It was a question I hadn’t given much thought to because I’d assumed things were over between us. Now with his declaration hanging between us, I was tongue-tied. It wasn’t like I was afraid of loving a man with a child. I grew up where everyone in the community was family, blood or not. The question was, if I loved this man?
“Are you sure?” I asked, evading the question.
No matter what he said, he’d made it clear how important his son was to him. I agreed with his position on not introducing his son to women with whom he had a sexual relationship who ultimately didn’t matter. Was he telling me that I mattered?
“Tomorrow night, seven.”
I thought about the audit and how Scott said we had to wrap it up.
“I can’t.” His brow rose and I revised my answer. “It’s work. I’ll probably have to stay late.”
“Problems?” he asked.
“I really shouldn’t talk about it,” I said, thinking about all the rules that governed my chosen career.
“Then don’t.” He moved forward, resting his arm on his leg. “But it looks as though you need to get something off your chest.”
Was I that transparent? Truth was, I wanted to talk it through with someone who would understand. Kalen was a businessman and probably understood numbers better than Lizzy. If I talked about it in broad strokes without revealing who the client was, I should still be within the bounds of my contract and accounting rules.
“It’s just, I found something, and no one wants to do anything about it. It feels wrong to say nothing to the client,” I admitted.
“Tell someone,” he offered.
“I would, but the people I’m in contact with most likely have something to do with it or they’re colluding with someone else.”
“How bad is it?”
“Really bad.”
“Do you think the notes have anything to do with it?”
“Maybe,” I said reluctantly. I wanted to believe it was a jealous woman because of the handwriting.
Though I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on that. What would someone gain by bullying me? I was small potatoes. Besides, I’d already asked the questions. What more could I do? My thoughts trailed off as Kalen spoke.
“Then it’s a good thing Griffin’s driving you to work.”
Ideas whirled in my head, competing with one another. I spun my legs over the side of the bed and stood, speaking my thoughts out loud and pacing. “What if it is someone in that department? They’ve heard my questions and they aren’t bothered by them because they’ve covered their trail. Yet, they don’t want me to escalate it to a higher level.”
I lifted my eyes to Kalen’s.
“Who are your suspects?”
I didn’t think when I answered about what lines I was crossing.
“The lady in charge of the department I’m working with and/or her minion.” The little weasel who seemed irritated by my questions.
“Anyone else?”
Scott came to mind, but I didn’t say it. He was far too nonchalant about my findings. But that would mean he was working with someone on the inside. Then again, he had found a way on this audit. It was possible he’d wanted to be there, and not the excuse he’d given me.
“Maybe,” I mused.
“Who?” he asked.
I smiled, enjoying that he was interested in my work. Though I couldn’t tell him everything. Saying this much out loud made me surer that I had to do something.
“There is someone else.” The Money Man. The name on the account that the money had gone into was Money Man LTD as if he was rubbing the flagrant misuse of funds in our faces. Scott had ignored that information as well. It only added to him being a suspect.
The request to send the money had been authorized by Jeremy King, according to the information I’d combed through. However, that wasn’t unusual, considering the wire was being passed off as a distribution. All the distributions were signed off by him.
When I met Kalen’s inquiring eyes, I said, “Someone closer to the top.” I pushed my hair back. “I don’t know what to do.”
Kalen got to his feet. “Tell someone.”
It was my turn to say, “Who?”
“Go as far up as you can.”
I raked my nails over my scalp until Kalen caught my hands and pulled them away from my head. “What if it’s coming from the top?”
His hands, still holding mine between us, squeezed reassuringly.
“Then you’ve lost nothing. They probably already know you know.”
I continued his line of thought. “And if they aren’t involved, I’m alerting them to something that should be taken care of.”
He nodded and brought my palms to his lips. He kissed each one.
“I have to go,” he said, letting go of me.
We’d come so far, but there was still more ground to cover when it came to us.
Before he reached the door, I let loose from my tongue the words I’d held close for far too long.