Page 36 of His Impossible Heir

“I invited them to share breakfast with us, so we could discuss everything together,” Daniesh told her.

“That’s wonderful!” she replied, looking up at him. Then she looked at the others. “His chef is uh-mazing!”

Everyone chuckled and she suspected that they were laughing at her, but Amanda didn’t care.

Daniesh led the way into the dining room where a buffet of delicious scented foods was simmering on the ornate sideboard.

“Please, help yourselves,” Daniesh announced, gesturing towards the buffet.

“Ladies first,” Matteo urged, gesturing for Amanda to serve herself.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling up at the man. She heard a soft growl, turned and realized that Daniesh was glaring at the Spanish Adonis. Amanda swallowed a giggle, and kissed Daniesh lightly before grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and fruit.

Sitting down at the table, she was amazed and impressed as she watched the four other men load up their plates. Picking up her fork, Amanda felt tiny compared to the men around her.

“What happened with the police yesterday?” Daniesh asked as soon as they started eating.

A servant stepped into the room, pouring hot coffee for everyone.

“The detective we spoke with, a guy named Detective Leymon, said that he wasn’t dropping the charges against Ms. Thomas, but he would look into our claim about the embezzlement issue.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Daniesh snapped.

Matteo sipped his coffee, nodding emphatically. “We agree with you. However, we showed him evidence of Mr. Burrow’s cooked books. We don’t have copies of his bank statements, so we’re not exactly sure where he kept the money. But since he was in Paris, we still aren’t sure about his other connections or if Burrows-Sullivan was a member of an organized crime syndicate.”

“What about the wife?” Amanda interjected. “Did Burrow’s wife know anything?”

Levi shrugged. “The wife flew in on a private jet, which is owned by The Levinthall Group.”

“I know that company,” Amanda announced, cradling her cup as she sat up straighter in her chair.

Four sets of eyes turned to stare at her so she continued. “The Levinthall Group offered me a really good deal to take over my accounting needs.” She concentrated, thinking back to the emails she’d exchanged. “I think the person who called me was named…” she bit her lower lip, trying to remember. “Chad! Chad…Burton. Yes, that’s it,” she leaned forward and braced her forearms on the table. “Chad Burton tried to convince me that he could save me a fairly ludicrous amount on my taxes.”

“If Chad Burton is part of the Levinthall Group, then they were going to swindle you,” Levi sighed.

Matteo’s dark eyes were hard and concerned as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the dining room table as he lightly held his cup of coffee. “They start working with companies, offering their services for extremely discounted rates, usually less than half of what a legitimate, reputable accounting firm would charge,” he explained. “From what we’re piecing together, they then make up the difference by embezzling funds through fake vendor invoices. The invoices start small, but grow if the clients don’t question their reports or the billed amount. And the people working for Levinthall Group are charismatic and charming, quickly gaining the trust of their clients to the point that they don’t ask questions.” He sighed and sipped his coffee. “That’s all we’ve been able to figure out so far.”

Sian, the quiet, brooding member of the group, spoke up. “Once we figure out why Burrows was here, we’ll fly back home and ferret out the rest of the pack of hyenas,” he asserted. His lilting Irish accent should have made the words sound melodic. Instead, the statement was delivered with a hard, merciless tone.

Deep down, Amanda suspected that Mr. Byrne was a very good, very kind man. But she doubted that the rest of the world got close enough to see that side of him. The very fact that he was here, ready to fight for her, to protect her, warmed her and she smiled gratefully at him.

“What is your plan in that regard?” Daniesh asked. His tone pulled her attention away from the angry Irishman.

Levi smiled, but there was no warmth to his eyes as he said, “We only have the beginnings of a plan, but we’ll keep you informed. Suffice it to say, there will be no one left in the organization to swindle anyone once we’re done with them.”

Matteo and Sian both nodded, their jaws tight with determination and anger.

Amanda glanced over at Daniesh, wondering how he was taking their comments. But before she could say anything, the butler stepped into the room.

“I apologize for the interruption, Your Highness,” he said, sweeping a polite glance over the rest of the table, including them in his apology. “However, Ms. Thomas’ lawyer has arrived with news.”

Daniesh nodded and quickly picked up his napkin, wiping his mouth as he rose to his feet. The others did the same.

“We’ll get out of your hair,” Levi announced. “But if we have any more information, we’ll–”

Daniesh stopped their departure with a simple lift of his hand. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you join us in the library? I suspect that this has to do with Mr. Burrow’s death and I’d like you to explain what you just told me to Amanda’s lawyer. It might help to get the charges dropped.”

“Of course,” Matteo replied, bowing slightly with his head. Amanda suspected that the head bowing was the maximum courtesy to Daniesh’s title that these proud, powerful men were willing to offer. The three men were impressive, but each had a simmering fury just underneath the surface of their polite demeanors. Unfortunately, none of them offered any additional insights into what had caused that anger. She didn’t think that it had anything to do with the embezzlement.

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