“That won’t be necessary,” Reed said, taking his probing eyes off me and looking at his assistant.
“Mr. Fuller, we’ve already discussed this. Before we move forward, I need to make sure everything is in order.”
“I’m capable of handling a few simple tasks on my own.”
“Reed–” Her voice was sharp, but her face still held that phony smile.
“That’ll be all, Paula,” Reed repeated, turning back to me as he stood and rounded the desk. The sleeves of his gray shirt were rolled up like he was already elbow deep in work although he told me he usually got there around eight.
“You’re late,” Reed told me as he sat on the corner of his desk.
I ignored the way his perfectly tailored navy-blue slacks hugged his thighs just right. Instead, I defended my punctuality.
“I’m actually five minutes early.”
“Exactly. You used to be fifteen minutes early for everything. I remember you saying how you never knew what would come up, so you made sure to be extra early.”
I didn’t know why it irritated me that he remembered that.
“Well, I’m here now.”
“That’s the only thing that matters. I’m glad you came.”
Paula cleared her throat, reminding me that she was still lingering behind me, although I was pretty sure she had been dismissed.
“So how are we doing this?” I asked, glancing back at Paula since she clearly had something to say about it.
“You tell me. You’re the one doing the big, important investigation,”Reed stated.
“I need unrestricted access.”
“OK, what else?”
“I need financial records and a few employees of my choosing to interview.”
His shoulders quickly rose and fell. “Done.”
“Mr. Fuller, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. There are legal parameters that we have to navigate.” Paula chimed in.
“Make sure she gets whatever she needs, Paula,” Reed instructed without taking his eyes off me.
“Sure,” she quipped tightly.
I didn’t have to see her face to know she was pissed. Damn, was thishercasino?
Paula dismissed herself, and when I heard the door close behind me, I relaxed a little bit. I didn’t know why, because now I was all alone in the lion’s den.
“Well, aren’t we awfully trusting,” I muttered.
“I told you I don’t have anything to hide, Ms. Washington.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
His mouth curved into a smile showing that he was enjoying this takedown a little too much. Pushing off his seat on the desk, he took a few steps to close in on me. I stood my ground, resisting the urge to retreat.
“We shall. Honestly, I don’t even care about clearing Cashville’s name. As you see, the place is packed on a weekdaymorning. Business is good. The only reason I’m doing this is to see you.”
It was a mistake to let him get close enough for those hypnotic eyes and his dark woody cologne to put me in a trance. Before I knew it, he towered over me and draped something around my neck. The current that shot through me when he touched me almost made my knees give out. Why was I doing this again? Oh yeah. I needed my job, and I hated Reed Fuller.
