Page 55 of The Money Man
“That was before we discovered her problem was the tip of the iceberg in what appears to be embezzlement on a large scale.” Tully could be annoyingly perceptive. It was that damned FBI training in reading people. “She isn’t familiar with how far people will go to protect their money, especially if it’s acquired illegally. You and I are.”
“You got that right.” Tully didn’t let up, though. “You know what happened the last time you mixed business with personal.”
Anger shook Derek. But he wasn’t pissed off at Tully for poking into his private life. He was furious that Tully would suggest Alice was anything like Courtney. “This is totally different,” Derek said through clenched teeth.
“If you say so, partner, but you nearly worked yourself to death after she gave back the ring.” Tully shook his head. “I don’t want to see you go through that again.”
“I won’t,” Derek snapped before he shifted the conversation back to the relevant topic. “You didn’t tell her about Ted Murval.”
Tully leaned his chair back and put his boots up on his desk, his legs crossed at the ankles. “Do you want her more worried than she already is? I’m going to make sure KRG takes all the pressure from here on out. You have to trust me on that.”
Derek give Tully a hard look. “I trustyou. I don’t trust whoever the hell is behind BalanceTrakR.”
“Okay, what gives?” Dawn said after the server at Winenfood took their drinks order and plunked bowls of nuts and olives on the table. “You never want to go out drinking on a Saturday night. You claim it’s too noisy.” Her eyes narrowed, making the sharp angles of her face stand out. “Wait, does this have anything to do with that software problem you told me about?”
Alice almost hugged her friend for giving her the easy way out. After spending an hour concentrating on refining Myron Barsky’s portrait and creating John Peters’s visage, she’d felt less unsettled. Which was odd, seeing as she was pointing her digital finger at two possible criminals.
But it had directed her thoughts back to business and away from Derek’s hands and mouth and body. And their imminent absence.
So Alice nodded. “It’s about the BalanceTrakR software.” She glanced around to make sure no one was seated too close to their table before she said softly, “You know the discrepancy I found in your books, Natalie? Well, it wasn’t a mistake. It was theft. The software stole that money from you.”
“Are you kidding me?” Natalie looked more puzzled than upset. “Why would they bother to steal $3.37? Seems like a lot of trouble for peanuts.”
Dawn held up her hand. “That’s what I said but Alice thinks they’re doing it to everyone who has the software, so it adds up.”
“You know about this?” Natalie asked Dawn, doing that elegant eyebrow arch that Alice envied so much. “Anyway, it would take a hell of a lot of ‘everyones’ to make it worthwhile. How many people did they sell it to?”
“Seven in Cofferwood that I know of,” Alice said. “And we’re not exactly a thriving metropolis.” The truth was that Natalie’s point echoed her own nagging sense that she was missing something.
“It was all that free booze at the presentation,” Natalie said. “It affected my fellow business owners’ judgment. No offense, Alice, since I know you approved it. You couldn’t have known.”
“None taken,” Alice said, waiting as the server delivered their drinks. But guilt still clawed at her. She picked up the copper mug that held her Moscow Mule and raised it in a toast. “Here’s to friends drinking together on a noisy Saturday night.”
Dawn touched the moisture-beaded neck of her Stella Artois against Alice’s mug, while Natalie said, “A virtual clink from me. This Manhattan glass is too full and I don’t want to spill a drop.” She took a careful sip and set the glass down. “All right, let’s hear your story.”
“You’re not going to believe this but yesterday I flew to Texas on a private jet. With Derek Killion.” She told them about her strange excursion, except, of course, for the return trip. She even glossed over the whole lunch outing, making it sound as though she and Derek had discussed the BalanceTrakR situation and nothing more.
“So now I have some kind of security team following me,” Alice concluded.
Dawn scanned the room. “It’s got to be the guy sitting at the table in the corner alone. He’s pretending to read a book but he keeps looking around.”
“Nope,” Natalie said with a shake of her head. “He’s the electrician from Northville whose wife left him after he gambled away their kids’ college funds.”
Natalie knew everything about the locals, thanks to the beauty parlor gossip. She took another sip of her drink. “It’s the two women at the table near the door.”
“How do you know?” Alice asked.
“Because I recognize everyone else in here and not a one of them would make a good bodyguard, except Dawn.”
“Me?” Dawn made a face. “I’d make a lousy bodyguard.”
“I’d trust you with my life,” Alice said. “You’ve got the moves and the muscles. And your self-defense coaching has made me less terrified. I feel like I might have some chance of escaping.”
“At least you realize that it’s better to escape than to try to fight,” Dawn said, but she looked pleased. She took a swig of beer and studied the two women Natalie had mentioned. “I think you might be right. I’m pretty sure one of them is wearing a gun under her blazer.”
“Can you see it?” Alice asked, resisting the urge to swivel around to look.
Dawn shook her head. “It’s more the way the fabric wrinkles. Something’s under it.”
