Page 18 of Somebody to Save
He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to tell you until I had more concrete information, but a new member of our accounting team came to me earlier in the week. She’s under the impression that there may be missing money.”
My hands dropped loudly onto the keyboard of my laptop, and panic ripped through me.
“What do you mean?” Natalie asked for the both of us.
Andrew cleared his throat and pressed his elbows onto the table in front of him. “Like I said, I don’t have all the info yet, but she said she believes someone’s taking money from our client trust account. I’m supposed to meet with her Monday to go over what she’s found. From there, we’ll probably need to hire a forensic accountant or something.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands. As much as I wanted to spiral and let the anger take hold, this was my business now. Everyone reported to me and depended on me for their livelihood. I couldn’t freak out. “Do we know about how much?”
I looked up to watch Andrew shake his head. “Not yet.”
“Okay, okay,” I said quietly, hoping to buy myself a few seconds to wrap my head around this. “Keep me in the loop on what she’s found. But this information, even a whiff of the possibility that there might be something missing, doesn’t leave this room otherwise.”
“You don’t want to loop in the rest of the accounting department? Rachel or Bill?”
Our Chief Financial Officer and Controller were the heads of that department, and unfortunately, both likely suspects.
“The smaller the circle, the better.”
Andrew nodded in understanding, and there wasn’t much else to say. It was a horrible way to end a rather fruitful meeting, but we started packing up.
I closed my laptop and waved to Natalie, who headed back to her office.
“I have to meet a client for lunch, but I’ll be back later. Want to grab dinner this evening? Maybe invite Aunt Michelle?” Andrew asked.
Fuck, my mind was a mess and probably would be until we figured out what the hell was going on. But that didn’t mean that life stopped moving. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”
“And you can see if your chick is working,” he said with a wink.
Rolling my eyes, I glanced down at my phone, shoving everything else aside, and contemplated my next move. I had her number, which I’d found easily enough now that I knew her name, but I didn’t know how to move forward.
“I know I’m giving you shit,” Andrew continued, stepping back into the room and closing the door behind him. “But I’m happy you found someone. I know you haven’t had the best luck recently.”
Recently, as in the past decade. I’d dated some, but I’d also been engaged once, in my late twenties. Georgia was a beautiful, smart, driven attorney with lofty goals and a kind heart. But she’d called off the engagement and taken a job overseas. She’d told me one morning that she just couldn’t fathom a life with me—it wasn’t how she imagined her future, and she was leaving.
I think she was still working in London, but I’d stopped keeping up with her.
I knew she was married and had two kids. The little I did see on social media made it seem like she was happy, and I hopedthat was true. But since then, I hadn’t gotten close to another engagement. I’d had long-term girlfriends, but nothing that lastedtoolong.
So recently wasn’t all that recent.
“I appreciate that,” I said with a sigh. “Just not sure…never mind.”
“Oh, no. Not never mind.” Andrew sounded excited as he eagerly took the seat next to me. “I’d love to give you some advice, big bro. Let me help.”
Andrew was reasonable and level-headed, so his advice was often helpful. But he was also a ladies’ man. He flirted and fucked and loved every moment of it. Settling down wasn’t on his mind like it was on mine. I’d retired from that part of life he was still whole-heartedly enjoying.
“I’m too old for this shit,” I muttered, and he slapped me on the shoulder.
“I’ve heard your forties are your prime, so you have an entire decade to experience something even better. So, seriously, lay it on me.”
I might live to regret it, but I told him. From beginning to end, leaving out a few key details I wanted to keep just between Addison and me, I gave him the rundown of the past few weeks.
Eyes wide, he leaned back in his chair and scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Well, fuck. That’s a lot. So, now what? Have you reached out again?”
“Not yet. I just got her number, and I’m trying to decide how to contact her.”
With raised brows, he shook his head. I dropped my head into my hands and braced my elbows on the table in front of me.
