After another couple of very tense minutes, the hum of the rising elevator finally signaled the arrival of their guest. Hailey and Gleason both sprang to their feet and approached the elevator entrance. She tugged at the hem of her blazer. Felt to make sure her chignon was in place.
And then the elevator dinged. She was out of time.
She pasted on a professional smile just as the doors began to retract. Seconds later, not one man but three stepped into the hallway.
Even if she hadn’t seen Alessandro Luque before, she’d have known which of the three he was. The man wore an expensive navy suit and walked slightly ahead of the others. But his demeanor was the real giveaway.
Gleason spoke first. “Mr. Luque, good to see you again.” He shook hands with Eukaria’s chief financial officer, then indicated Hailey. “This is Mrs. Nieland. She’s an excellent CPA—one of our best. She’s been handling your accounts since we lost Frank.”
She stepped forward. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Mr. Luque accepted her offered hand, but he didn’t release it immediately. Hailey fought to keep her smile in place as he studied her with unapologetic scrutiny. His eyes paused on her right cheek, lingering a moment too long.
Her insides began to quake, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—cower. She tried to think of something to say, to break this uncomfortable silence. The words wouldn’t come.
Gleason cleared his throat.
Mr. Luque continued his perusal for another second or two,as if wanting to make it clear that he took direction from no one. Cold blue eyes locked on hers. There was something there she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but he seemed almost pleased. Finally, he let go.
In spite of herself, Hailey took a step backward. The glint in the man’s eyes became more pronounced. But this time, he allowed Gleason to divert his attention.
Her boss waved toward Pendleton Accounting. “Shall we go inside? I know you’re a busy man.”
“Yes.” Mr. Luque punctuated his acquiescence with a single dip of his chin. He allowed Gleason to lead the way.
Hailey found herself in the middle of their entourage. With every step, she tried to shake off her discomfiture. His brazen assessment of her had been unsettling, and now she felt off-balance. She needed to pull herself together enough to function during this meeting.
Please,God. Calm my mind. Grant me clarity.
It was only as they were about to enter the larger of the conference rooms that she realized the men accompanying Mr. Luque had neither spoken nor been introduced. She stole a glance over her shoulder. They’d both stopped just outside the business and now stood flanking the main doors like some sort of security detail. Maybe that’s exactly what they were.
She didn’t have time to think about them now.
Affecting a confidence she in no way felt, she strode to the seat at Gleason’s left hand, placing her directly across the table from Mr. Luque. As her boss opened the meeting, she shot up another prayer for wisdom.
THIS MORNING’S MEETINGhadn’t gone as badly as she’d feared it would, despite its disconcerting beginning. Eukaria’s CFO had listened calmly as Gleason recounted last week’s breach. Afterward,he’d asked several questions about what had been done to correct the situation and what the investigation had uncovered so far. Then he’d shifted the conversation to Hailey’s background and credentials. It had clearly been an interview, but she thought she’d passed. At least, the man had seemed satisfied when he left. Still, she was glad he was gone.
“You did great,” Gleason said as they returned to Pendleton Accounting after seeing their guest to the elevator.
She released a breath. “Thanks. I was certain for a moment there that he was going to insist you reassign their accounts to someone else.”
“It would have been his loss. I have every confidence that you can handle Eukaria and that you’ll do just fine while I’m gone.”
The main doors swished shut behind them, and Hailey paused. “I forgot about your vacation. Weren’t you supposed to leave today? Not that I don’t appreciate your being here for the meeting, but I thought you had a big trip scheduled.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “I was able to switch our flights to late morning. The cruise doesn’t board until tomorrow, so flying in a couple hours later than planned doesn’t hurt anything. And as long as I’m here, I’m going to take care of a few things. Let me know if you need me.” With that, he continued on to his personal office.
Which left Hailey alone in the main area. It was still thirty minutes before her coworkers would start trickling in. Might as well get something done while everything was quiet.
After making herself a cup of coffee, Hailey settled in at her desk. Should she start with Eukaria? By the time she’d finished contacting clients, downloading what she could from recent emails and the cloud, and familiarizing herself with the new laptop, she hadn’t had time to do much actual work Monday—much less go through the box of files Frank’s ex had delivered. Then the accident had totally derailed her. Maybe with the new information and now that she’d had some space from the project, she’dbe able to see whatever it was she was missing. Solving the puzzle of Eukaria’s accounts might not fix her more pressing problems, but she’d take it as a win to mark something off her list.
Armed with caffeine and a determination to get to the bottom of things, she set to work. Time passed quickly, but she barely noticed the office volume’s gradual increase as others began to arrive. Finally, she leaned back and pulled in a deep breath.
Someone was diverting funds. There was no other explanation for it. And based on her examination of older records, they’d been doing it for quite some time. Compared to the overall mess of the original files received from the firm, the diversion was subtle, with relatively small sums disappearing from larger deposits and added to other expenses—barely chump change compared to the kind of money Eukaria brought in—but the cumulative deficit was glaring. How had Frank not noticed? Or had he been paid off to turn a blind eye?
She glanced at the hard copies that had been found at his house. She’d spent a good part of her morning comparing them to the spreadsheets in the system. Or attempting to. They were just as messy as the most recent documents she’d inherited from Frank. Someone at Eukaria was a lousy bookkeeper. Was that on purpose to distract from the more serious issues here?
She raised her head to look over the cubicle wall. The lights in Gleason’s office were out and the door was closed. He must have left while she was focused on her work. A glance at the clock showed it was after eleven. He was probably on a plane right now. A sigh escaped her. She really would have liked to get his take on this.
