by Mimi Barbour
By seven p.m. her area had emptied. She stretched her arms high behind her back and debated the wisdom of continuing to work when her mind rattled with confusing emotions and a headache brewed. She heard shuffling behind her. Startled, she swiveled her chair and found Josh leaning on the sidewall of her cubicle.
“You’re still here?”
“I started the research on the Amedin case. Not much done yet.”
“It’s okay. You’ve done enough for today. We’re the last people in the place. I’ll walk you to your car.”
According to the rules of Dutton & Cramer, LLP, any women working late should be escorted to her car by security or one of the male members of the staff.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll call security.”
“I said I’ll walk you.”
Resisting the urge to throw a punch at his face, she closed all files, shut the laptop, and locked it in her small cabinet as all employees were required to do. No files, paper or electronic, could leave the premises. She gathered her jacket and handbag. “I’m ready.” More than ready to run out of the suffocating atmosphere of this little office she had loved so much until yesterday.
After a deep breath that didn’t help, she squared her shoulders, blanked any expression from her face, and preceded him to the reception parlor. He turned off the main switches and activated the alarm, and then they left the suite and waited for the elevator.
“Today I met with Detective Zach and Colin. We discussed the best approach to get you back the control of your shops,” Josh said when they entered the elevator and she pressed the sub-level button to the garage.
“I see.” So his long meeting with Colin and the detective was about her business.
“We talked to the forensic auditor. His name is Ed Martin. He’ll come to meet with us tomorrow at noon. He and Detective Zach will have a lot of questions for you. I hope that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, of course.”
When they reached the garage, he strolled beside her. An uncomfortable silence settled between them until they reached her car and she opened the door. He’d spent so much of his precious time taking care of her private business while she’d been cursing his stern attitude.
Not sure how to react, she spun toward him and hesitated. Last night she’d have thrown her arms around his neck to thank him for caring so much. Last night she had relished his kisses and was about to fall in love with him.
But now... now she was convinced he helped her the same way he’d help any of his employees. A considerate boss and thriving lawyer, he made it his mission to protect the innocent and the oppressed.
Regrets washed over her for what could have been if...
“Thank you for doing all this.” She slid in her car and started the engine.
Twenty minutes later, just as she slowed down in her dead end street, the sudden ringing of her phone made her jump. “Emma speaking.”
“Just want to remind you that anything discussed at work is absolutely confidential.” The fierceness of his tone startled her.
“I know that.”
“Even if it concerned you, any word exchanged in my office, or in the garage for that matter, cannot be related to your stepmother. Crystal clear?” Bitterness cut like a razor through his words.
“Yes. Yes, of course,” she said, eager to shut the phone. Just as she’d started to relax, he’d found the right words to distress her. Tears filled her eyes. She ruthlessly rubbed them away.
Damn you, Joshua Dutton.
~*~
In need of vigorous exercise to clear his mind, Josh drove straight to his gym. Emma had been a jittery bundle of nerves today, barely glancing in his direction. He’d called her several times with the intention of patching things up, but her curt Emma speaking had slapped him back. Devoting his time to solve her shops’ problems hadn’t mollified her.
The idea that she still resented him was killing him. Instead of concentrating on two important cases requiring his full attention, he’d scrutinized precedent stories of embezzlement and fraud to see how to handle the Speedy Auto Shops situation.
Maybe tomorrow would be a better day. He spent an hour on the treadmill walking, jogging and running, then lifted weights, and later practiced on the elliptical and various machines to develop a healthy sweat. Exhausted but much calmer, he showered and drove home to collapse on his bed.
In the morning, his partner came to Josh’s office around ten a.m. and paused at the door. “Is it safe to come in today?” Brad Cramer said with a big grin.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I heard you terrorized our staff yesterday with your scowls and curt orders.”
“I did?”
Come to think of it, Josh had noticed the furtive glances his staff bestowed on him. Paralegals and junior lawyers avoided him and conversation hushed when he came near a group. Emma isolated herself in her booth and shunned the morning coffee routine. Was he scaring them by any chance?
“What’s going on, Josh? Personal problems or Senator Howard on your back again?”
“Both. Thanks for alerting me.”
“No problem, but I don’t want to lose our faithful employees.” Brad’s eyebrow arched in warning.
Josh made a point to go around the suite and chat with everyone. At the entrance of Emma’s booth, he cleared his throat. She spun and looked at him, a worried frown on her forehead.
“Hey, how are you?” he said with a cheerful voice.
“Okay.” Her eyes narrowed. “The OKS project is ready and I’m working on the Amedin research. Do you have another project you need done?”
He couldn’t help a grin at her suspicious tone. “No new project.” Even if she resented him because of his father’s plan, at least Josh wanted to maintain a smooth relationship at work. “You’re doing great. Thank you for all your extra time.”
“Oh.” Obviously she hadn’t expected a compliment.
“I’ll see you later.” He went back to his office, hoping his light banter with the staff had re-established a more genial atmosphere in the place.
~*~
Around noon, Josh met Colin and Detective Zach in the conference room. Connie announced the forensic auditor and brought him in. They shook hands and settled at the oblong table where the partners discussed important cases with their clients.
“Before we start our meeting, let me call Ms. Cassiero, the shops’ owner.” Josh punched her number.
“Emma speaking.”
“Hi Emma, the forensic auditor is here. Join us in the conference room.”
“Oh, okay. Right away.” Did he detect an anxious tone in her greeting?
