“Does anyone else have access to your computer that could interfere with or cancel payments? Has that ever occurred to you?” Colette watched for his reaction, studying his brows drawing together in frustration.
Marshall placed a hand on the desk, his mouth flattening in a grim line. “Nope. That’s not possible. I’ve worked with most of these people for almost a decade. I’ve always been the one to handle things on the office side. And Agnes, of course. Everyone here has been here a long time, barring a few newer ranch hands. There’s no way anyone here would do that or even know how to do that,” he said, crossing his arms against his chest and leaning back in his chair.
“Okay. But if someone else had access and made some changes without you knowing, it would explain a lot.” Her eyes widened at the suggestion.
“No. There’s got to be another reason. Grandfather told me you would help reconnect with clients, reorganize the finances, and figure out where I’m getting it wrong.” He tented his hands over the papers, making the piles push closer together. “This stuff is in the past. I need you to help me create a brighter future for the ranch and help me make things better, more profitable. Fix the mess I made when Agnes left. Not re-examine all the ways I messed up.”
Colette’s eyes widened as she watched him lift the stacks she had carefully organized and shuffled them together into a larger pile. No one had warned her that Marshall was so stubborn. He was literally taking her perfectly organized stacks and shoving them together.
You’ll love Marshall, he’s so sweet.That’s what everyone said.
Narrowing her eyes, she collected her thoughts and attempted to think of the best way to tell this man, who was clearly in denial, that there were two parts to this job.
“Could you please stop? It took me a lot of time to organize those files. You’re just mixing them all up.” She didn’t want to get mad at him, she needed to keep this job and impress Clarence King. Her résumé depended on it. She bit her tongue before saying anything she would regret.
“Oh, sorry, I was just… I’m frustrated with all this,” he explained, standing up to separate the stacks of papers, which gave her anxiety as he was not at all organizing them. “I don’t know what came over me. Messing things up seems to be my specialty lately.” He shook his head, stacking the papers into a tidy—not organized—pile.
“The way I see it, if we don’t figure out the problem, we’re just covering it up. And that means any work I do with reestablishing accounts and balancing the books won’t make any difference because bad stuff will keep happening.”
Marshall shook his head. “Leave this old paperwork stuff to me. Any errors are all on me. I took on too much when Agnes left. I made some mistakes and have to account for them. Don’t go around accusing people of stuff. This is all on me. They’re good men and I trust them with my life.”
Colette uncrossed her legs and placed her palms on the tops of her knees. She moistened her lips, then pressed them together. How could she convey to Marshall that it was conceivable that someone else might have interfered with the books? While unlikely, it was possible. Working for other companies in the city, she had seen this type of situation happen.
People made mistakes unknowingly… or sometimes, intentionally. Marshall was foolish to be so trusting.
Agnes, for one, was a person of interest for Colette. “Why did Agnes leave so suddenly? Would she have a motive to leave a huge mess for you?”
Marshall grumbled, shaking his head. “Nope, we are not talking about this. It’s just not possible,” he said. “Agnes retired to Mexico. It happens. She gave us years of loyal service. Loyal. Like all my other employees.” He eyed her as though he were assessing her loyalty. Well, she had only been at the ranch for one day. Marshall needed to chill. She could be plenty loyal.
Colette pulled the Steiner accounts and indicated the notes she had made on her copy of the file. Again, the same inconsistencies in the accounting.
“But look here, you signed off on your payments, did everything right…” She pulled another paper from beneath the scattering of sheets. “And here, it said, payments not received, just a few weeks later.”
“Looks to me like you have a lot of work to do,” he said, pressing his palms on the surface of the desk. “I’ll let you get to it. Let me know if you have any other questions. I need you to help me set things straight in the finance department. That’s your job. I’ve screwed them up enough that I’m scared to mess them up any worse.”
Her gaze followed Marshall as he strode from the office.
Well, that didn’t go so well. Her shoulders sagged as she released a breath. Perhaps she hadn’t communicated well enough to make him have confidence in her abilities.
It was a good thing she knew what she was doing. And she liked cleaning up messes. Because she had her work cut out for her.
Maybe it wasn’t just about righting the mess that had been created.
Part of it might be convincing Marshall he wasn’t a total screw up.
CHAPTER 6
Another busy day, another stunning prairie sunset. Marshall admired the colors as they turned from a bright blue to a soft peach before the sun dipped below the horizon. He had asked Jack to finish up with the last of the chores because he needed a break.
Stewing required a lot of effort.
His conversation with Colette had been on his mind all day. After he had stormed out of the office, he had done his work with only half of his focus.
Colette had bothered him.
Why would anyone on the ranch want to sabotage him?
The thought was ridiculous. Laughable.
