Page 18 of Crude Heir

No problem, man.Thanks.

Now I’m left to wait, with the rest of the day looming ahead of me. The office is half-empty, thanks to the holiday weekend coming up.

I should have stayed at the apartment and picked up on the game I was playing last night. But no, I have as much chance of having that distract me as the ambulance that went over the mountain in a fiery ball in the scenario I was trying to get through.

My thoughts turn to Addler. Did he start his hunt after all? I was so caught up with watching Nicole that I didn’t even think about him. I pick up the phone, find Addler’s number among the recent calls, and press the button to call him.

“Hey,” he answers, sounding surprised.

“Hey,” I reply through the static on the line. “Sorry. We’re having a storm up here. Power’s out in North Houston, so I figured I’d check in before things get worse.” The comment is true enough, but not what got me to reach out.

“We’re getting some of that here, too,” he replies.

“Did you go in after all?” I spent some time at that office when we were setting it up. Since they pulled people from all over the country, along with some new people, the group had no cohesion. Hopefully that’s improved over the last six months.

“Yes. I spent yesterday afternoon going over invoices with Elena.” Something about the way he says her name catchesmy attention. “We’re supposed to continue today and maybe through the weekend.”

“Look at you, actually doing work.” I laugh.

He scoffs. “I remember ending up getting stuck with you in a kitchen and doing dishes as your grandmother cracked the whip.”

“Oh man, that’s the stuff of my nightmares, the day-to-day of my childhood.” When you watch television, you get the illusion that all grandmothers shower their grandkids with hugs and cookies. Mine put me to work at the restaurant as soon as I showed up. She spent the rest of the day barking orders like a drill sergeant.

“I spent time running a chuck wagon to my grandfather’s standards, so go shovel that shit somewhere else.”

We laugh over the memory.

“Did you find anything?” I ask, getting to the crux of the issue.

“Nothing so far,” he says, sounding unperturbed. “I checked the list of projects against what you gave me, and everything at this ranch is accounted for.”

So, how is the money being funneled out? “I guess it’s a good thing,” I say with a bit of optimism.

“You’re sure you have money missing?” he asks again.

“Yes. The books don’t add up, but the billing codes changed, so I can’t follow the accounting.” I share what I’ve been told, with an annoyed huff. “What makes it worse,” I continue, lowering my voice, “is that they made the changes at different times, so you check one area, it changes on a certain month. You pick up another, and it’s a different cutoff. You have people who messed up codes along the way, or they moved and didn’t realize the new location was on a different timetable.”

“Oh hell, who thought that up?” he asks, annoyed.

One person comes to mind. “Likely my brother, the all-knowing CEO,” I reply in disgust.

“Have you talked to him about your concerns?”

“I tried, but apparently I should stay in my lane and leave the business side to him.”

“Fuck,” he spits out. “I have Elena reviewing the invoices with me. Why don’t you try finding someone to do the same?”

“Hmmm. I don’t have the de Marco name or the face that had droves of women in line to help you with homework and research and anything else you needed.”

He laughs into the phone, but he knows it’s true. There was a time he coasted due to a lot of support from the female population. But, after a semester at home, he came back different. It didn’t stop the girls from trying, but now he was intent on doing everything for himself. “It’s not like that.”

“You have an admin going in on a holiday and through the weekend to help you review.” I toss in an exaggerated sigh. “Don’t tell me, she’s looking at you longingly from her position on your lap.”

“More like, she looked ready to throw her mouse at me across the conference room table yesterday. And, so far, she’s a no-show.” It’s nice to know not every woman will put up with his crap. “I actually had to call her boss to make sure she hadn’t stood me up—”

“I like her already,” I cut in. “Though I’m surprised our guy down there would put up with that kind of attitude.”

“Nahhh. There’s history,” he admits begrudgingly.

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