“Maybe.”I gave him a teasing smile to lighten the mood.“Or maybe you’re not as mysterious as you think.”
He huffed a quiet laugh, but it didn’t erase the tension in his body.“I’m fine,” he said, almost dismissively.“Just some financial trouble with one of the companies we’ve invested in.Nothing to worry about.”
His tone was casual, but his eyes shifted away from mine as he spoke.It was just for a moment, but it was enough to cause an uneasy knot to form in my stomach.
“Are you sure?”I asked.
“Yeah.I’ll be fine.”
His answer came too quickly, but I got the point and let it go.If it was related to another investment, it wasn’t really any of my business anyway.
“How are you settling back into work at the office?”I asked, changing the subject instead.“Missing Vegas yet?”
His gaze dipped lower, where my blouse was unbuttoned just enough to show a hint of cleavage.“I misscertainthings about Vegas.”
Heat pooled in my belly and I grinned.“Well, I might be persuaded to give you some quality time with me here in New York as well.How about dinner tonight, at my place?”
Going to a restaurant would have been nice, but for now we needed to keep things low-key.And honestly, cooking dinner for him, then spending the night together, sounded like the perfect evening to me.
“Sure.I’ll come by around six.”He hesitated, eyes shifting away again.“But…the rest of my week might consist of some late nights.I’ve got some work to catch up on here and with Simon after being out of town last week.”
There it was again.The tension, the distance, like something heavy was sitting on his shoulders.
“That’s not a problem,” I reassured him.“I’m still going to be here, even when work gets busy.”
“I know, baby.”He brushed a hand along my arm, before something tightened in his expression again.“But I’m wondering, does anyone else besides Parker work late around here?”
The odd question caught me off guard.“Not usually.Everyone’s out the door by six.Parker stays late sometimes, but that’s about it.”
“Just Parker, huh?”he asked again.“You sure about that?”
The intensity in Liam’s eyes confused me, and I frowned.“Yes, I’m sure.Why?”
“Just curious.”He stepped back, shutting down the conversation.“I have to go meet with Simon about that issue I mentioned.I’m not sure how long it’s going to take, but I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay,” I said, hating the apprehension tightening my chest.
He left my office, and I sat back down at my desk.I attempted to concentrate on the vendor list but my mind lingered on Liam’s strange behavior.He’d been distant, distracted, and clearly worried about something he didn’t want to discuss.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the sense that something bigger was going on.And until he decided to let me in, all I could do was wait, trust what we had, and try to keep my brain from spiraling into worst case scenarios.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Liam
The weight ofthe phone call I’d just had with Simon pressed down on my shoulders as I walked into his office.As I sat in the chair in front of his desk, the grim look on his face told me the in-person update wasn’t going to be any better.
“I forwarded you the full report from the forensic accountant,” he said, getting right to the point.“There’s clear evidence of embezzlement.”
My stomach in knots, I opened the email on my tablet while he sat quietly, giving me a moment as I flipped through each document with the swipe of my finger.The evidence was worse than I’d expected…page after page of inflated invoices, manipulated numbers, and money being funneled into accounts designed to hide the fact that it was being siphoned out fraudulently.It had been happening before we ever invested in the company, but the moment our money hit the books, the withdrawals had increased.
Worse, most of our initial investment was already gone.
Simon leaned forward.“Did you find out who works evenings?The timestamps of the transfers always occurred after office hours, which is the only clue we have right now about who is taking the money.”
I exhaled sharply, guilt eating at me as I remembered the way I’d manipulated Morgan into giving me that information.“I think it’s Parker,” I said, hating to admit out loud that Morgan’s stepbrother was most likely responsible.If true, this discovery was going to crush her.
“He’s the only person Morgan mentioned that works late at the office,” I went on.“And last month, he had a problem with my plan to increase the marketing budget because he was concerned about the manufacturing costs.That didn’t make any sense at the time, but if he already knew the money wasn’t there…”
