Page 129 of Lush

“A few hundred here, a thousand there. Someone should have raised concern, but it was ignored.” Nathan shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

“Should have,” I echoed. My conversation with Jennie ran through my mind. “This is an inside job?”

“That’s the most likely scenario. The patterns suggest someone with access, someone who knows your accounts well enough to avoid detection.”

I tilted my head, studying him. “Someone like you?”

“If I were guilty, I wouldn’t have brought this to your attention.”

“Fair point.” I leaned back in my chair, the tension in my chest simmering. “So, who’s the most likely suspect? Give me names, Nathan.”

He exhaled, running a hand over his neatly combed hair. “I can’t point fingers without more evidence. But whoever’s behind this has been careful. The amounts, the timing—it’s deliberate with our losses and gains in the market.”

“But if we were losing money when Conrad was here, he must have known this.”

Did he try to stop it? Did he ignore it? If it wasn’t that damn boat he cared about most, his money was the next thing. I was surprised he didn’t know.

If word got out that someone was stealing from me, it would feed the narrative ofReese can’t handle the company. Reese isn’t Conrad.

“I want everybody interviewed. Fire the entire accounting team. Then go through every employee here, anyone who walked into this distillery—family, employees, partners, I don’t care. No one gets a free pass.”

If this was a setup, and someone was playing both sides, I couldn’t let it go on. I was losing money every day, and I couldn’t afford to lose any more.

“Make sure you cover all the bases,” I continued. “I want this bastard’s head on a spike. I don’t care who you need to get involved. If we need to bring in outsiders, make sure they sign an NDA. Just find out what the hell’s going on.”

Nathan didn’t hesitate. “Don’t worry, Reese, we’ll get to the bottom of this. Do you want me to contact your sister? Go over the resort’s numbers?”

“Yes, tell her I sent you. She’s had some concerns as well.”

Nathan scribbled something down, but I barely noticed it. Laurene still hadn’t said much to me since the confrontation inthe gallery the other day. My distillery, Jennie, Laurene, the blackmailer, Conrad. Too many balls in the air, and I was juggling them all, barely keeping up.

“Get me answers,” I muttered.

I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. Nathan nodded and quickly left.

If I didn’t find a way to vent this tension, to release it somehow, I was going to snap.

That’s when I remembered.

There was a gym that had opened up not too far from here. I hadn’t gone back to mine since, well, since everything with Blair and the blackmail started. It didn’t feel like my place anymore. I’d passed it a few times, and honestly, it felt like a godsend right now. Something physical. Something that could match the chaos in my veins.

I moved toward the door, almost without thinking.

“Hold my calls for the rest of the day,” I muttered to my assistant as I passed.

The elevator ride was slow, too slow, like the floors were moving at half-speed, and I couldn’t stand it. Someone was stealing money from us.How could Ihave missed that? Hadn’t I been trying to prove myself to everyone I could lead?

How would this affect my infused line? If they were stealing money, were they leaking secrets?

When the elevator doors opened, I practically stormed out, heading straight for my car, I pulled onto the street, weaving through traffic till the gym came into view.

I parked quickly, my hands already shaking, as I stepped out.

Slayer’s Gym.

Rap music blasted me the moment I stepped inside, along with the rhythm of fists hitting something. It was way different from the gyms I usually went to.

The walls were peeling in places, the floor scratched, and the smell of sweat and metal filled the air. The heavy door slammedbehind me, and I turned the corner into the main entrance of the gym. The lighting wasn’t soft or flattering, just harsh enough to make the sweat gleam off the fighters in the ring, the echoes of punches and grunts reverberating off the walls.

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