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I put my laptop on the floor then stretched out on the couch, my mind still swirling as I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Amethyst
When the next morning came,I was exhausted.
And exhilarated.
I had looked back through the company’s records for the previous two years and found that same discrepancy.
I’d found others too.
I wasn’t sure what they meant, but the pattern was undeniable, and my gut told me it was something.
I just needed to figure out what.
“Good morning, Carol,” I called to the receptionist, who was also a family friend.
“Morning, Amy,” she responded.
“How’s the ankle?”
I looked down at her propped-up ankle, the air cast looking giant on her tiny leg.
“Two more weeks and I can get rid of this thing.”
“You think you can make it?” I asked.
She leaned forward, her eyes twinkling conspiratorially. “If it means Josh will walk me to my car, I can definitely make it. Might leave it on for an extra week just because,” she said.
I laughed and shook my head, and she shrugged.
“I’m old, not dead,” she said, a bright smile on her thin face, her brown skin wrinkle-free.
“I’m not judging,” I said, lifting my hands defensively.
“Forget judging, you should take that man—”
“Nope,” I said with a firm shake of my head, “it’s not even eight yet. We are not going down that road.”
I waved at her as I headed down the hall.
“We’ll talk about this later, young lady.”
“No, we won’t,” I called over my shoulder.
“We’ll see—” The phone rang, and the switch was instantaneous. “James Industries,” she said in the friendly yet personable tone I’d heard her use about a million times.
She’d worked at the company for decades and had been here when my grandfather had first started the company, well before I was born.
Carol was as close to a mother as I had ever had.
But I wouldn’t let her interfere in my love life—or lack thereof—no matter how hard she tried.
Instead, I made my way to my office, anxious to do some more investigation.
I stopped short when I entered.
