Yeah, she’d spent hours working on his books. Josie’s professional smile relaxed into a natural grin. “Good luck today, Mr. Trenton.”
“The magic is all in the swing, Josie. All in the swing.” The man nearly skipped down the hallway toward the elevator.
To have that much energy so late in life would be a true blessing. She kept her smile in place until the elevator door closed to whisk the elderly technology genius away.
Eyeing the clock, she flipped open the file for Larson Corporation, a fancy name for a local convenience store. Her fingers danced over the calculator, and she frowned. The receipts were exactly thirteen thousand dollars off. Now that was an unlucky number.
She added again.
Yep. It looked like the store made thirteen thousand more dollars than the payables showed… but there wasn’t any leftover cash. So was the mistake with the receipts, or was there money missing?
Her calendar dinged from her computer.
Time to go. She grabbed the blue file off her desk and hustled to her boss’s corner office for their regular Monday morning meeting. Eli Johnston was waiting for her behind his massive cherry wood desk, his circa 1980 tie already askew. He gestured her to the one empty seat.
She sat and her heart sank at the large man filling the other seat. It figured her main competition for the promotion would be there. Just what she needed. “Hello, Daniel.”
Daniel Mission nodded, shoving his designer glasses up his nose. As always, he appeared in control and unruffled, his Armani suit tailored perfectly to his hard body. A body earned playing basketball and working out in the building’s gym.
“How’s Trenton?” Johnston leaned his impressive bulk back in the chair. About fifty with rapidly thinning gray hair, he reminded her of a pit bull.
“Great. The audit went fantastic, all ducks are in a row.” They’d turn the notes into the IRS and Trenton would have another smooth year. Why the hell was Daniel present for the meeting? It was supposed to be strictly routine.
“Good. Good.” Johnston’s beady eyes narrowed. “Rumor has it you spent the weekend at the police station after two men died in your home.”
Talk about not mincing words. “Rumors are right.” She’d married a soldier, a killer. One who’d apparently been spying on her for quite some time. Embarrassment at her own stupidity heated her face. Her smile faltered, and she glared at Daniel.
He shrugged, brown eyes revealing nothing. “We have enough PR problems right now. Keeping secrets is always a bad idea.”
Daniel played basketball with Tom, and the two men seemed to get along well. Unfortunately, both Daniel and Josie were up for the vice president position for the branch, and Daniel apparently had no problem playing dirty. He must’ve gotten the news from Tom.
Johnston cleared his throat. “Just keep it out of the business, Josie. You know we can’t handle any more bad press.”
Yeah, about that. She tapped the file. “I’m still doing research, but I think there’s a discrepancy with the Larson Corporation account in addition to a couple other accounts.”
Johnston frowned. “What other accounts?”
“Davis Bakery, Agers Hardware, and Hall’s Funeral Home.”
Her boss’s nostrils flared. “Okay. What are the discrepancies?”
Josie shrugged. “I’m not sure. The assets aren’t lining up with reported income. My guess is Billy just lost track of the math. It’s probably something simple. I found one place in the Hall file which reported a lump sale where it was really spread over several months. Easy to fix.” She flipped open the file. “I wish Billy had left some notes on his dealing with them. I’m sure it’ll all make sense.” Billy had been their accountant and main contact with the specialty shop until the previous month—though she’d been assisting him.
Daniel leaned forward. “If the files are too much for you, I can take them over. You’re going through a difficult time personally right now.”
Josie bit back a retort. The man was just too handsome and charming. Clients loved him. She didn’t. “Thanks, but I’ve got it.”
Daniel shrugged. “I’m settled with the files I brought over from Salt Lake and can take on more if necessary.”
Josie forced a calm smile. The accountant hadn’t hidden the reason for his transfer three months previous—he wanted the vice president job. “My files are covered. Though you could always seek new clients in the area.”
A slow smile tipped his lips. “I just signed the Snowville School District. So, yeah, good idea.”
Darn it. That was a great client. She forced a chuckle. “That’s awesome. Congratulations.”