by T. L. Reeve
“Shit.” Scarlett pressed her palms to her face. “What have I been missing? How did I not see this?”
“How could you have?” Edward placed his hand on her arm. “You’ve taken to being in the periphery most of the time. Maisie... She’s conniving. According to what I’ve heard from the workers, she’s been banging one of the veterinarian staff members.”
“Fabien?” Dave pressed.
Edward shook his head. "Fabien wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole. He's gay and has a boyfriend, Paul."
Kenny shook his head. “Who’s the part-time lover for Maisie?”
Edward shrugged. “Not sure, but he could also be Samantha’s father.”
All of the blood drained from Scarlett’s face. It was instantaneous and Dave was by her side. Things had never normalized after the accident. While Scarlett had been shunned by everyone, including her parents, Maisie rose to power within the family. She’d sat on the outside and watched the interactions within the family. Maisie thrived on the influence she’d cultivated and now it seemed, it had manifested into authority as well. “Scar, what’s wrong? You can tell us.”
“This is all too much.” She shook her head. “I thought... A small part of me thought the reason Maisie wouldn’t tell us who the father was, had been because of her being assaulted.”
“Now,” Kenny hedged.
“Now, I think my sister is manipulating the whole sanctuary including us.”
Scarlett sat there going over years of incidences at Hearts and Paws. There’d never been another accident like hers or anything major. If she allowed herself to believe her sister had been behind the whole incident with Jäger, then why wouldn’t she pull off something as convoluted as this? But it didn’t explain where the money was going.
“What do you want to do about it?” Edward asked, drawing near her. She didn’t know him well, yet the kindness in his tone and his silent strength warmed her.
“We have to keep digging. There’s no way we can’t. I won’t have the sanctuary’s reputation tossed into the shitter because of one person’s antics.”
Dave went back to his desk and picked up the phone. “I know a person.”
“Who?”
Dave held up a finger. “Hey, Timothy, got a second?” He laughed. “I have something juicy for that brain of yours and a bottle of your favorite scotch if you do this.” He slid his gaze to Scarlett’s and captured her. The twist of his features into that of a predator excited her and scared the shit out of her. “Wonderful. If you’ll come by the office, I’ll give you the full details. Oh, and Tim, keep this secret. We can’t let this one get out, not yet anyway.”
Dave hung up the phone and joined them, just as a knock came at the door. The head of security, Tommy, she thought his name was, entered the office a moment later. Worry creased his brow along with a bit of trepidation. He glanced over at her then quickly deviated his gaze back to Dave.
"Sir, Delores is gone. I made sure she got into her vehicle and drove away."
“Thank you, Tommy,” Dave said. “Is there another reason you’re here?”
“I’d like to apologize for earlier.” Still, he couldn’t or didn’t want to look at Scarlett.
“Which part?” she asked. “The part where you avert your eyes or the part where you came running, even though I was in the right?”
The man frowned. “Both, I suppose.” When he did glance at her, she saw the sorrow in his eyes.
“That will be all,” Dave said.
Tommy nodded.
When the man left the room, Dave blew out a breath. “Sometimes I wonder if leaving my father’s staff in place had been a wise decision.”
“You have too kind of a heart,” Kenny replied. “They see it and mistake it for weakness.”
Scarlett agreed.
“Maybe you’re right,” Dave replied. “Anyway, Timothy will be here this evening to discuss this situation. He’s the best forensic account in all of Colorado and I believe he should go over the books for Hearts and Paws.”
Forensic accounting? Was this happening to her? "How much trouble will I be in if he finds something?"
“None,” Kenny answered, a little too quick for Scarlett’s liking.
“Not that I don’t believe you,” she said, “but, I’d rather hear it from Dave.”
“Depends on what you know and what you don’t.” Dave shrugged. “However, I have a feeling whatever Maisie is doing, she wouldn’t involve you. Hell, she might even think you’re too stupid to look. After all, who’s the one who has kept to themselves all these years?”
She frowned. When Dave put it that way, it made her blood boil. The single question she couldn’t get out of her mind had been, why? Why would Maisie do whatever she was doing? Why did she borrow money and use the sanctuary as the collateral? Why had she lured Scarlett into the enclosure?
“It doesn’t make sense,” she whispered.
“What?” Edward hedged.
“All of it. The loan. My accident. The breeding.” She glanced over at him. “Take your pick.”
“I feel like this could be a trick question.” Edward scratched his head.
“Wait!” Scarlett held up her hand. “What if she’s doing this to set me up?”
“You mean take the fall for all of it?” Kenny paled. “Dave?”
“Not happening,” Dave answered. “She would have had to have signed your name to the contracts and put it into the business account without you knowing.”
"She hasn't." It didn't mean she hadn't opened a separate account or wouldn't try to forge her signature in the future. "What about another account with our name? Wouldn't the bank have to tell me?"
“We’ll have to look into it. When Timothy gets here, he’ll be able to find everything. Do you have all the ledgers and banking information?”
Scarlett nodded. “As far as I know.”
“Then he’ll start there.” Dave laid his hand over hers. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“We should do it soon. Maisie has a charity event tonight and who knows what she’ll get up to.”
