“It didn’t dawn on me that you would attempt to set me up since you know relationships are the furthest thing from my mind.”
Rita snorts a laugh. “You didn’t think your matchmaking aunt would ever matchmake for her favorite nephew?”
“Your only nephew,” I remind.
“Exactly,” she says, laughing. She sobers before asking if I’m happy.
“Yes,” I admit. And it’s true. I am happy with Olive. Am I sure of my feelings for her? Am I sure that I can make a relationship work? No, not at all. I’m just not built for relationships, but I’m going to try.
“Well, then, that’s all that matters.”
We finish lunch, and I drop her back at her office before heading back to work myself.
My office door is unlocked when I get back, which is odd since I keep it locked always. “Deb, did you go into my office while I was out?”
“No, Mr. James. I just got back from lunch myself.”
I brush it off, thinking that maybe I was just distracted as I left the office. It only takes thirty minutes of work for my mood to fall down to the gutter. The Billings account still isn’t straightened out like Sam promised. My desk phone rings, and I growl in frustration at the interruption.
“What,” I bark, instantly feeling bad when I realize it’s my assistant Deb.
“Sorry for bothering you, sir. Miss Trembolt is here to see you.”
I glance at my calendar and don’t see an appointment. I wipe my hand down my face, not wanting to deal with another problem today. “Send her in, Deb.”
Miss Trembolt walks in moments later. “Sorry to drop in, Mr. James. I know you’re busy, but this couldn’t wait.”
“It’s okay. What’s so important?”
She carries over a file folder and opens it, then lays it out on my desk in front of me. I look over the spreadsheet on top and look up at her in question before looking at the next page… and the next.
“What is this?”
She rubs her hands on her slacks as if she’s nervous to say what she came to say. “I think someone is embezzling money.”
I look over the documents again and can see exactly what she’s talking about. “How long has this been going on?”
She shakes her head uncertainly. “I’m not sure yet. I’ve gone back six months so far.”
“It looks like whoever is doing this has gotten sloppy recently.”
“Exactly,” she says.
“Who normally runs this report?”
“Vera, but she’s out sick today.”
My eyes narrow in on the dates and amounts. Over seven-hundred thousand dollars is unaccounted for on just this one report. “Who did you tell about this?”
“Just you, sir.”
“Let’s keep it that way. Keep digging for me. I want to know exactly what’s going on.”
“Yes, sir.”
She leaves the office, and I’m on the phone instantly with Sam. He enters my office ten minutes later, looking cockier than ever.
“We have a problem. Someone is embezzling money.”
