CHEQUE MATE by Kevin Baldeosingh

Plot Summary 

 The story adopts a chess analogy to address fraud, impunity, corruption, forgery, greed and materialism, ethics and morality, betrayal and classicism among other thematic concerns. Sukiya Chansing is the protagonist in the story. She faces antagonism from her boss, Randall A. Credo, who deliberately tries to fix her and give her away to the police for fraud charges.

The conflict unfolds when Sukiya goes to the bank and is reminded by a teller that she needs a US dollar account for the 5 million dollar cheque she receives from Randall. She goes to the bank knowing that her illegitimate business could be discovered. So, she avoids the branch where she has a savings account for fear that the staff may be familiar with her business. She also avoids bank managers because they can easily notice the disparity between her salary and savings. She knows that if she were dealing with a bank manager, he would easily realize that an employee with a fifty-thousand-a-month salary cannot save 7 million dollars in six years. 

 She has been receiving cheques from Randall but has never noticed that they had peculiar signatures. Last Tuesday, she received a 5-million US dollar cheque from him and she believes it is her fee for helping him draw the contract for selling the methanol plant to a Chinese company. Before receiving this cheque, she had received seven other cheques from Randall: 67,000 in September, 129,000 in November, 82,000 in December, 24,000 in January, 400,000 in April, August, 322,000 in May and 600,000 in August.  She had not taken time to analyze the signing of all these cheques but had been very keen on the figures. She recites the amounts on each cheque and the teller confirms they are as she had called them out. 

The sale of the methanol plant to the Chinese had been very profitable to the company since the contract Sukiya had helped draw had offered the Chinese the plant shares at a price that undervalued them by 50%. The sale had been so profitable that Randall had pocketed a sum of money that made Sukiya's 5 million dollar cheque look like nothing. She is aware that this cheque can be a basis for opening fraud charges for them. Randall confirms that on the books, the cheque is her payment for the methanol plant deal but in reality, it is for keeping her mouth shut.  

Sukiya remembers that the peculiar signatures on the cheques may have resulted from the fact that the process of signing the cheques and other documents had taken the whole morning. That day, they had signed 47 different documents, including the 5 million dollar cheque. She also remembers that his pen had run out of ink while still signing the documents and he had borrowed her 18-carat Tibaldi rollerball pen but had not given it back to her. She does not suspect foul play in this. Instead, she considers it a trivial thing. She suspects that Randall may have given her his cheque due to the confusion that had resulted from the many activities they had performed that morning. 

Sukiya fears that her mistake could expose Randall. She is shocked by her own actions of taking the 5 million US dollar cheque to her local account yet she never made mistakes in all her previous financial matters. Usually, she takes all her US dollar cheques to her Cayman Islands accounts. She flies to Cayman Islands every two months to make deposits and conceal her moves in case someone wanted to investigate her. She rushes home from the bank to check her records and ensure that she does not expose Randall to a public embarrassment or even a legal investigation. On his part, Randall is sure that he cannot be embarrassed or investigated by anyone because he funds political campaigns and his company owns shares in major media houses. Funding campaigns also earns him construction contracts in the prime minister's pet project which entails building city skyscrapers. 

Sukiya is a woman of means. She belongs to the highest class of citizens in Trinidad and Tobago, which is only 1% of all the citizens. Her status as a member of the highest class of citizens in the country is manifested in the story through the fact that she is in a queue for platinum card holders; who are only three people when the story unfolds, she saves all her fifty thousand dollars on every 28th as advised by Randall, has over seven million dollars in her savings account, drives an Audi-Q7, has an apartment where the 1% of the wealthiest population live, has a flat in London; which she is planning to renovate, owns properties in London and Miami, has a private study and dresses as she pleases. 

Things get hot when Randall accuses Sukiya of getting into the habit of signing documents without reading them properly. He goes on to deny having signed the contract when Sukiya points out that his signature appears on the document. He insists that Sukiya had forged his signature since she had written the contract in her handwriting. When she says that even his signatures on the cheques do not match and only that on the 5 million dollar cheque was signed in his normal hand, he reminds her that it is only close to his normal hand. He goes on to tell her that someone in his office (Sukiya) had forged his signature and signed the documents using her Tibaldi pen. It becomes apparent that Randall forged his own signature and wants to use it to implicate Sukiya. He does this to protect himself from fraud charges in case the authorities realized that there was some fraud in the company--"When the storm breaks, I'll be in its eye" (p.108). He is sure none of the documents implicates him. 

