Chapter 3 - The Domino Effect
Back at the administrative building,
the air was thick with the complacency of a man who thought he had won.
Brandon stood by the window,
sipping a coffee that hadn't been made by me,
watching the harbor with Chloe.
He was talking about his future,
about the stars he expected to see on his shoulders by next year.
Then,
the first phone call came.
It was the base housing office,
notifying him that his secondary allowance for quarters had been flagged for an administrative error.
"What do you mean,
flagged?"
Brandon asked,
his brow furrowing in confusion.
"That’s been locked in for three years."
"I'm sorry,
Commander,"
the clerk said,
sounding genuinely puzzled.
"The private donor foundation that covers the gap has withdrawn its participation.
You'll need to vacate the off-base residence within thirty days unless you pay the difference out of pocket."
Brandon felt a cold prickle of sweat at the nape of his neck.
The "difference" was nearly four thousand dollars a month.
Before he could process that,
Chloe’s cell phone rang.
She answered it with a smile that quickly withered into a mask of horror.
"What?
The entire audit?
On what grounds?"
She looked at Brandon,
her eyes wide with panic.
"My firm's contracts...
they’ve all been frozen.
Pending a full financial investigation by the Department of the Navy.
They’re citing 'conflicts of interest' and 'irregularities in procurement'."
Brandon felt the room tilt.
The procurement officers who handled Chloe's contracts were the same men who had been pushing for his promotion.
They were his friends.
Or so he thought.
He dialed his commanding officer,
Admiral Vance,
hoping for some clarity.
The Admiral's voice was clipped,
devoid of the usual camaraderie they shared.
"Whitaker.
I just received a call from the Pentagon's legislative liaison.
It seems the private endorsement for your upcoming command cycle has been retracted.
Without that backing,
your name is being pulled from the promotion list."
"Admiral,
sir,
there must be some mistake—"
"The mistake was mine,
Brandon,"
Vance said,
his voice stern.
"I was told you were a man of stable character.
It seems there are...
complications.
Clean up your office.
Internal Affairs will be stopping by to discuss the nature of your consulting partnerships."
The line went dead.
Brandon looked at Chloe,
who was frantically typing on her phone,
her face pale as a ghost.
"Chloe,
what is happening?"
he whispered.
She didn't even look at him.
She was already looking for an exit,
realizing that her connection to the Commander was no longer an asset,
but a radioactive liability.
"I have to go,"
she said,
grabbing her bag.
"I have to find a lawyer."
She walked out of the room without a backward glance,
leaving Brandon alone in the office that had once felt like his kingdom.
The silence of the room was suddenly deafening,
broken only by the buzzing of his phone.
Seventeen missed calls from Evie.
He finally realized,
with a sinking horror,
May you like
that the cinnamon rolls weren't the only thing he had missed that morning.
He had missed the moment his world ended.
