Page 31 of Found By Him

We’re both lost in thought when he finally stops in front of my work, and I turn to face him.

“Call me if you need anything. I’ll see you after work.”

“Thanks, Ian.” I climb out of his vehicle and walk inside, an uneasy dread swirling around me.

I click sendand slump back into my chair.

Rubbing my forehead in frustration, I look back at my computer monitor. Craig wasn’t wrong on Monday. I’ve spent the last two days poring over it, and there was a mistake in my report.

I have no idea how that happened. But based on the files currently saved in the folder, he’s correct. I squint at the screen. I don’t even have the old files to compare to because this is the folder I use, and almost all of them have a save date of yesterday, which means I have no idea what the difference was. Or even where to start to figure it out.

Tapping my pen on the desk, I’m lost in thought when a knock on my doorframe makes me yelp.

I laugh and smile. “Sorry, Mark. I was apparently too engrossed in this report.” His somber expression causes my smile to slip. “What can I do for you?”

He purses his lips briefly. “Can you come to the conference room for a few?”

My stomach drops as I swallow hard. “Absolutely.”

I follow him down the short hall to the conference room. He pushes the door open, and as I step into the room behind him, I meet the menacing gaze of Craig.

I don’t know what this is about, but whatever it is, it’s not good.

Lowering slowly into the chair, I attempt to maintain my composure. I clasp my trembling hands in my lap, forcing my facial expression to be fully neutral. I refuse to allow Craig to intimidate me.

Mark takes the seat next to Craig. He clears his throat as he rolls the chair closer to the table. Picking up a stack ofpapers, he taps them against the table to straighten them. The noise is deafening.

Craig continues to glower at me. Ignoring him, I keep my eyes locked on Mark.

Mark clears his throat one more time before speaking. “Ella, we wanted to talk to you about a few things that Craig has recently come across in reviewing some of your work.”

I cannot throw up.

I nod slowly, not knowing how to respond.

Brow furrowed in disappointment, Mark slides a piece of paper after paper across the table. My shaking hands raise and bring it closer to me. Immediately, I start shaking my head when I see what it is. “No,” is all I can breathe out.

The creaking of Craig’s chair brings my eyes up.

“Yes, Ella. When I found the discrepancy on the budget report, it made me look closer at some of the other things you have been working on. And I felt some of these looked unusual. I have confirmed that these five payments were not made to these companies. And the companies confirmed they never sent these invoices. And you approved all these payments.” There’s a hint in his voice that he’s almost eager, and if I wasn’t sick to my stomach, I’d want to reach across the table and throttle him.

My face tingles as tears fill my eyes. All I can do is shake my head. This cannot be happening. Knowing there’s no reasoning with Craig, I focus on Mark.

“Mark, I didn’t do whatever is going on. I noticed some inconsistencies in expenses and payments a while ago. But I’ve been trying to figure out what was happening so I could present the evidence to you.”

Craig lets out a bark of a laugh. “Very convenient timing, Ella. You expect us to believe you when you only bring this up when you’re caught?”

Anger flares through me. “You didn’t catch me in anything, Craig.” I spit out his name.

“Ella, calm down,” Mark chides.

At that, I cannot contain myself. “Calm down, Mark? You want me to calm down?” I lace my fingers and drop my hands to my lap. “Got it. Please continue with the accusations.”

Mark and Craig exchange a glance. I wait patiently with my eyebrows raised. Under the table and away from their view, I squeeze my hands tightly together to keep myself grounded.

“Well, we’re still investigating. But we feel this suspicion is grounds for immediate termination.”

Fuck.

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