Due Diligence: You Can’t Eat Your Cake, And Have It Too

It had been a very long week. Long month. Long year. Sue was setting up appointments for all their clients at Fancy Valley and the Four Seasons in her home office. A full year had passed since the immediate crisis of the pandemic sent them home, and working separately. Luckily for them the winter had been a harsh one, and one that required a lot of their snow removal services, so they were very busy, and the books looked good. Sue looked out of the window wondering how Duey and Prue were doing with the wedding plans. It was all Duey talked about, she wondered if they would be able to even have their planned dream wedding in the fall. Would people even be able to attend?

She sighed wistfully out of the window next to her desk. She had literally watched the earth sprout buds which grew into flowers, full leaves turn to foliage, then turn colors of golds, yellows and reds, which fell to the earth, and became covered in snow. She was starting to see buds again, and the daffodils were sprouting. How had the year flown by so quickly, but felt so long at the same time? Her thoughts sidled back to Duey and Prue.

Duey was on his fourth vendor of the day, explaining how to use Commercial Investigations LLC’s: My Own Background. He and Prue had found this to be the most effective way to get background investigations completed on their wedding vendors without having to set up an account, or pay for the background investigations themselves. Though a lot of the vendors had insisted the cost be applied to their proposals. Duey was resigned to that fact, and was happy to pay if it meant they had individuals they really liked, and wanted to work with.

The vendor he was currently speaking with was a bakery. While they run background investigations on all their own employees, he wanted to run one on the owner. The owner was being a little shifty about having a background investigation run on him. After about ten minutes of back and forth, Duey had had enough.

“Look Mr. Chefield, we can find another caterer who will abide by this, so if it comes down to it, that’s what we will do. “ Duey exclaimed, completely exasperated.

“Fine, I will go through the background investigation!” Maxwell Chefield answered, sounding equally frustrated.

“Great! Send it over as soon as it’s completed!”

Duey hung up the phone with a sinking feeling they would have to start looking for another bakery, which was unfortunate, as this one was one of Prue’s favorite cake designers.

A few days later Duey received an email with an attachment. It was Maxwell Chefield’s background investigation. Duey pounced on opening and reading it like a hungry tiger. He was three pages in, and noticed something rather odd. After reading so many background investigations he knew the order by heart. Where a Cyber Investigation should have been was three missing pages. What had CI found? He called Maxwell back, and asked if he could please send the whole background investigation. Maxwell, begrudgingly complied. Five minutes later Duey’s inbox dinged, and he read what was on the missing pages. Apparently Maxwell Chefield hadn’t wanted a background investigation completed because he had a Cyber Investigation hit, but also, it revealed a federal embezzlement charge! He had been embezzling funds at a previous bakery before he started his own. The cyber investigation picked up on it where the other criminal searches hadn’t. Duey hadn’t thought to include a Federal inquiry, he just assumed all criminal inquiries were related. Well that was going to crush Prue’s hopes, it was officially time for a new caterer.

Will Prue and Duey be able to find the right caterer for their dream wedding?

Will Sue get to return to her normal office setting in the near future?

Where is Justin?

Find out in the next issue!

Read Maxwell’s Cyber Investigation™ Report