Page 82 of Enticing the Fixer

“Ethan Rossi.” Her eyes flash. “He was calling him every day begging him to sell.”

“What about Curtis Bryant?” He’s the one with over 200k in gambling debts.

She wrinkles her nose. “No. He’s too weak. He’s lazy and wouldn’t get his hands dirty. He’s looking for a quick fix for his problems. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but the spoon has tarnished. And he’s up to his eyes in debt.”

So that’s public knowledge. “Preston Quinn?”

She gnaws on her bottom lip and furrows her brow. “I don’t see him doing it either. He might need the money, but he adored Jack. They were friends for years.”

“Could he have gone to play poker and just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Just because Mark claimed Jack wasn’t at his place doesn’t mean he was telling the truth. At this point, I suspect everyone.

“Poker was Wednesday nights.”

“A surprise game?”

“Jack didn’t play surprise games. He was too tight with his money. He wanted to provide a legacy to Kinsley….” She pauses and clears her throat. “And losing money wouldn’t accomplish that.”

“Can you look up Kinsley’s schedule on a specific date?”

“Of course.” She settles behind her desk and brings up the daily planner, landing on the date and time in question. “The color-coded tabs indicate the different types of meetings on her schedule. She had a planning meeting at 9:00 a.m. and a weekly check-in meeting at 10:00 a.m.”

“Did she go?”

“Yes.” Valeria glances up, causing a strand of hair to flip behind her shoulder. “She was out of the office during that time. Her computer updated overnight and wouldn’t come back up. IT sent someone up to work on it. I remember because Carla dropped off a file and knocked over a stack of files, making a huge mess.”

Carla.My hands ball into fists. It all makes sense. She was in Kinsley’s office when the virus was uploaded, and she’s an accountant. That gives her all the opportunity in the world to set up a system to siphon money off the top. If I hadn’t noticed the discrepancies, no one would have been the wiser.

However, it doesn’t make sense that she killed Jack. She has no more to gain from the company being sold than Valeria did when I suspected her.

But the stalking me all the time makes sense. She was worried I’d figure out her scam, so she’s been stuck to me like glue, waiting to see if I’ve uncovered anything. And when I got close, she ratted me out to Kinsley in hopes I’d be forced to leave.

That’s not happening. I’ll bring her down and end this once and for all. Right after I secure the other side of the equation. I’m not leaving the board hanging over Kinsley’s head.

Chapter Forty-Three

Kinsley

The overwhelming scent of potpourri and roses tickles my nose when I step into the flower shop. The bells above the door jingle as Ann and Emma look up from the front counter.

“Hey.” Ann raises her eyebrows and smiles. Her eyes rake over me as if she’s attempting to gauge my level of hysteria. Am I going scream? Cry? Throw things?

I’m calm for now.

“I’ll go to the office and leave the two of you alone. If you need me, I’ll come back in,” Emma says as she walks toward the office.

“Thanks, Emma.” Ann nods. I love Emma, but we’ve never been as close as Ann and I are. But she’d come to my rescue if I needed help.

I lick my lips and lower my shoulders. “Hey.”

“Turn the sign to closed and snap off the front light.”

After following her directions, I walk past the rows of porcelain figurines and other cutesy flower shop merchandise. This place is a little girl’s dream store.

“What happened?’

“He’s a billionaire.”

One of Ann’s eyebrows almost raises to her hairline, which is a feat considering she doesn’t have bangs. “Who’s a billionaire?”

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