On her part, Sukiya suspects foul play and decides to record him on her iPhone. She had put it in her Armani jacket and was recording everything Randall was saying all this while. She tells Randall that apart from recording, her phone also emails. The story ends when she orders Randall to go kneel before her, perhaps in surrender or apology. This ending matches the checkmate situation in chess since the king (Randall), is in check and cannot move. Randall plays the manipulation game and believes he is the best at it (the king of manipulation and forgery) only to be outsmarted and be kept in check. 

Major Themes

Greed and materialism

Greed is when someone wants to have more than they may need. In the story, both Sukiya and Randall want more money and wealth than they may need. She has a flat in London and a condominium in Miami and an apartment in a rich suburb but plans to take over her mother's three-bedroom flat when she dies. She wants more money despite already having more than seven million in her savings account. For this reason, she rejected her mathematical gift and went for law. She believed lawyers earned more than accountants. 

Randall's greed makes him sacrifice the company. He is not bothered that the company will be bankrupt in the next three months. He forges his own signature to steal more money and protect himself from being implicated in fraud. 

Corruption

The media allows Randall to manipulate them by making himself immune to their investigations because he owns shares in every media house. So, he gets away with all his crimes and is sure no one can dare investigate him. The narrator accuses the Chinese company of considering corruption as a normal thing. They consider it part of their protocol in deals like the sale of the methanol plant. Therefore, when Sukiya receives the five million dollar cheque, she suspects it could be a bribe from the Chinese. This cheque also brings out Randall's corrupt nature since he tells Sukiya that it is her fee for keeping her mouth shut about the methanol plant deal.  

Ethics and morality

The community in the story does not prioritize ethics and morality. They contravene the tenets of ethics and morality by looking for money and amassing as much wealth as they can. Sukiya dresses in a way she believes will tempt Randall to trap his reasoning because she believes men are easily sexually attracted to women, especially if they dress the way men like--"But he was a man, and Sukiya wanted every advantage if the meeting turned into a negotiation" (p.105).

The lack of ethics and morality is also demonstrated by the rampant corruption, fraud, betrayal, and money laundering. These evils imply that the community has discarded uprightness and chosen to do anything to get money. 

Betrayal

Betrayal forms the backbone of the story. Randall betrays Sukiya by using her to create loopholes that enrich him and then dumps her since she is no longer useful. After helping him make a lot of money in the methanol plant deal, he fixes her and wants her charged with fraud. Sukiya has been loyal to Randall for all the years she has worked for him and does not deserve to end up in jail for doing what Randall had asked her to do. 

Fraud

Randall and Sukiya know that their activities amount to fraud. They are aware that if they are discovered, they could be charged and imprisoned. Randall tells Sukiya that she could be taken to court but the police in Trinidad and Tobago do not have the requisite knowledge to handle cases for financial transgressions. The methanol deal with the Chinese company also amounts to fraud because the contract undervalues the shares by half the real price. 

Money laundering 

This is one of the major crimes Randall and Sukiya commit in the story. Sukiya regrets bringing her US dollar cheque to a local bank yet she deposited all her US dollars into the Cayman Islands account. Besides, she is disturbed that she does not meet the bank manager instead of the teller who serves her. This means that she had planned to hide all her deals from suspicious people. Randall also keeps his money overseas but fears being hacked into. 

Impunity

It is evident that in the story some people commit crimes and go unpunished because they have some immunity. No one could see Sukiya through the windows because they were painted far darker than the legal limit but she knows the police cannot charge her because she is rich. Randall knows that his company cannot be investigated by news reporters because it has shares in all media houses on the island. At the same time, he is sure that there is little chance for a public embarrassment since every politician is interested in his company's money for pet projects, funding campaigns, pet projects and personal bank accounts. 

