Page 4 of Mr. Billionaire's Second Chance

“You won’t just be reviewing documents either. You’ll be doing more than just looking for discrepancies in their financial reports. I need you on site at their headquarters to monitor the behavior and spending habits of the client’s business partner. Do you think you can do that?”

“That’s not really the kind of thing we do here, Jamie. Shouldn’t that be left up to -”

“I told you these were special circumstances. If you don’t want to go through with it, I can find someone else who will,” he said, frustratedly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“As I said, you can count on me. Now, which company is this for?”

“Kingsman Enterprises.”

I clutched the folder in my hand, focused on the clacking of my heels on the pavement as I arrived at the restaurant. When the doorman welcomed me, I realized it was way too far out of my budget. It’s a good thing lunch is on the firm this time. I thought, walking up to the hostess’s stand. She smiled warmly at me, and I gave her my name as I tried to hide how absolutely terrified I was.

“Right this way, Ms. Hollis.”

The clinking of wine glasses and expensive cutlery filled the room as people in freshly pressed suits enjoyed their three-course lunches. The hostess led me to a table at the very back of the restaurant, and I was quite happy about the privacy. This was the first time I ever did anything like this, and the last thing I needed was for everyone else to see how badly I could mess things up.

You need to relax. Jamie wouldn’t have asked you to do this if he didn’t think you were ready. You’ll be fine. This isn’t exactly what you were hired to do, but it’s going to help you get your foot in the door. You did say you imagined yourself taking Jamie’s job one day once he moved up the ladder. I guess this is the part of the job that gets left off everyone’s resumes.

I barely managed to have a sip of water before I heard someone approaching me. I turned around to see a handsome older man standing there with a gentle smile on his face. It was hard to imagine him as a big business shark, but if there was one thing I knew about New York men, it was that looks were certainly deceiving. I got up to greet him, shaking his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Wolfe.”

“Likewise, Ms. Hollis. It seems we have quite a lot to discuss. Please, let’s enjoy our meal first,” he said, ushering me to sit back down.

It wasn’t long before our waiter brought out my Cobb salad and Mr. Wolfe’s steak. I started to calm down once we finally got to talking. I listened to the way he spoke about his business partner, and it seemed to me like he was a real ass. I finished up my meal, sipping on my water, right before the question came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“Why get into business with someone like that?” I asked. My eyes widened the minute I realized what I’d said, but it was too late. Mr. Wolfe simply laughed, and I sighed in relief.

“He’s my nephew. Step-nephew, to be precise. I promised his father I’d look after him, but much like many of the other rich bachelors in this city, all he wants to do is bleed the company dry for every damn dime he can get. I can’t exactly go to the board with any of this without concrete proof, and I’m sure after he realizes you’re going to be around for a while, he’ll realize this isn’t just an empty threat. The last thing I need is for my step-brother’s company to go south because my nephew thinks he can get away with just anything.”

I sympathized with him, wondering how terrible of a person his nephew really must’ve been to do this all while potentially ruining his own father’s legacy. It felt strange to be so close to this, in a way no other forensic auditor would ever be, but I wanted to help. After hearing Mr. Wolfe’s history, I couldn’t wait to break it to his nephew that he was going to be investigated for fraud. Now I understand why Jamie wanted this done under wraps. Any wrong move and Mr. Wolfe’s nephew might find a way to cheat the system again. There’s no way that’s happening on my watch. Not now, and not ever.

“I’ll help in any way I can, Mr. Wolfe. I’ll get you what you need to fix this,” I said, reassuringly.

“Thank you, Ms. Hollis.”

“Please, call me Katherine.”

I arrived at Kingsman Enterprises with my head held high. I walked right up to the receptionist to show her my credentials and receive a visitor’s pass.

“How long will you be needing this?” she asked, rather unbothered.

“As long as it takes. Please just make sure it works until I won’t need it anymore. I’m going to need your boss to clear his schedule. Tell him Ms. Hollis is here to see him. I’m sure he’s been briefed,” I said.

This caught her attention because she immediately picked up the phone and dialed up to his office. She handed me a pass, and I made my way to the elevator. The entire ride up I wondered what kind of man would do such a thing to his own father’s company, and then I remembered just how greedy these New York corporate types could really be. This wouldn’t be the first time I dealt with one of those.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a man standing there with his creaseless button-up shirt and glasses. He appeared nervous, like he’d just received word of what was happening, and it was quite the sight to see that I wasn’t the only one under an immense amount of pressure.

“Ms. Hollis, please follow me,” he said.

I walked with him all the way to the grand glass-enclosed office where I was left to join the man that was having a rather heated discussion over the phone, but when he finally turned around, my heart leaped up into my throat.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

There he was, after all this time with his button-up shirt sleeves rolled up and that perfect chiseled jaw of his. I hated to admit that he looked just as good as I remembered, and that’s when it hit me. This is the man I’m going to be investigating for fraud. Well, if he’s as bad of a businessman as he is a human being, it won’t be that hard to nail his ass to the wall.

I raised my eyebrow at him, taking a seat across from his desk, as he sat down in his executive office chair. I expected him to be flustered or even frustrated, but he just gave me a cold stare. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that it would give me an immense amount of joy to see him scrambling, but he looked confident as ever and the longer I was in his presence, the more my own confidence began to melt away.

“Katherine?”

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