Page 26 of Santa Baby Maybe
He blinked. “What?”
“Money is being embezzled from the company,” I said frankly. “I started to get suspicious when our orders were increasingly going up, but from a cash perspective we weren’t bouncing back like we should have. I had a lockdown on all expenses going out the door so I started looking harder. And I found it.”
Wes dropped his face into his hands. “Who would do…” He quickly stopped himself and looked at me.
Then he fell back into his chair as if resigned. “That son of a bitch. He’s determined to take us all down.”
“I don’t have proof,” I said to be clear. Even though he knew what conclusion I’d reached, as we’d had conversations in the past about what kind of man his father was. “To definitively declare it’s your father. I’m making conclusions based on who would have access to the accounts where the money is being embezzled from. In addition to who has motive. But I would have to do an audit of his financials to determine where he’s putting the money if you wanted to file charges.”
“Damn right I’m going to file charges,” Wes said, his hands clenched. “I’m tired of playing by his rules. Now he’s going to play by mine.”
“I’m sorry, Wes. I know this must be hard.”
“You have a crappy father too?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t have a father at all. Crappy or otherwise. But I have a mother who I don’t have the best relationship with and it’s not easy. Not easy to not get along with a parent.”
He shook his head and looked out the window. “I don’t have any problem not getting along with my father. He is not a good man and his behavior doesn’t even surprise me anymore.”
“If it’s any consolation, he’s not hindering the company’s comeback. It’s slower than I would have liked, but we’re doing it. We’re digging out of the red and setting up for a very strong first quarter next year.”
Wes laughed. “High-end ornaments. Who knew?”
“Not me,” I said with a huff. “I thought she was crazy when she pitched the idea, but really she’s got quite a head for business. Not at all who I thought she was.”
Wes gave me an assessing look. “Yeah, you seemed to peg her pretty early.”
I grimaced. How many times had Joy faulted me for the same thing? “She reminded me of someone. I think I tarred her with the same brush.”
“Ex-girlfriend?”
I shook my head. “No, my mother.”
“Ah, mommy issues. It’s all starting to make sense.”
I frowned. I didn’t havemommyissues. “My mother is, to this day, a very free spirit, which translates to never staying in any one place for very long. Or any belief that money is a necessary requirement in life. I grew up never really knowing where I was going to go to sleep that night. If I was going to go to school or not. If I was going to eat that day. I didn’t adjust well to it.”
“I’m sorry,” Wes said.
I shook off his pity. It hadn’t been easy but I’d overcome all of it. Her idea of homeschooling, which included my making hemp products for sale. Her idea of an adventure, which was running from cops because she didn’t have a license to sell her products. Her idea of stability, which could mean a motel room for a month, maybe two if I was lucky.
“Joy’s creative but she’s not a flake,” Wes stated, interrupting my memories.
I nodded. He was right. “I’ve come to learn that. She’s also very keen and has a mischievous sense of humor.”
Wes turned, looked back at the tree and laughed. “I get it. She bamboozled you into putting one up. Nice work. You know she’s also single.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Should you be encouraging intracompany fraternization?”
“I’m not sure what that is, but I’ve known a lot of people who’ve worked here together who ended up dating. I’ve never done it myself, of course. And I’ve been engaged since last December. It’s just how it goes sometimes. You meet someone and it clicks.”
How it goes. Indeed. “I told you the type of woman I’m looking for. Joy matches none of my requirements. Other than intelligence, obviously.”
“You don’t want someone who is fun?” Wes asked.
“I want someone who wants the same things I want. I doubt that’s Joy.”
“How do you know until you ask?”
