AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t stalk women,” Carter spoke.
“Something isn’t right here.” Shaun picked up the phone sitting on his desk. “Ken, I need you to come up to my office immediately.”
“Let me check something else,” I said as I typed away on my phone. “There was another building I was semi-interested in over on Lucinda. But after seeing the photos online, I didn’t like the layout. Yep. Just as I suspected. The price per square foot has been changed.”
“And how do you remember that?” Carter asked.
“I have a photographic memory.” I glanced at him. “Can I tell you, Mr. Kind, what I suspect is happening here?”
“Call me Shaun. What do you think is going on?”
“Your realty department is stealing from you. Do you approve all the final numbers for your buildings before they’re listed?”
“Of course I do. And once they’re listed, I approve the listing. I go over everything to make sure it’s correct.”
“Someone is stealing from you. After you give approval, someone is going in and changing the numbers after a period of time. They’re charging more, collecting the rent, logging it in as the original rent, and taking the extra. Most likely, putting it in an off-shore account of some kind or shell company.”
“You wanted to see me, Shaun?” An older man stepped into the office.
Shaun sat there with his arms folded, staring at me. Then he looked at the man who walked over to his desk.
“It was my mistake, Ken. I had a question, but I found the answer. Sorry to have interrupted your work.”
“No problem, boss.” He walked out.
“My guess is he’s in cahoots with someone in your accounting department,” I said.
“My employees don’t steal from me, Miss Morgan. They know better than that.”
I shrugged. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Tell me why you think what you do?” Carter asked.
“Because I’m a forensic accountant.” I smiled. “Numbers are my thing. They always have been.”
“Interesting.” Carter cocked his head. “An accountant turned bakery owner.”
“Forget about the bakery,” Shaun said. “Come work for me.”
“Excuse me?” I laughed. “I’m sorry, Shaun, but I’m opening a bakery. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time.”
“Then work for me temporarily. Listen, Zoey, I’ll make you a deal. If you come work for me and find out who’s stealing from me and how, I’ll compensate you very well and help you with your bakery.”
“Help me how?” I narrowed my eyes.
“First off, you don’t want the building on Baker Street. It’s not a good location, and two bakeries have already been in there and failed. I have the perfect location for you. It’s a building I just built in Venice next to a coffee shop called Mojo Madness. It’s brand spanking new, and you can do whatever you want to do with it. In fact, my two brothers can help with that. They own Kind Design & Architecture, which is one floor up.”
“It is a really nice building,” Carter chimed in.
“But I don’t want to own a bakery in Venice,” I said.
“Why?” Shaun’s brows furrowed. “It’s a beautiful location, and your business will do much better there. This is what I do, Zoey. I know what I’m talking about. I have no clue who you are, yet I trust you to help me discover what’s happening here. Believe me when I say that you can trust me.”
“But I left my accounting job in Sacramento, Shaun.”
“It’s only temporary,” he said.
“How do you expect me to work for you and open a bakery at the same time?”
