by Anne R. Tan
“That’s what I was hoping for, too. He sounded almost wistful. I’m not quite sure what to make of it.”
“He’s just playing mind games with you.”
Raina grimaced. “You should have snatched those glasses from me and smacked me on my nose.”
Eden rolled her eyes. “As if you would have listened.”
“So when is Phil supposed to pick his CIE trainee?” Raina asked.
“Assistant Chief-in-Editor. Not trainee. Unofficially, the position is supposed to be his replacement when he retires. I need a story that’ll make me stand out.” Eden gave her a sideways glance. “I’m thinking about resurrecting some old gossip…about Holden and Olivia.”
Raina gave her friend a sharp look. “I just want to move on. If this fake pregnancy doesn’t light a fire under his butt, then…” She shrugged.
“This has nothing to do with you. It’s just perfect timing with the annual Christmas fundraiser coming up in a few months.”
Raina nodded. Of course it was. “I’ll bite. What are the rumors?”
“Holden spent fifty percent of this huge grant that was supposed to be divided among the other professors.” Eden wiggled her eyebrows. “He spent far too much time in the boss’s office to be strictly professional.”
“Olivia is old enough to be his mother!”
“I’m just repeating what the wagging tongues said.”
Raina’s face burned as she focused on the salty and cheesy taste in her mouth.
“This was before you came on the scene,” Eden added after glancing at her. “But that’s not the interesting part.” She paused. “Another twenty percent of the grant money grew legs.”
“And that’s the million-dollar question you want to find out. You think Holden has anything to do with the missing money?” Could he use some of that grant money to pay her back?
Eden shrugged. “But it would be juicy if he did.”
After Eden left, Raina sorted her mail. On top of the pile of junk mail was a cream-colored envelope from her lawyer. Apparently another cousin had decided to join the suit contesting the inheritance from her grandfather.
At the rate things were going, the lawyer fees would swallow up the entire three million dollars. Had Raina known in advance that agreeing to pay “a small token” amount to retain the lawyer would add up to several thousand dollars, she would have kept searching for a representative who would be willing to defer the entire payment. And to top it off, she wouldn’t even get to keep the inheritance. She was just a temporary caretaker if she decided to honor her granddad’s wishes.
Raining Men and Corpses
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anne R. Tan fell in love with storytelling in elementary school, but decided to study engineering so she could get a "real job." Her day job is her vacation from home and she moonlights as a writer to keep the voices inside her head under control.
Her debut humorous cozy mysteries features Raina Sun, a Chinese American amateur sleuth, dealing with love, family betrayal, and her place in the world while solving murders.
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