Page 9 of The Money Man
“I see.” Alice took a sip of her iced tea while she considered the fact that he wasn’t foisting her on his partner so he could bail. She was also giving herself time to recover from that darned smile of his. It wasn’t the full-on, master-of-the-universe flash of dazzling white teeth that got to her. It was the self-deprecating dimple that sent a wave of longing rippling through her body.
“Not to mention that I failed to find the problem.” His lips curved into a rueful slant. God, she wanted to know what they would feel like against hers but she never would. Men like Derek Killion didn’t kiss small-town bookkeepers who wore glasses and looked intelligent. “I’m hoping Leland can restore the honor of KRG Consulting.”
She could feel her bones melting under his charm. Soon she would become a puddle on the red vinyl cushion. She braced her spine. “Honestly, you’ve done me a favor.”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How so?”
“I thought I was losing my ability to add and subtract. You’ve restored my faith in my work.”
“Never doubt yourself,” he said, his expression turning serious. “You are quite brilliant at what you do.”
His words flowed into her and sealed up the cracks in her professional confidence. “Thanks. You’re not too shabby at financial analysis yourself.”
Alice silently blessed the waitress who arrived with their food. The distraction allowed her to absorb Derek’s compliment without doing something stupid like bursting into tears or grinning from ear to ear, two equally possible reactions. That’s how great her relief was.
Of course, what she did was multiple levels of complexity below what he did, but she would accept the validation with gratitude.
As their server slid the plates onto the table, Derek eyed the mountain of his hamburger with dismay. “Can I get a forklift to eat this with?”
Alice laughed, albeit with a slight quaver, and took a bite of her frittata, watching as the urbane Mr. Killion wrestled with Nick’s oversize creation. He finally decided to cut it into quarters and managed to take a bite without splattering anything on his immaculate white shirt.
“Now that’s a burger,” he said after swallowing.
“I warned you.”
“You have to see a hamburger like this to believe it.” He maneuvered a second bite into his mouth.
She liked watching him manipulate the food with his big, square hands. She’d expected elegant, tapering fingers. Instead, his seemed made to chop wood or lay bricks. She could also imagine them controlling the reins of a high-spirited team of horses. And that was as far as she would allow her imagination to go about what his hands could control.
Once he’d eaten some french fries, he said, “Tell me about the BalanceTrakR software. How did you hear about it? What made you decide to use it for your clients?”
“Some trainers at Work It Out were talking about an upcoming event at the Lipton Hotel a couple of towns over, where you would get free wine, beer, and munchies if you listened to a presentation.” Work It Out was the gym where Alice exercised with her personal trainer and friend, Dawn Galioto. They worked out, practiced martial arts and self-defense moves at Dawn’s insistence, and talked a lot. “It’s ironic that the trainers there are always looking for free booze and food, since they advocate a healthy lifestyle to their clients.”
Derek’s eyes narrowed in agreement as he chewed another bite.
“When they said the presentation was about accounting software, I got interested. A couple of my other clients had heard about it too so I figured I’d go check it out.”
“And get some free wine?” His tone was teasing. An odd thrill ran through her.
“I can be bought.”
“Good to know,” he said with a wicked little gleam.
She cleared her throat. “Anyway, the guy who gave the presentation was named Myron Barsky.” She thought for a moment. “He was a classic nerd. Black-rimmed glasses that he had to keep pushing back up his nose as he talked. Jeans and a wrinkled button-down shirt and sneakers.” When she’d shaken his hand before the demonstration, his grip had been weak and his greeting slightly monotone.
But when he’d gotten up on the stage, Barsky had projected a surprising authority. His pride in his product seemed to energize him so that his voice took on a deeper resonance as he strode back and forth across the raised platform. A couple of women she knew had even speculated about his marital status.
She shrugged. “Barsky gave a good presentation and you’ve seen the software. It’s user-friendly, has some innovative features, and integrates seamlessly with other systems, like payroll, tax prep, credit cards, and bank accounts. And the cost is surprisingly reasonable. After checking some references, I recommended it to three of my clients.” She gave him a wry look. “Hard to believe, but one company was still doing their books on paper, so I wanted to bring them into the twenty-first century.”
“I’ve seen worse at large corporations. People don’t like change.”
“Eventually, seven of my clients bought BalanceTrakR, some entirely on their own. I took several webinars to get up to speed and converted them all to the new system. It looked great until that first issue showed up.” She balled up her napkin in her lap. “Now I wonder if I jumped into the new program too quickly.”
“Don’t beat yourself up.” Derek dabbed a french fry in ketchup. “The truth is that we don’t know for certain that it’s a software bug. I just can’t see any other explanation right now.”
“I agree, which is why I feel responsible for recommending that my clients buy a bad accounting package.”
He held up his hand to stop her self-castigation. “The discrepancies are very small and Leland will figure it out. In the meantime, tell me how you got into being a bookkeeper.”
