Page 29 of Crude Heir

“I’m fine.” She pulls out a chair. “I normally read when I’m at home.”

Yes, I remember seeing her reading app. She had a bunch of novels, the covers showing men in open shirts. I glance in her direction as I pull off the sticker holding the wrapper. Maybe I should have taken a closer look at the books she’s reading. I might get another surprise out of her.

“Or work?” I remind her.

“I don’t have too much of a chance for that now.” She pops open her drink. “That’s why I stay late whenever I can.”

“If the power hadn’t gone out, would you still be at your computer?”

“Likely.”

Seizing the opportunity to get some answers, I dangle the one carrot I’m sure she’ll go for. “I could set you up on my laptop so you can work for a while.”

Nicole perks up. “That would be fantastic.” I push back my chair, and her lips part. “Derrick. You don’t have to stop to do that now.” Then she bites that lower lip.

Even if I’d been okay to wait until after I eat, there’s no way that’s happening now. I stride over to the coffee table, needing the distraction. Otherwise, there’s only her and me sitting together, her lips parted like they were the last time she called out my name.

Scooping up my laptop, I carry it back with me. “I’ll create a second profile for you.” I can’t have her snooping around my folders where she might see a side of herself she never expected.

Her face brightens. “I hope I’m not causing you too much extra work.”

“Not at all.” I complete the setup for her up then slide the laptop in her direction. “In fact, you can show me what you’ve found once I finish checking the system.”

“Sure thing.” She takes a bite of her sandwich then calls up the portal to sign into the system. “Is the link you sent me still good?”

“Give me a second to reset your profile.” I log in and take care of giving her the access she needs. “Your password is Stormynight911, all one word, with a capital S.”

The storm continues outside as Nicole dives into the payment software while I scroll through my phone. After a while, I pick up the delivery bag full of discarded wrappers and toss it into the kitchen garbage.

“Would you like another drink?” I think back to when she was at home. “I also have coffee and water.”

“I’ll take a water, please.” I grin to myself, enjoying the way please sounds coming from her lips. “Are you ready for a run-through?” she asks, as I set the bottles on the table.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I scoot my chair over to look at her screen as she explains what she’s reviewing. We go from one division to another, all the way from surveys to production. The cost of electricity alone is enormous. By the time she’s done, I’m overloading on information.

She winces. “I know that’s a lot to throw at you.”

“It is.” I sit back in my chair as she takes a drink. “But you’re sure the issue is in South Texas?”

“I already checked the Midwest, Wyoming, California, Oklahoma, and West Texas. I’m going through the spend for South Texas now—or I’m trying to. There’s just so much more in this area that I feel like I’m not making headway. The best I can do is tell you the issue happened this year.”

She scrolls through the database, line upon line, upon line of costs. “You’ve done a lot of work on this.”

“It wasn’t as bad at the beginning, but when they started keeping tabs on what I was doing, well…” She makes a whooshing. “I’ve had to do everything in stolen moments.”

That’s even more impressive.

“I’ve been volunteering to run errands because I can justify a half hour here and a few minutes there. But I’m always afraid that if she goes back to audit, she’ll find some gaps when I punch out.”

“Why are you doing this on your own? Is it because you don’t know who to trust?”

She turns thoughtful. “I brought what I found to my supervisor, but she said I was wrong. The comptroller reviews the accounts regularly, and he’s found nothing out of the ordinary. So, going forward, I was not to be wasting company time on it.”

“What exactly is a comptroller?”

“A comptroller is responsible for overseeing that all the accounting practices are done correctly.”

Even though I have a suspicion of who it is, I still ask, “So who is the comptroller for the company?”

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