“You should go,” Edward said. “Keep an eye on her.”
Scarlett frowned. She promised Samantha she’d stay with her. “I never go to those. Besides, I promised Sam I’d have dinner with her. What would it say about me if I broke a promise?”
The corner of Dave’s mouth kicked upward. “Sam, in this instance, will understand. I bet if you told her you were going to be a princess for a night, she’d help you get ready.”
Heat filled her cheeks and a foreign sensation took root within her. “Everyone would know I was there.”
“Yes, they would,” Dave agreed. “But if you had a date...”
“Who?”
Dave opened his desk drawer and pulled out a white envelope. “I might have a plus-one ticket.”
Scarlett blinked. “You’d take me?”
“Why not?”
“Maisie might get suspicious.” If her sister found out Scarlett was aware of her scheme, Maisie might take off, leaving the sanctuary holding the bag. “We can’t risk it.”
“You mean, you can’t risk it,” Kenny said. “You’re worried about what everyone will say.”
Shouldn't she be? No one saw her. Maisie made sure to spin a tale of tragic woe when it came to Scarlett. She'd been hidden away by her family, shunned and worst yet, felt the soul-deep pain of being unloved. In the last few years of their lives, her family had ripped her apart with their condemnation and anger. None of them believed her. They went to their grave assuming the worst.
Scarlett shrugged. “Maybe I can’t.”
“You have scratched and clawed for everything concerning Hearts and Paws,” Dave said. “Why are you quitting when the battle is just beginning?”
She didn’t have an answer. Maybe, she was more afraid of being rebuked than she’d been willing to admit. Maybe she did care a little too much about others’ opinions. “I’m not quitting. I’m being practical.”
“You’re quitting,” Edward stated. “I can see it in your eyes, Scarlett. You’re so worried about how others see you, you’re projecting their whatever-you-want-to-call-it, onto yourself. Stop it.”
Easy for him to say. He didn’t have the stigma hanging over him.
“How about this,” Dave announced. “Have your dinner with Samantha. Then at eight, I will pick you up. We’ll get to the gala after dinner is served and we’ll only have to be there for the actual auction.”
His plan had merit. She wouldn’t be brushing off her niece and she’d still be able to see what her sister was doing behind her back. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Leave it to me,” Kenny said.
She snorted.
“What?” Kenny cocked a brow.
“You’re going to find me a dress?”
He nodded. “I sure am.”
She laughed this time. “I can’t wait to see this.”
****
On her way back to the sanctuary, she ordered a pizza for her and Samantha. Nervous energy filled her belly, and she worried she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the pie with her niece. She didn’t attend events. Didn’t put herself out there for fear of people’s reaction to her. College had been her first foray into society since the accident and, well, it as much as it didn’t suck, she also learned people didn’t have the best of intention. Once she returned home, Scarlett stayed out of the public arena. Her office and her apartment on the sanctuary grounds were her safe spots.
Thinking back on it, her self-imposed isolation didn't start after the lion attack, it was before. Her parents always treated Maisie better than Scarlett. She figured it had to do with Maisie being older. No matter what she did, no matter how hard she worked, her sister always had their full attention. Had her parents still been alive, she would have confronted them to understand their logic. As it stood, she either needed to accept it finally or continue to wallow in her self-recrimination.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Kenny said.
“How do you know?” She cut her gaze toward him.
“You tense up, more specifically, your face.” He peered at her. “You also squeeze your hands together. I’ve never seen whiter knuckles in my life.”
She sighed and flexed her hands. “I’m worried.”
“About?”
“Everything.” She turned in her seat. “Do I dwell too much on my past?”
“If you ask me,” Edward said, sitting forward. “I think people make you dwell on it and you’re also too self-conscious.”
“Oh really?” She gave Edward her attention.
He nodded. “Yes. Look at you.”
“Edward...” Kenny snapped.
“No, I’m being truthful here. I’m not being mean. Scarlett hides. She stays in that damn office of hers while everything happens around her. She’s like... What are those things called...” He snapped his fingers. “A satellite! That’s it. She’s a satellite. She hangs around the peripheral watching her life and those around her go by, content to not participate.”
“You’ve got a big mouth,” Scarlett said, but also agreed with Edward.
"Sorry." Edward shrugged. "I call them as I see them."
“Don’t be. You’re right.” She frowned. When Edward put it like that, it made sense. She did peer into her life from the fringes. She’d done it for so long, it became a habit.
Kenny relaxed beside her. “I hate agreeing with the guy, but it’s true.”
“Nothing like being ganged up on.” She chuckled. “It’s conditioning. I should have stopped allowing myself to hide a long time ago. Unfortunately, I went with it.”
“But, you’re evil intimidating too,” Edward whispered. “It’s why I couldn’t talk to you. You scared the shit out of me.”
She laughed again. “I wear my disgust on my sleeve, I guess. I hate myself for being weak and I hate everyone else for making me feel insignificant.”
They pulled up to the compound and the nervous energy increased. Kenny dropped her off at the main building where her apartment was located before leaving once more. She thought he’d have at least given her a clue what he’d be buying her to wear, instead, he said nothing. She entered the building and headed up to her space, needing just a minute to gather her tattered wits.
