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Hanging up, she looked over at me. “He’s leaving work in about ten minutes,” she chuckled. “He promised to pick up everything that we need.”
One day, I was going to have a husband just like hers; one that supportedallof my craziness.
Chapter 1
Landry~
By the grace of God, I didn’t have a hangover. Rowena’s husband, Mark, had outdone himself last night, bringing us everything that we’d need for margaritas and a good time, and if I could clone the man, I would. There was nothing quite like a guy that supported your crazy and still adored you.
Plus, if supporting our alcohol-is-always-the-answer mentality weren’t enough, he had made sure to pre-order me a coffee this morning from my favorite café just one block from the Jacobi Auditing offices. Again, if I could clone the man, I would.
Pulling the door open to Jacobi Auditing, I ignored everyone around me as I made my way to the elevators. Jacobi Auditing was a financial auditing firm that employed several hundred people, and we weren’t exactly the friendliest or wildest group of people. We were auditors for Christ’s sakes, our solitary personalities making most of us good at what we did.
Now, while I wouldn’t necessarily call myself boring, I was a lot more serious than most people. My father, William Novak, was a corporate lawyer, and my mother, Susie Novack, was a forensic psychologist, so I’d been raised by parents that had instilled a serious work ethic in both their children. My parents had taken their jobs very seriously, and they still did. It was something that I could appreciate now that I was an adult with bills to pay.
My younger sister, Purdie, was lucky enough not to have to work, though I’d argue all day that motherhood was the hardest job out there. Her husband, Thaddeus Stratton, supported his family comfortably as a marketing VP, and by all accounts, it worked for them. They also had two kids, Victor and Sibby, and my sister was always on the go. Like, if her gas card came with frequent flyer miles, they’d all be able to travel the world endlessly.
At thirty-six, I had no kids, no husband, and not even a pet that I could neglect. I had chosen to go to college, live that whole experience, then concentrate on my career after graduating with a degree in finance. After having found my footing in the field with my first two jobs, I had ended up getting hired at Jacobi Auditing six years ago, and I had worked my ass off to have the stellar reputation that I had within the company.
Now, while most people would look at me and think that my life was incomplete because I wasn’t married or had children, those same people could go eat a dick. Yeah, it’d be nice to have someone to rub my feet after a rough day at work, but I enjoyed going home to absolute peace and quiet more. If I wanted to have a peanut butter sandwich for dinner, then I could. If I wanted to sleep my weekends away, then I could. If I wanted to not shower for a day, then I could. Besides, I’ve babysat my nephew and niece before, and I couldn’t imagine having to worry about two little lives twenty-four hours a day like parents did. Again, I didn’t even have a pet.
At any rate, my lack of having a life was another reason that I was so good at my job. Going in early or staying late afterwards was never an issue for me. My flexibility wasn’t an inconvenience for anyone that I had at home, and apart from my stomach getting angry at me every now and again for working through lunch, I really didn’t have to answer to anyone.
It was a very liberating feeling.
As I stepped into the elevator, praying that we’d get no more than four people on this trip, I pressed the button for the sixth floor, then stepped to the side, making room for anyone else that wanted to catch the elevator.
Jacobi Auditing was all nestled safely in a ten-story building with the big wigs taking up the entire tenth floor. Their subordinates lived up on the nineth floor, the eighth floor making up an entire entertainment center for their own private use, and then the remaining floors were made up of our offices, a cafeteria, and couple of break rooms. My boss, Bryant Stanton III, was stationed on the seventh floor with all the middle-management bosses, and I was lucky enough to be stationed one floor beneath the arrogant nitwit.
Taking a sip of my caffeine goodness, I still couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten the job. While I had no desire to be promoted to management, I also had no desire to be overseen by an idiot that needed a calculator to find the sum of two-plus-two.
Okay, I was being harsh.
Nevertheless, the man did not know how things were done at Jacobi Auditing, and instead of trusting us as he learned the ropes, he had chosen to come in here and hide in his office, pretending to know what he was doing.
Now, while I might sound like I was hating on the man, I wasn’t. I was hating on his lack of managerial skills, and I didn’t appreciate the subtle disrespect that he tossed my way whenever I questioned his bad direction.
The elevator came to a stop, and I practically pushed my way out of the metal box, eager to get to my office. Unlike most cubicle-friendly workplaces, we all had our own personal offices because we often dealt with a lot of confidential information. No matter if we were auditing a huge firm or a small family business, we treated their financial information like they were art pieces from The Louvre.
Getting to my office, I didn’t bother shutting the door. I wasn’t going to be here long since Jacobi Auditing had been hired to audit Grandland Hotels for their upcoming acquisition. They were being purchased by Crawford Industries, and Crawford Industries had requested an accounting audit for the past five years. While five years seemed excessive, Crawford Industries wasn’t worth billions because they were stupid. I bet Crawford Industries didn’t have any Bryant Stanton’s working for them.
My phone rang as soon as I set my purse and coffee on my desk, and when I saw the name of the caller, I had to grin.
“Checking up on me already?” I asked as soon as I answered.
Rowena laughed. “Always.”
Rowena Braden was my best friend, and if there was a better best friend out there, I’d argue against it. At thirty-seven, she was five-foot-five of incredible energy. She had red hair, hazel eyes, was as petite as a pixie, and she was psychic. While a lot of people would turn their nose up at such an announcement, Rowena was the real deal, and I didn’t care what anyone thought about it.
She and I had become best friends five years ago when her husband, Mark Braden, had hired Jacobi Auditing to weed out some potential embezzlement within is family’s company. As soon as we’d been introduced, Rowena had claimed me as her best friend, dropping her psychic prediction on me without any warning that fateful day.
Like my sister, Rowena didn’t work because her husband was filthy rich. With old family money lining all his bank accounts, Mark worked hard, so that Rowena didn’t have to. However, unlike my sister, Rowena and Mark didn’t have any small children. They had one son, Perez Braden, and he was in college, ready to join the family business when the time was right. However, in a bid to ward off that empty nest syndrome, Rowena fostered animals, and Mark adored her enough to let her.
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “No hangover, though I definitely deserve one.”
“Well, I’m actually calling to warn you of something,” she said ominously, and I groaned as I dropped in my chair.
“What? Am I getting a ticket on the way to Grandland Hotels? Is there a storm coming? Am I going to get caught in a desperate shootout after uncovering that the CEO of Grandland Hotels has been embezzling from the coffers, and he’s not going to go down without a fight?”
