Chapter 1
Mid-May
Anna ran her finger down the spreadsheet on the screen as she thumbed through one printed invoice after the next. Of all the clients she’d had in her five years as an accountant, Leeman’s Travel Agency had been the trickiest to train. Time and time again she’d sit down to find that the digital receipts didn’t line up with the bottom line. After pulling out the stack of paper receipts, Anna would find the problem. Add-ons that were penned onto the bottom of the invoice, never to make it into the spreadsheet that did the math for them.
But today…today for the first time, the numbers were there. Everything was accounted for. And the bottom line matched upbeautifully.
She closed her eyes to enjoy the euphoria that rushed through her at a job well done. On their part and hers. She, the agency, and their staff were in perfect harmony at last.
A buzz sounded from her phone. She’d silenced it before walking into the agency, but that didn’t stop the small noise from grating against her nerves. She froze, gulped, and said goodbye to the moment of temporary bliss. In the world of numbers and math, Anna knew how to fix things. If she did the math right, itcouldn’tgo wrong.
People were more complicated than numbers.
With a shaky hand, she reached into her bag and curled her fingers around the small device. She didn’t drag it out of the dark just yet. Instead, Anna closed her eyes and prepared herself for what she might see. It was from Wren, no doubt. Which personality would come out today? The paranoid accuser, the cruel diminisher, or the cunning manipulator? All under the guise ofboyfriend, one that—as hard as Anna tried—she could not escape.
A knot of nausea rolled through her gut as she tugged the phone from her bag and set it facedown on the desk. It buzzed again.Please, Lord, help me get away from him.
“We’ve got a live one, folks,” a voice boomed from the desk across the room. Todd’s desk.
Anna glanced up to see a couple of well-dressed men seated across from Todd.
“You two know how to travel in style, boys,” Todd crowed. “A private jet, every accommodation we offer, and freaking upgrades to the hilt. I want to be friends with you guys, not gonna lie.”
“Everyone wants to be friends with the Italian Stallions,” one said.
The other barked out a laugh as the two bumped elbows. It took her a moment to realize they must be twins, or at very least brothers. Each had more hair than they knew what to do with. The dark, wavy length grazing their cheekbones. It suited them though.
The text, Anna. Get the text.
Yet just as she considered doing that very thing, one of the well-dressed men put his hand up in a wide wave over his head. She stared blankly at the sight as it hit her. He was…waving at her.
She forced her eyes down to her phone and flipped it over. The action awoke the device enough that it displayed a sample of the text.So, you’re flirting with meatheads now? Jared says he saw you at the gym…
Fear gripped her heart with two tight fists, a demonstration of what she’d be met with at home. The extra coat of makeup barely hid evidence of his last explosion.
The trill of a light whistle pulled her attention back to the room. The guy who’d waved at her still had an arm in the air, eyebrows raised expectantly.
“Me?” she squeaked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.Mousey brown,that’s what Wren called it.
“Yes,” the man said, a grin pulling at his lips. He was handsome in all of the obvious ways, but pompous enough to squelch any attraction she might have for him.
“How about we make this a trip for three instead of two? On me.”
Her eyes went wide. What kind of sick offer…
“No, no,” he blurted, shaking his head. “Not like that. Nothing inappropriate. We’re not into weird stuff like that. I just…” He puffed out a sigh. “Money’s never been an issue for us. Neither has a demanding work schedule, not a day in our lives. And when I saw you over there…something told me that you’ve spent a good chunk ofyouryoung life behind desks tapping out figures.”
She had.
“So much,” he continued, “that you’ve never booked even one flight out of here for yourself.”
She hadn’t. Anna sat there, blinking like a baby deer stuck in the headlights.
“Am I right?” he asked.
Her heart pumped out an extra beat as adrenaline kicked through her. Was she actually considering it? She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“You’re right,” Todd assured from behind his desk. “She’s an accountant. She never does anything fun.” He leaned over the desk and lowered his voice. “I wouldn’t waste your breath, boys. She’s damaged goods.”
