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“It’s definitely a different kind of company,” Emma admitted. “Listen, I’m about to wrap up but I’ve come across something questionable that I wanted to run by you.” She went through everything she found as briefly as she could. “Do you think I should speak to the CEO before I make my report?” she asked when she was done.
“You can. And I would. It’s possible he can find an explanation and documentation for it that you haven’t thought of. But if there’s the slightest whisper of funds mismanagement, you need to report it back to Game Town. It’s not your job to protect FlynnSoft from themselves.”
Emma’s stomach sank. “Of course. I just wanted a second opinion. Thanks for your time, Mark.”
She hung up the phone and gathered some of her papers to take upstairs to Jonah’s office. She hadn’t seen him yet this morning. She tried not to think about what that meant. He’d said a lot about a potential future for the two of them, but she didn’t believe it. Not really. It sounded good; it was the right thing to say, but would he follow through? Or would he chase the next shiny thing that caught his eye?
His secretary, Pam, wasn’t at her desk when she came upstairs, so Emma went ahead and knocked on his door.
“Come in,” she heard him yell from inside.
Emma pushed the heavy door open and slipped into his office. The moment he laid eyes on her, his eyes brightened and he smiled. Jonah leaped up from his seat behind his desk and rushed over to her. Before she could stop him, he swept her up in his arms and pulled her into a passionate good-morning kiss.
Emma tried to untangle herself as delicately as she could. “Jonah, please,” she fussed, straightening up her paperwork and taking a step back.
“No one can see into my office, butterfly.”
“Don’t call me that at work, Jonah. And someone could walk in and catch us together at any time.”
Jonah frowned and leaned back against his desk. “I guess. But what if you worked here?” he asked. “Would you still worry all the time?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well,” he explained, “I told you before that I need a new financial director. From everything I’ve seen of your work thus far, I think you’d be great for the job. And besides that, if you worked for me instead of this pesky third party, you wouldn’t have to worry about the impropriety of it all.”
It was a little more complicated than just that. She’d thought he was only joking when he’d mentioned the job last week. “No, I’d only have to worry about people saying I slept with the boss instead.”
“Well, to be fair you did sleep with the boss,” Jonah said with an impish grin. He leaned in and whispered “multiple times,” like he was sharing a secret.
Emma shook her head. It seemed like everything was a joke to Jonah sometimes. “I’m serious.”
“So am I,” he countered. “I need a finance director and I want you to take the job.”
“I’m not taking the job, Jonah. I don’t like the way it would look.”
“My brother works here. He collects a paycheck and doesn’t do a damn thing. Everyone knows that and no one cares. Nepotism is alive and well in the corporate world.”
“Yes, but if we continue to date, if everyone finds out I’m having your baby... I just don’t like it. You know how I feel about that sort of thing. Reputations are important to me.”
Jonah sighed. “Okay, fine. You won’t kiss me. You don’t want to work for me. I suppose that means you won’t give yourself to me on the conference room table. So tell me what it is that brings you here today, Miss Dempsey.”
Emma ignored his sexual comments and tried not to bristle at his sudden use of her formal name. A week ago she would’ve preferred it, but now things were different. Now she knew he was only doing it to get a rise out of her because he was irritated.
She clutched the paperwork tight to her chest and tried to focus on what she needed to say instead of the dark blue eyes that were watching her curiously. “I’m finished with my audit.”
“Oh, excellent. You’re very efficient, considering how much I distracted you. Does that mean you’ll be free to be seen with me in public? Or do we have to wait for the Game Town deal to go through?”
“Well, the Game Town deal is what I came to talk to you about. I’ve found a significant discrepancy in the books.”
The curiosity on his face instantly faded. His brow drew together with a serious expression of concern that seemed out of place on his face. “What did you find?”
Emma took the pages over to him where she’d highlighted the withdrawal. “Exactly three million has been taken out and wired to this offshore account in the Caymans. I haven’t been able to figure out who it belongs to, but I can’t make any connection to a legitimate business expense or account.”
Jonah nodded, his face unusually blank of its usual emotion or amusement. His gaze simply flicked over the pages as she spoke without really seeming to take in the data. She wasn’t sure what to think, so she continued to nervously prattle on.
“Do you know anything about this? I was hoping you might have some kind of insight that would keep it from looking as bad as it does right now.”
Jonah turned his gaze to her and he nodded curtly. “I do have some insight, but unfortunately, it won’t improve the circumstances. Please have a seat.”
