Morgan hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. “Mr. Henderson called about an invoice he received yesterday. For additional photography that was never done.”
Richard’s face remained impassive. “And?”
“And it has my digital signature on it, but I never approved it.” She scooted aside so he could see. “I’ve never even seen this document before.”
“Hm.” Richard stepped closer, studying the invoice. “System glitch, probably. Or someone in Accounting used the wrong template. I’ll look into it.”
“Mr. Henderson wants an explanation today,” Morgan said. “He sounded pretty upset.”
“I’ll handle Henderson,” Richard replied dismissively. “Are you heading to lunch?”
The abrupt change of subject caught Morgan off guard. “Yes, I’ll be leaving soon.”
Richard nodded slowly. “Well, don’t be too long. We have the Parkside presentation this afternoon.”
“I’ll be back before then,” Morgan promised, gathering her purse and phone.
As she headed for the elevator, Morgan couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that Richard’s response to the fraudulent invoice had been too casual. And he’d never asked her if she was headed to lunch, he usually made her stay back and work during lunch.
Fifteen thousand dollars of unauthorized charges with her signature on them should have elicited more concern from her department head.
By the time she reached her apartment, Morgan had decided to speak with an attorney. She needed to protect herself if someone was using her credentials to approve fraudulent charges. The question was who to call? Corporate law wasn’t exactly her area of expertise.
Kane was already waiting when she arrived, a small toolkit and equipment case beside him.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Morgan said as she unlocked her door—double-checking that it had indeed been locked this time.
“No problem.” Kane followed her inside, immediately surveying the space with a professional eye. “It’s a good layout for a basic camera system.”
While Kane worked, Morgan preheated the oven, made a pot of coffee and popped her pre-made batter from the fridge into the oven once it was hot enough. The mini-muffin cups would cook much faster than a full loaf ever could.
Her mind kept returning to the invoice issue and Richard’s strange reaction. Should she mention it to Archer tonight? He seemed to have connections—maybe he knew a good attorney.
“So how’d you meet Bullet?” Kane asked as he mounted the first camera in a corner of her living room.
Morgan handed him a mug of coffee. “He helped me out of a tight spot with my ex. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time. And he did tell me his name was Archer.”
Kane nodded, accepting the coffee with a grateful nod. “Ahh, so you’ve gotten past some of his defenses. He’s a good man. One of the best I know.”
“You’ve worked with him a long time?” Morgan asked, curious about this connection to Archer’s life.
“Years. Since our military days,” Kane confirmed, returning to his work. “We’ve been through a lot together.”
As the oven chimed, she pulled out muffins and offered some on a plate to Kane who quickly inhaled half the batch.
“Archer invited me on the Sunday ride last weekend,” she said, setting the rest of the plated muffins on the table. “It was a great time, and I really enjoyed meeting Viper, Hawk, and Diesel.”
She paused, watching him. “He mentioned you usually go too. Everything okay?”
Kane paused for a split second, then gave a small nod. “Yeah. Just had something unexpected to take care of.”
Morgan tilted her head, testing the waters. “He doesn’t really talk about himself much.” She offered a casual smile, but her eyes were searching. “You’ve known him a long time—has he always been so... guarded?”
Kane’s expression didn’t change, but there was something thoughtful behind his eyes. “Let’s just say Archer’s not the type to let people in unless he’s sure they’ll stay.”
Morgan wanted to ask more, to glean whatever insights she could about the mysterious man who had become so important to her so quickly. But her phone chimed with a text from Richard:Where are you? Henderson called again.
“I need to get back to the office,” she said reluctantly. “Will you be okay to finish up here? I can leave a key with you.”
