, and I’ll tell you the rest of the story. If you’ve met Will Pemberton, there’s some stuff you should know.”
“Sure,” she replied. “Let’s exchange contact info after rehearsal and we’ll arrange something.”
Now what, she thought as she sang her way through the rest of the evening’s music, could Kevin have meant by that?
* * *
Elise and Kevin met two days later at a coffee shop near the arts centre. It was early evening, after work for both of them. This part of Eglinton Avenue boasted an embarrassment of places to grab a joe and a slice of cake, and they had selected an independent cafe as opposed to one of the big chains with their look-alike offerings.
“What was it you had to tell me?” Elise asked once they were settled with their drinks and treats. Her chai tea steamed from a large ceramic mug, and an iced brownie tempted her from the plate at its side. Kevin had chosen a black coffee and a piece of carrot cake.
“If you’re friendly with Will Pemberton, I won’t say anything. I don’t want to spread nasty rumours.”
Elise snorted. “Oh no! I’ve very little good to say about him. Is this something Janet should be worried about?”
“No, I don’t think so. Maybe Carlos… Listen. Keep this quiet, if you don’t mind. It’s not proven, but I know more than what the official records do. I knew him in Montreal. I’d finished my accounting degree and worked for his family’s charitable giving department while he was at university.”
“A charitable giving department? I didn’t know there was one.” This was news indeed. Elise nibbled her brownie.
“There isn’t one anymore. That’s part of the problem.” He picked up his coffee and stared frankly at Elise over the rim. “It’s a sad story. His father, Frederick Pemberton—that’s the F, by the way—is a great man. He came with nothing and built an international powerhouse from the ground up. Started with pennies, is now worth billions. And he’s a nice guy. You’d never know how rich he is from meeting him. He’s down-to-earth, humble, generous… everything Will isn’t. He hired me fresh out of school to work as the department’s accountant. They funded some great projects, like several kids’ charities and lunch programs. I had a rough childhood, and he wanted to help me get started in the world of business. I also specialised in IT, so he thought I’d have a great career ahead of me.”
“I work with a kids’ charity, too,” Elise commented, but encouraged Kevin to keep going.
“Things were great until Fred Pemberton decided to step back. He thought Will was ready to start taking over the business, and let him get his feet wet with this organisation. It… it didn’t go so well.”
Elise cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“Money disappeared,” Kevin sighed. “Lots and lots of money should have been there, and then wasn’t. Will was using the funds for the charities to pay for his fancy lifestyle. Suddenly there was nothing left, and the whole department shut down. All those kids’ charities lost their funding. No more tutoring services, no more lunch programs. Just all gone.”
“Oh my God! But wasn’t there some sort of audit? There has to be official oversight on these things. Surely he’d be caught.” She had thought Will unpleasant, but this was horrible. How could he have done something so awful? Bastard!