On the way back to her desk, she thanked the gods Devon had been busy most of the morning. Keeping a straight face in front of him was a task that even Cate Blanchett wouldn’t manage. Okay. Maybe Cate would.
Still. Her pulse quickened. Devon had done the right thing last night, just when she had hoped he wouldn’t. What kind of dark twisted bitch had she become? The man wasn’t a bastard. He could have taken advantage of her, but he had said no.
Which was why she needed to figure out who had, in fact, stolen from the company. In her heart, she just knew it couldn’t have been Devon. Why would he have surveillance get her phone records and investigate her? Because he believed she was the thief. Which, only meant, he wasn’t. Her cell phone buzzed but she ignored it. She got her iPad and typed some questions to ask him, adding that seeing the reports would be ideal.
Toby. Her friend Janie worked for Toby. Maybe she had noticed something odd in recent weeks? Was asking okay? Nah, she couldn’t put her friend in the middle of all this. She drummed her fingers on the tablet. Enough people were involved already.
“Still here?” Devon asked, returning to his office from an afternoon meeting.
“I have something to ask you.” She stood and followed him into his office.
He started gathering his things, and grabbed his tablet from his black Louis Vuitton messenger bag. He frowned at her. “I already said no.”
“Oh. No. Nothing like last night,” she explained, waving her hands violently to help make the point. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to see the reports with the fake accounts. Maybe a fresh set of eyes can find something you’ve missed.”
He stopped what he was doing, and tapped his fingers on his desk. “Okay, but I’ll stay while you take a look. It’s confidential information.”
“Of course.”
What did he expect her to do? Run away with the files?
Either way, he gestured for her to come sit at his oversize leather chair, and flicked his sleek large monitor on. Clearing her throat, she sat on his chair, and a thrill of excitement surged through her.
She inhaled, and the woodsy notes of his cologne swirled around her. Focus. He leaned over her to type the password, and she turned her face. A bit too late for that, sure, but getting into deeper trouble just wasn’t in the cards.
The nearness of him, though… She remained still, her palm clenching the arm of the chair. How sad that he didn’t want her…that he had said no to her pitiful attempt at seduction.
“There you go,” he said. Was it her perception, or was his voice a notch rougher? Didn’t matter. Shaking her head, she glanced at the numbers on the screen.
“Were you guys able to find out where the money went?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not yet.”
“Look at the dates and time. They all happened on Tuesdays and Thursdays. At lunch time.”
“Yeah and?”
“This one.” She pointed at one of the small printed numbers. “This transaction happened at lunchtime on Tuesday four weeks ago. That’s when we all had cake to celebrate Toby’s birthday.”
“It still doesn’t mean someone can’t make a click.”
“I know that. Maybe if we ask for footage from that day, we can see if people who would have access to confidential information look suspicious.”
“Doesn’t make sense. If someone from a different floor or outside the company did this, as it’s quite possible, they wouldn’t be at the birthday party.”
“No. But if you attended the birthday party, that clears you 100%. Were you there?”
He threw his head back on the chair and sighed. “I think so. A month seems like so long ago. I can call surveillance tomorrow and ask for the tape.”
“That’s a good start. Meanwhile, I wanna take a look at these some more…”
For the rest of the day, Elena tried hard to concentrate on work. Holly distracted her with a couple emails regarding who she thought Devon’s mystery girlfriend was. The truth burned at the tip of her fingertips, but she decided to type some advice for her colleague to drop the subject. If only Holly knew that kissing Devon wasn’t all fun and games. At least not to Elena.
Devon waited until the end of the work day to bring her the files, which she imagined was why he finally had the time to hover rather than leaving her alone with them.
“Are you done with your chips?” Elena asked, noticing his half empty bag and forlornly digging in hers for the last of the crumbs from the snacks Devon had pilfered from the break room.
Devon put the bag aside and played with his pen. “Yeah.”