“Samantha said you’d be entertaining her tonight.” Maisie came out of the alcove near the stairs. “Are you sure that’s something you want to do?”
Scarlett stared at her sister. “What do you mean?”
Her sister nonchalantly lifted her shoulder. "Well, I wouldn't want to put too much pressure on you. I know you have other things to do."
“I don’t mind. She is my niece after all.” She continued to the stairs.
“You should know, she’ll be taking over my duties soon. Giving tours and such.” Maisie fiddled with one of her earrings. “I’m too old for it now. She’ll be the star of the sanctuary.”
“Sure, Maisie.”
Scarlett took to the stairs only to have her sister grab her arm. “You should understand your position here is expendable. I’m allowing you to stay here.”
Scarlett laughed. “The will and trust allow me to stay here and run the day to day operations.”
“Be that as it may,” Maisie began. “If money should get tight around here...”
She didn’t have to say the rest, Maisie would throw Scarlett out. She squared her shoulders. “Do what you please, Maisie. I need to get to my apartment. Samantha is staying with me tonight while you pimp out the sanctuary to pay for your new cubs and kits.”
“How dare you.” Maisie’s lip curled.
“How dare you. The trust for this place was specific. You broke the rules. Not any of us.” She should have shut up. Saying anything had a chance of blowing up in her face. Scarlett sighed. “This fight isn’t worth it.”
An evil smile curled her sister’s lips. “Exactly. You don’t have it in you to fight. You have always been a disappointment and you will always be a disappointment. You would do well to remember you can be replaced at any time.”
Scarlett laughed as she continued up the stairs. “Don’t worry, I know my place here.”
She stepped into her apartment and let out a cleansing breath. She had a few moments to change before Samantha would join her. By eight, the girl would be going to bed and she would be out of the apartment, on the way to the auction. She kicked off her shoes then headed to her room to change. She didn't know when Kenny would be back, and she hoped it wasn't while Samantha was around. Explaining to her niece her intentions would get back to Maisie. After the incident at the stairs, she didn't want to deal with her sister's bullshit.
The thought hit her then. Wouldn’t it be easier to continue to embezzle money from the sanctuary, if Scarlett was gone? She shook her head. She knew her sister hated her, but this much? What would be the chances, she’d use her actions against Scarlett? The thought sent a bolt of fright and anger through her. It shouldn’t have surprised her though. Maisie had shown her true colors when they were children. No matter what her sister said, she was trying to kill Scarlett that day.
A knock came at her door as she slipped on a sweatshirt and comfy pants. Right on time. She hurried from her room back to the entrance of her home. Opening the door, she saw Samantha and Gabe, one of the workers, standing at her threshold. In Gabe’s hands sat the pizza she ordered on the way home. Samantha gazed up at her with a smile on her face while she hitched her backpack up on her shoulder.
“You’re here.” She took the pizza from Gabe. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, Miss Scarlett.” He nodded before stepping away.
Scarlett moved aside allowing her niece to enter the living room. “Did you bring a movie?”
“No. I thought we could stream something.” She held up her Fire stick. “Mom doesn’t know.” She giggled as she went to the couch and plopped down.
“We could get in trouble,” Scarlett mumbled.
“No, we won't, Auntie Scarlett." She giggles as she attaches the stick to the television. "I want to watch anime. I know of a few good ones. You'll like it. Some of the people have scars like yours."
“No one has a scar like mine,” Scarlett murmured as she plated up a couple of slices of pizza. “I have grape soda and milk, which do you want?”
“I want to go wild,” her niece answered. “Grape soda with ice.”
“On it.” Scarlett glanced up at the TV as Samantha set it up. The screen went black then a purple title box came up as the program loaded. “So, what’s this channel?” She came around the counter and handed the girl her dinner.
“It’s Anime Express. I like it. There are new shows every day. You can watch it in Japanese with subtitles or dubbed.”
When she came back to her niece’s side, the little girl already had a show queued up. “What’s this?” She took a bite of her pizza and sat back.
“It’s called, Alameda No Shouboutai.” Samantha took a bite of her food. “It’s really good. I told mommy I wanted to go to a convention where all this stuff is at.”
Scarlett curled up on the couch as the cartoon began with a catchy theme song. “They have those things?”
Her niece nodded. "Uh-huh." She pulled her tablet out of her bag and started typing on the screen. "See."
She took the pad from her niece and frowned. “This is huge.” She tapped the screen and skimmed the pictures. “And people dress up?”
"Uh-huh. It's so cool. All the kids are cosplayers now, Auntie." Samantha grabbed a notebook out of her bag. "I've been creating my costume for a couple of months now. What do you think?"
She cleaned off her hands then took the book. She stared at the intricate drawings, the color swatches, and budgeting of her niece's money. It also included where she could stay and how much she required for food and transportation. Samantha reminded Scarlett of herself. Always knew what things would cost, how to be efficient, but also obtain quality items. In a word, she was impressed.
“Can we work on this together?” She pointed to the dress.
Samantha turned her wide-eyed gaze on Scarlett. “You mean it?”