Page 18 of Miss Treated

Damn. He was so sincere as he looked down at the gray face peeking between his legs, I finally knew the meaning of “swoon.” I’d been better off believing he was a typical rich guy’s son with no depth. But over the last few days, he’d proved my prejudice wrong with his down-to-earth personality and the easy way he talked to absolutely everyone. Now to learn he rescued dogs and had a work ethic which brought him here on a Saturday— Well, it struck a chord.

I’d never had a pet but had always wanted one. “She’s beautiful.”

Smiling, he ran his hand over her silky coat. “I agree. Did you by any chance meet with my father yesterday?”

“No. He postponed the meeting until Monday. Why?”

“He intends to discuss something with you. But I’ll wait until he does.”

Wait, what? “What is it?”

His dimples were annoyingly distracting. “You want a spoiler?”

“Kind of. Yeah.” Otherwise I’d fret over it the entire weekend.

“I’m going to be your right-hand man for the audit.”

“What?”

“I spoke with my father, and we both think this is a great opportunity for me to learn the accounting processes better. Plus, I can assist you.”

Had Mr. Chambers changed his mind and decided to let Dominic in on the real reason I was here? There was only one person I could ask. “I, um, don’t know what to say.” Literally.

He leaned forward, affording me with another whiff of his soap or cologne or whatever deliciousness he put on his body. “I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to it.”

On Monday morning I was ten minutes early for my meeting with Mr. Chambers.

All weekend I’d stewed over the notion of Dominic assisting me, and no matter which way I viewed it, it was a bad idea. I worked better alone. I didn’t have the time to teach him about audits or accounting. And of course, lastly, and admittedly the most glaring issue, was the fact I had trouble staying focused while in his presence.

“Hi, Kelsey, thanks for accommodating the change in time for this meeting,” Gerard started after I came into his office.

“Of course. Happy to. Before I give you my update, I have an important question. Dominic indicated he’s to assist in my audit. Have you told him the real reason I’m here?”

He hesitated. “No. But as COO, he had a point about becoming more involved.”

“It’s one thing to maintain discretion with the people I’m interviewing, but to do so with someone working directly with me would be very difficult.”

“I realize I’m putting you in a tough spot. Perhaps he can sit in on the interviews, and it’ll be enough.”

“Can I ask why, if you want him to be involved, you can’t tell him about the potential fraud?” I might have been overstepping, but Gerard would make my task ten times harder.

He sighed. “Because if anyone is stealing from this company, it would be his aunt. I’m not accusing her, but considering the way she runs the department, I don’t see anything getting by her.”

I tended to agree, but I wasn’t convinced she fit the profile. “Fraud contains three major factors. Motivation, opportunity, and rationalization. Opportunity might be there, but what about the other two?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I come up with a blank. And it’s the reason I didn’t mention her to you as someone I suspected. But it would crush Nic, not to mention my wife, to know I even questioned her.”

“She’s worked here a long time. Why do you suspect it’s only over the last year there’s been an issue?”

“Because she got defensive over the recent costs. And her husband hasn’t been to a family event in eight months.”

My face must’ve shown I didn’t connect the two things because he expanded.

“Sophia first came to work for me in order to pay off a large debt. Only she, my wife, and her husband are aware of the circumstances. Frank Russo had gotten himself in trouble financially. Within two years the debt was repaid, and he’d built himself a thriving business. Sophia stayed on because she was damned good at what she did, and I think she liked the security of having her own money given what Frank had done in the past. The last few months she’s made excuses for him missing family events, but I don’t buy them. I sense an underlying tension reminiscent of when they had issues decades ago. Could be coincidence, could be something totally unrelated, but it makes me think there might be your motivation.”

“I could make some inquiries about Frank.” Proof of theft had to come from within the financials, but finding a motive was also important.

“Through your brother’s contacts, I take it?”