Page 58 of Forging Caine

“So good, we almost don’t need you anymore,” said Harry.

Before I could turn around and ask what he meant, I heard a smack. Quinn must’ve been expressing her displeasure with his comment.

“Seriously.” Harry placed his phone face down on the table and picked up his notepad. “With the software upgrades you specified, the workflow changes in both underwriting and claims departments, and the awareness you’ve brought to the entire team about how even our little company is susceptible to fraud—”

“We barely have anything to do,” Quinn finished for him. “I know we talked about it already, but this really is the perfect time for your vacation. Give us a chance to test and see if the reduction in bogus claims is because of the changes, or because you’re so busy hanging over everybody’s shoulders.”

“I don’t hang over people’s shoulders.”

Harry and Quinn’s gazes slowly met. They shook their heads and looked back at me.

“Okay, maybe sometimes.” But I’d been asked to do a job and I was going to do it right. As an insurance adjuster, it often made people’s lives easier if I could meet them in the evenings, so I was used to working around the clock. Plus, it distracted me from Antonio’s absence for the last three and a half months.

“If you really want, when you get back...” Harry paused.

Harry never paused. At least he never paused without Quinn immediately picking up for him. Without looking away from me, he nudged her. They had something prepared. Something she didn’t want.

Matt finally tore his eyes away from the photo. “I’m meeting with the Board just before you get back. Harry, Quinn, and I all agree that my report will recommend we implement a transition strategy. Reducing the SIU staff from three back to two.”

Was one of them retiring?

“Hon, I know your original plan when you moved to Brenton was to only stay until spring. Working in the office is obviously driving you crazy.” Quinn was right, but when she said it that way, I wasn’t sure how to take it. “Cliff wants you back adjusting claims. I want you with us.”

But what did I want?

I wanted to work with Elliot.

At least, I had until Friday. Had too much changed on Friday?

“Is that what you want me to tell them?” asked Matt.

This meeting was not going in the right direction. It was supposed to be about Jimmy. About Roger. About the claims. About the changes.

None of it was supposed to be about me.

I flipped over my watch. Noon. Antonio was expecting me. “I apologize for cutting this short, but I think we’ve already covered everything. Quinn, you and I need to review the claim I have left linked to Jimmy, and I need to be out of here in ten minutes.”

No one argued. Undoubtedly, everyone wanted out of the meeting.

“Matt, I’ll let you know. I need to think.”

Five months ago, he’d told me he needed me in this SIU role if the company was going to survive. I’d met that challenge head-on, and now what? Why wasn’t my chest bursting with pride? No one expected I’d be able to do so much in so little time.

It had to be everything else weighing on me.

I had to get going.The Concert—a painting I’d dreamed about finding for over a decade—might be headed to my doorstep.

So why wasn’t I excited?

Chapter 19

Antonio

IpulledmySUVinto my spot behind the Ferraro’s office. Matt Bellamy of Muse wailed from the stereo about pressure and the expectations of everyone around him. “I feel you, my friend.”

The music stopped as I opened the door, the guitar riffs running through my brain as I walked to the building. Everything was ready at home—including a special surprise for Samantha—so my goals were simple: get in, tell Sofia about Cesca’s desire to visit, and get the portable x-ray machine loaded into my vehicle.

Most importantly, don’t lose your cool. Every time I replayed the conversation with Fiori, the fire in my stomach grew hotter. Hidden motives. Veiled threats. And the ever-present knowledge, deep in my gut, that Fiori was trying to pull me into his organization.

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