Her friend sipped her tea, all the while staring at Elena with a look of amusement. “Sure. Turns out The Devil is quite the Boy Scout. I wonder if he would have done the same if you were an old lady with arthritis?”
“Who knows? He has been surprising me.”
She nodded, and adjusted her glasses. “You seem really happy, Elena.”
Elena paced the floor with her hands perched at her waist. At this point, was happiness good or bad? Could she count on Devon wanting her in his life after they solved the crime dogging his family’s company?
“Thanks.”
Janie lifted an eyebrow. “Have you guys talked about that smile on your face? I’m sure he’s seen it.”
She glanced at the empty chair in his office. He had been at a meeting for the past hour. “We talked about a lot of stuff,” she said in a small voice, and realized how pathetic she sounded. Was she really going to sell herself short on that one? She had wanted him to guide back into sexual mode again…fait accompli. She had promised to help him find the real thief, which hadn’t happened. Well, she had given him suggestions but none of them panned out. As soon as one did… Oh, goodness. She didn’t want to think about what would happen afterward.
Janie glanced at her delicate wristwatch, and made a face. “Gotta go back. Toby’s been asking me to work insane hours lately…”
She stopped pacing and stared hard at her friend. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Anything out of the ordinary?”
“Nah. He’s just weird. Stares at the computer for long periods of time, and then falls back on his work, and guess who has to pick up the slack?” Janie grabbed her tea cup and lifted it. “Talk to you later.”
Elena waved, and returned to her desk. During the following minutes, as she sent out emails and picked up a couple phone calls, her friend’s words stabbed at her mind. He stares at the computer for long periods of time. Devon had told her that Toby was clean, according to his source. How could either of them know for sure?
Acid filled her stomach. Something didn’t sit well with her, and it wasn’t the Panini she ate for breakfast. She pulled out the file from her drawer. The numbers were the same, the amounts the same, the name of the fake accounts… She shuddered. Every account had the letter I in them.
Trying to alleviate her kinks, she cracked her neck to the side. Something wasn’t right.
Elena tapped on the keyboard and tried to make sense of the ideas rushing through her mind. Before long she had a cohesive thread. Quickly, she printed out the reports from the company during the months when the thefts had started. Even though Devon’s printer was virtually soundless, the amount of pages stacking on top of each other got her attention.
Grabbing them, she highlighted reports from other departments. It took her endless minutes to scan the pages, and highlight them. She was on her second cup of coffee when she glanced at the reports covering her keyboard and calendar. And a light bulb flashed bright in her brain.
At last, it was all making sense. Other departments had money coming in…and a few of them had received the same amount from a couple of the fake accounts. Her body stiffened in shock. Coincidence? No way.
The little hairs at the back of her neck stood on end. She needed to tell Devon about her discovery. Waiting… waiting was not an option.
She flicked off her monitor, grabbed a copy and left her office to head for the conference room. Maybe she would find Devon there. He often stayed behind after a meeting to make notes and check his messages.
Inhaling, she opened the big heavy doors.
At the end of the Brazilian cherry wood desk, Imani stood, and quickly stacked sheets of paper. The elegant woman seemed even more imposing in the otherwise empty space.
Imani gave her a half-smile. During their few interactions, the CEO had always been courteous and to the point. “Looking for someone?”
Still, Elena’s pulse accelerated and adrenaline pinged at her fingertips. She held the folder tight against her chest. Would she do it? Hell, her days at her job were numbered, whether she did it or not. And what was the use of learning how to stand up for herself and speak up if she had to ask someone’s permission to do so? Devon would understand.
“Why did you pretend someone was stealing from the company when you were the criminal all along?” Elena stepped toward the sixty year-old African American beauty. “I know you injected the same amount you’ve stolen into other departments.”
Imani raised an elegant eyebrow, unfazed. Rumor had it she had modeled for department store catalogs before going to business school. Though Elena just couldn’t picture her taking cues from a photographer. Or anyone else, for that matter. “How did you find out?”
Elena blinked a couple of times. A part of her appreciated the woman not denying the fact. “It took me a while, but I connected the dots.”
Imani nodded. “Have you told Devon?”
“I came here looking for him. But he isn’t here.”
“No, he is not.” Imani sat in one of the leather chairs and gestured for her to do the same. A sour sensation spilled into her stomach. “Sit down. How about Matthew? Have you told him?”
