He took another drink from his cup and strolled out of the room. He was going to have to keep an eye on those two. This was the second time he’d caught them gossiping about his relationship. Technically, they’d been gossiping about Cassie this time, but their conversation hadn’t spoken highly of him or his father.
His assistant was already at her desk when he got there. “Good morning, Mr. Masters.”
“Good morning. Could you join me in my office?”
Stephanie stood and followed him inside.
“Close the door.”
Stephanie did as he asked, then turned to face him.
“What can you tell me about Christine and Sandy.”
“Christine Johnson?”
“Tall. Dark Hair. Wears red lipstick all the time.”
Stephanie nodded. “Christine Johnson. She’s been working here for about a year. Decent worker. Doesn’t call off much. Her team lead seems to think highly of her. Why? Is there a problem?”
Instead of answering her, he asked another question. “What about Sandy? I think her last name is Green. Around my age. Blond hair. Usually wears it in a bun.”
“Um. She’s been here a while. At least three years. She’s quiet. I don’t know much about her to be honest.”
She hadn’t been quiet this morning in the break room. “Let me know if you hear anything, okay?”
“Sure.” Stephanie paused. “Did you need anything else?”
“Yeah. Can you bring me the Campbell files? I want to look over them again.”
“Will do.”
As soon as he was alone, Jesse logged into human resources and searched for Sandy Green and Christine Johnson. One of the advantages of his position was he had full access to all employee files.
It didn’t take him long to read over their files. There wasn’t much beyond the basics found in any employee file. Name, date of birth, hire date, work history. There weren’t any write-ups for either of them. On paper, they seemed to come to work, do their jobs, and go home. They didn’t excel, but they did their jobs without much supervision.
Jesse logged out of HR and pulled up his email. He was clearing out his inbox when there was a knock on his office door. “Enter.”
Stephanie walked in with a stack of papers in her hand. “The files you asked for.”
“Thanks.” He took the papers and placed them on his desk. “I think that’s all I need for now.”
She smiled and left his office, closing the door behind her even though he hadn’t asked her to. Stephanie was a good assistant, and he was lucky to have her. He hadn’t discussed the mess he’d found in one of their biggest accounts files, but she’d picked up on the fact something was wrong.
It only took him an hour to find what he was looking for in the Campbell files. He cross-referenced them with what had been processed for payment and sure enough, they were different. Not by a lot, but enough that if the same error occurred repeatedly, it would add up to a significant amount of money.
This was the fifth account where he’d found a similar error, and he still had at least twenty more he wanted to go over. He scanned the relevant documents and printed off the corresponding report, then tucked them in a file in the bottom drawer of his desk.
His father needed to know about this as soon as possible. He’d found too many inconsistencies for it to be a coincidence. The whole reason the previous manager and his assistant had been let go was due to accounting errors, but this didn’t feel like an accounting error to him. This felt deliberate.
After spending the rest of his day crunching numbers and rechecking the work of his managers, Jesse was ready for a more relaxing evening. He would have loved to spend a quiet night at home with Cassie, but his mother would have his head if he called and canceled.
Cassie was at her desk when he walked off the elevator. Her head came up when she heard his footsteps, and a smile graced her face when she saw him.
Warmth spread through his chest as he came to a stop in front of her desk. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She pressed her lips together as if she were trying to keep a secret.
“Ready for tonight?” His dad’s voice startled him. He’d been so focused on Cassie, he hadn’t noticed his dad coming out of his office.