Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“The red flag for me is definitely the operating expenses, which seem inflated based on the breakdown of monthly costs we were given,” Simon said, a frown pulling down his brows. “Something isn’t right. I want to hire a forensic accountant to look over all the financial records so we have a clearer picture of what’s draining the capital so quickly.”
“Agreed,” I said without hesitation, because our firm would be the one taking the biggest hit on any financial mismanagement at GalvaTech.
Simon hesitated. He wasn’t one to hold back speaking his mind, so this uncharacteristic pause made me a little uneasy.
“I think we need to keep this between the two of us for now,” he said carefully. “No one at GalvaTech should know we’re looking into this. Including Morgan.”
His gaze was direct and knowing. I’d told Simon about my one night with Morgan, but the fact that he’d singled her out now told me he was somehow aware of my current non-business relationship with her, which I hadn’t mentioned to him.
“You know about me and Morgan?” I asked cautiously.
He leaned back in his chair. “Remember when you forgot your phone in the conference room when you were in the office last week, when you went to grab us dinner from the deli down the street? She texted you four times while you were gone.”
I glared at him. “You looked at my phone?”
“I wasn’t snooping,” he said, sounding offended I’d even think such a thing. “It kept going off and distracting me while I was trying to review the proposal from that health food company we’ve been considering. I just glanced over and saw her name on the screen multiple times, and I may or may not have seen part of her texts to you.”
I expected judgement from Simon, but his expression remained neutral. But if I recalled correctly, those messages she’d sent while I’d been out grabbing dinner had been…sexy enough to be incriminating.
“Okay, fine,” I admitted. “I’m seeing her. But it’s not affecting the job.”
“Then you won’t have a problem keeping this from her.” He held my gaze. “None of the Starlings need to know about our concerns until we have some definitive answers.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “Morgan has nothing to do with this.”
I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I knew with absolute certainty that she’d never compromise the integrity of her family’s company.
“That might be the case,” Simon conceded, his voice firm but not accusatory. “But it doesn’t change anything. We need to wait until the forensic consultant’s results come in before we tell anyone.”
I clenched my jaw, hating the idea of keeping secrets from her. But I understood Simon’s logic, which was frustratingly valid. If someone was embezzling, which seemed to be a strong possibility, it could be someone Morgan knew. Someone she trusted or cared about. Telling her now would be more of a burden on her, because it would be a secret she’d have to keep from everyone, including her family. It was better that she didn’t know. At least for now.
“Fine,” I said, though my reluctance was clear. “I’ll keep this quiet, but this becomes our top priority. I want answers on where the money is going as soon as possible.”
Until then, I’d have to keep Morgan in the dark. For her own good. Even if it went against every grain in my body to keep something this important from her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Morgan
The flight from New York to Las Vegas took six hours, and I spent the entire time wishing I’d booked Liam’s seat beside mine. I’d had full control over the flight arrangements but I’d gotten too caught up in worrying about the optics of it all. Would Jenny and Carlos, the two salespeople accompanying us, suspect something was going on? Would my dad think it strange if he saw the travel information filed with the accounting department? Most importantly, would we be able to keep our hands off each other if we were sitting so close for so long?
About an hour into the flight, while Jenny launched into a passionate conversation about the fish in her saltwater tank, I realized I’d made a terrible decision. She was one of my best salespeople and a genuinely sweet person, but she wasn’t Liam. Meanwhile, he and Carlos were seated directly behind us.
My overthinking and worrying too much cost me six hours next to the man I was getting desperate to spend some alone time with.
Luckily, Liam didn’t have the same problem. He’d insisted on handling the hotel reservations himself, and when we arrived, I discovered why. He’d made sure we had adjoining rooms.
Any concern about how that might look evaporated the moment we stepped off the elevator on our floor and walked down the hallway side by side. He gave me a quick, private smile full of promise as we unlocked our doors to our suites. I hadn’t even made it a few steps inside when I heard the unmistakable sound of him unlocking his side of the doors separating our rooms.