My heart jumped, but I didn’t get my hopes up.“What if Lucas only feels responsible for me too?”That was my biggest worry.I didn’t want to become another one of his obligations.
“Girl, you got duty on the mind.”
“But he told me he felt burdened for what happened in the past.And, well—” I paused, wondering how much I could tell Cassie and Emma.Oh, hell, they were my friends, right?“How do I explain this?He’s always doing things like always opening car doors, making sure I’m safe, etc.Like I can’t be reliable to do it myself.”
Cassie chortled and patted Valerie’s arm.“Honey, haven’t you noticed?All our men are like that.It’s in their nature.What you call responsibility, I call caring.”
“Of course they care.”Emma waved her hand in the air.“That doesn’t mean Lucas feels obligated to you.Lucas cares for you, and in that caring, there is some accountability.Trust me on that.Asher is like that.”
“In what way?”I asked, trying to understand.
“The first time we met, my boyfriend dumped me at a party.Asher said hi to me but got pulled away, and when he came back to make sure I was all right, I was gone.He told me he felt at fault I left because he got pulled away.I shut him down on that right away.I left because I didn’t belong there.”
“And Marcus.That man tries more often than not to make up for the things my father did.I have to remind him that my father is the only one in charge of his actions.My father was an asshole, and I’m glad he’s out of my life.Marcus is totally different, even if he is a dominant man.”Cassie grinned.
“Okay, I get it.”I did.I glanced at my watch.“Oh my goodness, it’s almost three.”
“We’ve been here a while and probably should get back to the office, or our guys will worry about us,” Emma said, opening her purse.
“True,” Cassie added.
We paid the bill and walked back to the office.I didn’t have any more work to do today, so instead of going back upstairs, I went straight to my car and drove home.
Cassie and Emma had given me a lot to think about, and tomorrow wasn’t going to be an easy day.
* * *
“Good morning, Valerie,” John Boyd said as I walked into his office the next morning.
“Mr.Boyd.”My fingers tightened around the folder in my hand.I hadn’t slept well last night, and that wasn’t a surprise.My thoughts kept chasing themselves around in my brain.I was no closer to an answer about Lucas and our relationship, but I had to put that aside for now.
“Call me John, please.Sit down and tell me what you found.”He gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
“Thank you.”I sat and placed the folder on the desk in front of me.My gut churned, but this had to be done.“I want to tell you upfront this isn’t going to be pretty.In my opinion, if you still want to acquire Rustic, it would be a risk and take more time and money than you might be willing to invest.”
“It’s that bad?”John leaned forward.
“Unfortunately.”I opened the folder and handed him the summary I’d created.“That’s the overview.This week, I found the accountant is embezzling from the company, showing full payments to vendors for substandard material.”
“Not good,” John said, looking over the report.“Not good at all.”
“The accountant is funneling the money to a couple of companies.”I swallowed.The next part was going to destroy lives.I shouldn’t care, but obligations to my employer, the client, ethics, and the law took precedence.
“I see.Did you figure out who those companies belong to?”
“Yes.”I took a deep breath.“Bernard Ray Enterprises.”
“Bernard Ray?Your father?”
“Yes, sir.I had no idea, but I won’t blame you if you want me to leave right now and have another forensic accountant brought in to check my work.”
John shook his head.“Valerie, you come highly recommended.Coming to me with this when your father’s involved tells me you have integrity.I respect that.”
“Thank you.This will be need to be reported to your legal department and the proper authorities so they can take action.”
“Agreed.I’ll call Legal and get the ball rolling.”
“Good.”