Classicism/Social Classes/Social stratification 

The community in the story is stratified into the rich, who are the minority, and the poor majority. It is evident from the queues in the bank that the rich are very few while the poor are the majority. The queue for platinum card holders has only three people while the other one for ordinary customers only had twenty-three when the story begins. The same ordinary customers are responsible for paying for her Audi and other services while she only enjoys the services. Classicism is also demonstrated by the fact that only one percent of citizens lives in the suburb where Sukiya stays. 

Character and Characterization 

Sukiya

She is proud. She wonders why she talks to the teller instead of the manager. This implies that she thinks the teller is too junior to have a discussion with her. She tells herself that the teller is not in her class and that opening a US dollar account would help her get some bonus or promotion. When she looks at the teller, she concludes that the frames of her spectacles were inexpensive. She also concludes arrogantly that the teller does not know how finance works. 

She is mean. She earns enough money to take her father to a private clinic or even send him to Pakistan for a new kidney. Still, she chooses to take him to San Fernando General Hospital where only two dialysis machines exist. Her father eventually dies as a result of not receiving enough attention. 

Sukiya is keen on details. She goes over the spreadsheets three times to ensure that all the data is as it is supposed to be. She never makes mistakes because she ensures that what should be accurate is accurate and what should be inaccurate is inaccurate. She notices that the signatures on the cheques are not in Randall's normal hand. 

Sukiya is wise. She decides to record Randall when she notices his arrogance during the visit to his office to seek clarification regarding the five-million-dollar cheque. This decision helps her outsmart Randall when he sets her up for fraud charges. She also cleverly avoids the branch where she had her savings account because the staff there would be too familiar with her business. Besides, she chooses to deal with a teller instead of a bank manager because bank managers know more about financial matters than ordinary tellers. 

She is opportunistic because she takes advantage of her position to tint her car far darker than the legal limit. She knows that no one will dare question her because her car is expensive. She also takes advantage of being a woman to dress in a manner that attracts the attention of men. 

She is greedy and materialistic since she puts material possessions ahead of everything else. She has a lot of money and material wealth but still wants more. She even plans to inherit her mother's house when she dies. Her main reason for working hard is to amass as much wealth as possible. She rejected accounts for law because lawyers earned more than accountants. Worse still, she preserves her wealth and money instead of spending it on her sick father, who eventually dies because she is not ready to use her wealth to save his life. 

She is hardworking. She joined the company as a clerk and was eventually promoted to corporate secretary. She works so hard in school that she wins a national scholarship that provides money for her university education.  Her hardworking nature also helps her study law and then later revert to accounting. 

She is crafty. When drawing contracts, she inserts clauses that help achieve certain ends or prevent the other party from achieving certain ends. Her craftiness is also evident when she records Randall and beats him at his own game. She also carefully plans her visit to Randall's office to ensure everything goes her way. She knows that arriving late would put her in a position of weakness. So, she arrives on time. She also dresses carefully to attract Randall's attention. 

She is loyal to Randall. She does everything Randall asks her to do. Randall employs her to create loopholes instead of getting rid of them but she has no problem with this. She creates the loopholes without complaining. She confesses before him that she has always been loyal to him. 

Randall 

Randall is corrupt because his company has bought shares in all media houses and funded political campaigns to make him immune to investigations and public shaming. He also gets construction contracts in the prime minister's pet project because he is a major campaign contributor. He also employs Margaret as his executive assistant despite having no formal skills except typing and shorthand because she knows more about him than any other person in the company. 

He is crafty. He forges his own signature to fix Sukiya. In fact, he signs the five-million-dollar cheque in a hand that is so close to his signature. During the signing of the documents, he asks Sukiya to write the cheques. He only signs them but not in his hand. He even asks Sukiya to lend him her pen. He deliberately makes these moves to convince anyone who would be interested in investigating him that Sukiya used her pen to write the documents and forged Randall's signature. He confirms that his intention is to exonerate himself in case anyone wished to know what happened. 

Randall is selfish and mean. He only thinks about himself and how he will benefit from the company regardless of whether the company and the people around him will suffer. He says that his plan is to be in the eye of the storm when it breaks. He only protects himself from the impending worldwide financial crisis. He knows that the company will be bankrupt in the next three months but does nothing to same it or the other members of staff. Instead, he is only interested in stealing and covering his tracks.