Page 82 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“Some. It’s just a lot.”

“Do you want any help?” she asked.

As much as he’d love her help, he needed to do this himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. It was more he didn’t have a clear enough picture of what he was looking for. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m okay for now.”

Without another word, Stephanie turned on her heel and headed out, leaving his office door open.

The office was quiet except for the humming of the air conditioning blowing through the vents. Everyone else had gone home. He was the only one crazy enough to still be there on a Monday night.

Numbers were starting to blur on the page when something caught his eye. He looked over the sheet again and reached for his calculator.

Seven minutes later, he’d rerun the numbers five times and had come out with the same result. The customer had pre-purchased inventory for the year, then when they didn’t use it, had been credited for the remaining balance.

But that’s where everything fell apart. Instead of crediting them back for the dollar amount the pre-paid inventory had cost them that was supposed to happen, someone had credited them for the actual inventory.

He searched his desk for the rest of the customers’ files and flipped through the next three years. The same credit had been applied.

While this explained the discrepancy, at least part of it, these files only showed the credits being applied to the customer’s accounts. The money, and therefore the inventory, should still be with the company. Right?

Jesse picked up the next contract in the customer’s file, but instead of being for the next year, it was for the year after—last year. He went through the entire folder, but the contract for two years ago was missing.

Curious, he reviewed the contract from last year and it looked normal. No credit had rolled over. Not inventory. Not money. The contract started with a credit balance of zero.

It was already eight o’clock and he had no idea where to start looking for this missing contract. He’d have to wait till tomorrow and see if Stephanie had any ideas.

He was logging off his computer when he heard what sounded like a door closing. They had security in the building, but the guard had made his rounds an hour ago and Jesse didn’t expect him to be around again so soon. As far as he knew, they were the only two in the building.

Crossing the room, he poked his head outside the door, taking in the room full of empty cubicles. Everything was quiet. There was no sign of anyone else in the area and the only door in the vicinity led to the stairwell and it was closed.

Jesse returned to his desk, finished closing everything down, and donned his suit jacket. He stored the folder in the bottom drawer of his desk and locked it. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he’d spent too much time looking for the elusive file to take the chance.

For extra measure, he locked his office door behind him before walking to the door that led to the staircase. He glanced inside the rectangular window but didn’t see any movement or anything out of place.

Before leaving, he took a detour to the lobby. The security guard looked up from behind the reception desk as he exited the elevator.

“Wanted to let you know I’m heading out,” Jesse said. “Do you know if anyone else is in the building besides you and me?”

“Not that I know of, sir. The cleaning crew usually doesn’t get here until after nine, but sometimes they’re early. They come through the service entrance, so I don’t always see them right away.”

“Do they typically use the stairwell?”

The guard frowned, realizing Jesse’s inquiry wasn’t random. “They dust and mop the staircase some nights.”

Jesse nodded. That must be what he’d heard. “Okay. Well, have a good night.”

“You, too, sir.”

Jesse waited for the doors of the elevator to close again, then pushed the button for the parking garage.

The parking garage was empty except for his vehicle. He hit the button on his key fob to unlock the doors, and the lights flashed against the concrete.

As he slid into the driver seat, he got a whiff of Cassie’s perfume. He’d driven her to work this morning, then had a car service take her home. The desire to drive to her apartment and spend the night with her wrapped in his arms was almost too much to resist, but instead of doing what he wanted, he maneuvered out of the garage and turned his vehicle toward his condo.

The entire drive home, he was thinking over the contracts, trying to figure out why the credit had been rolled over in inventory and not in monetary credit. It meant the company was holding inventory for the client for years. From a business standpoint, it made no sense.

Every one of the contracts had been signed off on by the previous manager. His signature had been there in black ink. Did he have ties to the client? Or was he using the account to scam the company?

Jesse didn’t know and that bothered him.

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