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“I don’t know.”
“You know if anyone here is in trouble financially?” Leo asked, even more quietly.
Robert grunted, but it was his turn to take a block out of the tower and place it on top. Then it was Leo’s turn. By the time he stood next to the other man again, Robert’s expression looked troubled. He glanced at the team next to them, and Leo held his breath.
“Since Vanessa broke up with her boyfriend last year, she’s asked for an advance on her paycheck three times. I only know because Cora said it to me yesterday when we were discussing the MacMillan party I had to clean up.”
The MacMillan party was a sweet sixteen thrown for a very wealthy family in California. A two-hundred-thousand-dollar car ended up smashed into the MacMillans’ living room, and they tried to blame Goodhew. Robert had to spend two months dealing with the fallout. Vanessa had been the event director for that party, and she’d forgotten to get the clients’ signatures on the release forms. It was a crazy oversight; no one would forget to get the client to sign the most important piece of paper in the contract.
Leo glanced at the team next to them. Ari and Vanessa were watching Mark pull out a block of wood from their growing tower before placing it on top. They were speaking urgently to each other, and neither of them looked happy.
Amelia followed his gaze, then glanced back at Leo. She frowned.
Something was going on between Ari and Vanessa—but would he have stolen the ring to help her financial issues? What was the list of names he’d found under Ari’s laptop? Buyers for the ring and other stolen goods, maybe?
By the time the Jenga game was over, Leo’s mind was spinning. The four winners—George, Gregory, and a couple who worked in the company’s finance department—each won a top-of-the-line smartwatch.
Amelia let out a dramatic sigh as she clapped for the winners, and Leo wanted to wrap her in his arms and kiss her stupid. Instead, he just led her up to their room when the group broke up.
“We have two hours until dinner,” Amelia said as she locked the door behind them and spun around to look over their suite. “Should we check out those papers?”
Leo nodded and grabbed the stack of papers from under the couch cushion. He grabbed a couple of waters before sitting down, then shifted over to give Amelia enough space to slump down beside him. She picked up her tablet and pulled open the browser, fingers hovering over the keyboard as her eyes scanned the paper.
She googled the first name on the list, and a number of listings from various social media sites came up. “You recognize any of these people?”
Leo looked over the list, trying to ignore the heat of her arm against his. He shook his head. “No.”
They scanned the list and looked up a few names, but it wasn’t until the third page that Leo saw something he recognized. “Paul Walters,” he said. “He’s a multi-millionaire who made his money from a gaming app. He threw a huge party for his thirtieth birthday last year.” Then another name jumped out at him. “Barbara Hulme. She and her husband had an engagement party in Barbados.” He flicked through the pages. “These must be clients of Goodhew.”
Amelia leaned back, hands around her tablet. She stared off into space, frowning. “Are they all clients that Ari worked with?”
Leo shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it’s a reasonable assumption.”
“Well, there goes our theory that they’re buyers for the ring. If they’re already wealthy, they probably don’t need to buy stolen goods.”
“Unless they’re criminals. But it’s a pretty long list, and I doubt all of our clients engage in illegal activity.”
“The money must be the budget they spent on the parties Ari planned,” Amelia said, then glanced at Leo. “Don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” he conceded. Sighing, he tossed the papers away. Why would Ari have a list of old clients at the retreat? “He’s got some sort of shorthand notes in front of some of the names.”
“And some of them are crossed out,” Amelia added, peeking at the fourth page. “Is it just record-keeping? Does he just keep track of his projects this way? If so, I’d like to introduce him to a computer sometime.”
Leo shook his head. “There are proprietary systems in the company for that. Besides, the accounts department does the reckoning for the final budget and all the payments. Once the contract is signed, the event directors no longer handle the finances directly. We only get roped in if clients are refusing to pay and the finance department isn’t getting anywhere with follow-ups.”
“So you don’t usually have this information?”
Leo frowned. “I’d be able to access it on the system, but I’d have to go looking.”
“Why would Ari collect it like this? And why would he bring it here?”
Leo shook his head. He was at a loss. It didn’t make any sense.
“Vanessa seemed angry when she showed up in the hallway with Ari. She said something like, ‘I’m not getting involved with this. I’m not messing my job up for you.’” Amelia glanced at him. “Remember?”
Leo hummed. He slumped down on the sofa beside Amelia, which brought his whole side in contact with hers. She didn’t shift away.
Instead, Amelia turned her head to face him. They were both leaning their heads on the back of the sofa, and the pose was oddly intimate. “What if Ari is selling the contact information for all these rich people? I bet their phone numbers aren’t public knowledge.”
