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“You know, I quite like spreadsheets. In fact, more thanlike…I’m very good with them,” I said, wandering a bit closer.
“Is that right?” Lachlan peered at me.
“In fact, I double-majored in university. Accountancy is one of my great loves.”
Lachlan stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head.
“And here I thought I was beginning to like you,” Lachlan said with a small shake of his head.
“And since I’m technically the new owner of the castle, it’s probably best that I get a handle on the accounts, anyway, right?” Pleasure bloomed in me at the thought of him liking me, but I pushed past that, zeroing in on the paperwork. I needed a distraction that made sense to me, and when everything else failed, the logic of numbers always lined up for me.
“I suppose…” Lachlan said, leaning back in his chair to study me. “Are you saying you’re keen to take a stab at these?”
“Lachlan, I’mbeggingyou to let me organize this. The mere state of your desk is close to giving me hives. Please, I’m on my knees here. Let me have at it,” I pleaded.
The air grew heavy between us, and I realized that my choice of words was perhaps more suggestive than necessary as his eyes heated. The moment held before he shook his head and took off his glasses, tossing them onto the desk. Pushing back from the chair, he gestured with his hand.
“You really are a knight in shining armor if you can make sense of this.”
“Oh, phew. I thought I was going to have to threaten you.” I held up my dirk, and a grin flashed across his handsome face.
“Why don’t you put that aside?” Lachlan gestured to a small table set next to the desk, and I put the dirk safely down. Once I no longer held it, I realized that I felt momentarily bereft as though missing a limb or something. Odd, I thought, glancing at the dirk, an invisible link connecting me to it.
“What’s the problem?” I asked, leaning over his desk.
“It’s the tours. Based on the persons entering the castle, the money should be higher. I’m not sure if the credit card payments aren’t going through or where we’re losing it, but there’s a significant difference. And the feed for the horses has gone up, so I’m trying to negotiate a new price with a different vendor. Oh, and energy costs are projected to go up, so we’ll need to figure out ways to insulate or use less heat. Or increase the tourists who visit…” Lachlan stopped when I held up my hand.
“Is there anything here you don’t want me to see?” I gestured to the pile of papers on his desk. “And on the computer?”
“No, this is all business. I have a personal laptop in my study in my apartment.”
“Smart,” I said. “Do you care if I just dive in? Like, go through your ledger books? Sort the papers? Update the spreadsheets?” I stopped at Lachlan’s look.
“You want to just…do this? Like well and truly handle this?” Lachlan’s voice rose on a hopeful note.
“Yes, please. But I need to just…” I spread my hands wide over the desk. “Handle it.”
“Are you saying…” Lachlan looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Please leave,” I ordered, and Lachlan was already at the door.
“I’ll check in later,” Lachlan called, closing the door behind him, but I was already lost to a new challenge to tackle. At the very least, this would give me something to do. Plus, it would familiarize me with the finances of the castle, and I might prove to be useful to the business. All in all, this was shaping up to be a win-win for us both. Delighted that I’d wandered this way, I settled into sorting the papers on the desk and making notes while the storm raged outside. Happily content, I barely noticed the passage of time, instead hyper-fixating on the task at hand.
At some point, food and a glass of wine appeared at the desk. I lingered over both, appreciating the gift but, still, the numbers drew me in, and I sighed, happy to finally feel like I was back in my comfort zone. At the very least, this was an area I could truly help in, and being useful always cheered me up.
It was close to ten in the evening when Lachlan startled me from typing my final bullet points.
“Oh, Lachlan.” I held a hand to my heart. “You startled me. I’m just finishing up. I’ve gotten through most of what you asked about, and I’m typing up the last of my recommendations.”
“You…” Lachlan’s eyes darted between the screen and my face. “You’ve finished? As in…found the issues?”
“I believe so unless you have more hidden away?” I raised my arms over my head, stretching the kink from my neck.
“I could kiss you,” Lachlan breathed, and this time when the heat flashed through me, I let it, looking up at him from under heavy lids.
“Why don’t you?” I invited.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
