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“You’ve had this list all along?”
“I told you, I never planned to use it. From the moment I saw your name listed on the top.”
“Why not? You had known me all of five minutes then.”
“I’ve learned to spot loyalty and where it lies pretty damn quick. Remember, on the top deck? I told you – ”
“How to spot your rival, and what to do about them,” she finished for him.
“Exactly. And now that we know the rival of Britesmith, and of Myers and Sons, is Hedstrom…we are going to take him down.”
ChapterSixteen
Safe in Beck’s arms, in their nest of hotel sheets and waffle weave, Nora finally let go.
Or maybe their nest was a net, because she had finally, fully taken that leap.
“He asked me to make some transfers between accounts before you arrived. To time it so it hit before the holiday. And to back-date some entries on the books he’d ‘forgotten’ about. Since letting go of Britesmith’s in-house bookkeeper, he’s let an outside firm handle most of the day-to-day financials, filings, AP and AR. But I’ve always run payroll so I’ve had banking privileges and access to the accounting software. I just thought he was being lazy and his usual incompetent self. He can never keep track of passwords, never gets his expense reports in on time, so it’s always easier if I just go in and do what needs to be done so the outside firm can reconcile and close the books on time at month-end.”
These were the things she had had to do for him. The things she wasn’t proud of.
“It wasn’t until he made that announcement at the party. Then I realized he was still up to his old tricks, playing with funds, and that’s why there was no bonus money.”
“And that he wanted your fingers in it, your log-in on the transfer, should anything look sketchy during my first visit to the company.”
“Pretty much.” Hearing it come from Beck, not just her own mind perseverating on it, really sent the severity of it home.
“Did you tell anyone else?”
“I thought about asking Jonah to look things over, he’s an accountant. But instead I…”
She wasn’t about to mention Eli – the one who could never be summed up in a Jewish novelty calendar like her other guy friends. “…I didn’t want to drag him into it. So I emailed your grandfather. Not from my work account, obviously.”
“When was that?”
“It had to be early May? I had come back after bereavement leave, when Bubbe died. It was the first time I had taken any prolonged period of time off, other than random personal days here and there. And he had taken full advantage, apparently.” She grimaced. “I got an Out of The Office auto-reply, but didn’t feel comfortable just writing to the next person on the corporate ladder. So I wrote and mailed a letter to him instead.”
“Grandpa My…he had had a fall. Around that time, and – ” Beck shook his head. “He declined fast. Not his mind, that stayed sharp as a tack. But everything else – surgery, rehab, PT, only to wind up in a nursing home. Months and months of bullshit. I think he just lost the will. “I’m sorry he never…” Beck dwindled, and Nora knew just to hold him.
* * *
It wasn’t until Nora was soundly asleep in his arms, that Alex was able to finish his sentence.
“I’m sorry he never got to meet you, Ruben. He would’ve loved you.”
ChapterSeventeen
“Wow, they weren’t kidding.” Beck returned from answering a knock on the door, freshly-pressed suit in plastic hanging from two of his fingers. “Before start of business.”
Nora smiled over the rim of her Nespresso Beck had brewed to go along with their room service breakfast. “Well, technically…”
They had been mixing business with pleasure all morning. With slightly more pleasure, then a little bit more business.
And a lot more pleasure…all before coffee.
They had spent Friday night and Saturday avoiding work talk, but now it was like they couldn’t get the words out fast enough, sharing ideas, brainstorming solutions, and praising each other’s thoughts on how best to bring Britesmith fully under the Myers and Sons’ umbrella without losing its distinct brand, or any of its loyal employees.
Nora could barely remember the last time she had been so excited about a project. Or, sadly, the last time she felt she had a partner in anything professional or romantic. She knew these were early days, both for the company and for whatever this was between her and Beck, but she couldn’t help but remain hopeful, especially as he seemed to read her thoughts.