When Emma entered and closed the door behind her, Josh stood and the three men followed suit. “Ms. Emma Cassiero, Ed Martin, an expert forensic auditor and Detective Zach who often works with us.” To help her relax, Josh chose to treat her with the deference due to a client and held a chair for her. She shook hands with Ed and Zach and sat at the place he indicated.
“We want to come up with a plan to help Emma get back the sums of money embezzled by the shops’ manager,” Josh started. “Go ahead Zach.”
“Emma, tell us everything you know about Scott Garett. How was he hired? When did he start working for your father? Every detail.” He opened his iPad ready to type. Ed and Colin did the same.
While she talked they listened and took notes. Zach pinned her with a sharp gaze and asked specific questions.
“I have everything I need for now.”
“Ed, any question for Ms. Cassiero?”
Ed Martin, a frail man in his forties, with a crown of hair around a bald head, didn’t waste time. “Question for you, Dutton. You said you want me to work at night. What type of security can you provide?”
“Detective Zach and two security guards will be in attendance. I will also come to the shop with Colin.”
“How about the owner? We need her present in case the police detect strange activity in a place that is usually empty, dark and
quiet at night.”
Although Josh would prefer Emma to be away, the man had a point.
Emma didn’t give him time to answer. “Rest assured I will be at the shop the entire time you perform the audit.”
“Ms. Cassiero, you should bring a copy of your father’s will or any paper proving that you are the new owner.”
“A copy of the will. Okay, no problem.” Anxiety flashed in Emma’s eyes. “Do you expect things to go wrong?”
“It never hurts to be prepared for the worst.” He handed her some paper. “I want you to read these.”
Emma took the forms and started reading. She nodded several times and cringed at one point without making comments. She must have seen Ed’s exorbitant fees. Knowing she couldn’t afford the audit cost, Josh planned to cover it, but didn’t say anything in front of the others.
“Ed, how do you plan to collect evidence?” Emma asked.
“I’ll bring a hard drive and a flash drive, and copy the necessary documents. Since I need to work fast, I won’t have time to type my comments, so I’ll dictate to a recorder.”
“Or I can type for you,” Emma offered.
“That would help. Now you need to fill in all the questions you can answer about vendors, suppliers, ids, passwords, etc... I like to be fully prepared and I don’t want to waste a minute once we are at the site. So go ahead and give me everything you know about this account.”
While Emma concentrated on the many forms, Ed turned to Josh. “Where do we meet?”
“I’ll rent a van and we’ll all go together in one car. Detective Zach and the security guards will meet us here in the basement garage. Where can we pick you up?”
“There’s a McDonald’s on North Street. I’ll watch for you around ten p.m. Give me a buzz when you enter the parking lot.”
Emma tapping her pen on the table alerted Josh to her nervousness. “How are you doing, Emma?”
“There are several things I don’t know.” She chewed on her lip.
“Just leave them blank.” Ed answered. “If you are not sure, write best guess and the name.”
A moment later, she collected the papers. “I think I’m done. Huh…I...I….” She heaved a deep breath. “I hope it works.”
Were her fingers shaking? Josh frowned and focused on her hands. Was it his imagination?
Ed gave her a condescending look. “I have been doing this for twenty years. You’ll be surprised at what we can find behind the official records. Do you know if Garett hired an accountant for the taxes?”
“My father had a tax accountant but I don’t know if Scott kept him. He never brought me anything to sign, so I assume he signed the taxes himself, as manager.”
Josh took the package. He fed the sheets of papers to the copying machine and gave the originals to Ed. “We’ve agreed on the time. But not on the day.” Ed’s gaze scanned his clients.
Josh turned to Zach waiting for an input from the detective. “I’ll have one of my guys loiter around the shops tomorrow to collect more information before we choose a day for the audit,” Zach said as he stood. “I’ll be in touch with Josh and we’ll set a date as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Ed.” Josh shook hands with the auditor. “We count on you for a thorough job.”
“I’m expensive but I won’t disappoint you.” Ed adjusted his glasses on his nose and nodded around. He left followed by Zach and Colin.
Josh closed the door behind them, breaking his own rule of keeping the doors open when a female employee was alone with him.
The hell with his rules when Emma needed comfort.
Hands crossed, she still sat in her chair, staring at the door.
“We’ll catch Garett soon,” he said to reassure her.
Her eyes slowly turned toward him. “What if something goes wrong? What if he comes unexpectedly and hurts one of you? Because of me?” She grabbed her head with both hands. “I’ll feel responsible for the rest of my life.”
Emma had always taken her responsibilities seriously. Josh remembered how she cared for her stepmother and how she learned the auto shop business from her father. More recently she’d stayed long hours to finish her research on time and hand him a perfect report.
“Emma, listen to me.”
She glanced at him and shook her head in despair. “I wonder if it’s worth the risk. These guys have no principles. I can’t forget how Scott acted with me. Now he has his brother and a whole gang around him. They may hurt you.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’re all men used to dealing with scum of their sort.” Josh approached the table and captured her gaze. “I cannot predict what will happen, but I promise you that I will be at your side every minute until you get your money back.” He hoped she would believe him.
Mixed emotions played on her face, worry, surprise, hope...
Words alone sounded too weak for reassurance. The urge to take her in his arms overwhelmed him. He wanted to protect her in his embrace, share his strength with her, and show her he cared about her. How would she react?
He stepped back and resisted, not wanting to add fuel to her resentment.
At the moment she most needed to be comforted, he was the last person who had the right to offer comfort.
Chapter Seven
Tomorrow she’d have proof. Not that Emma had any doubts about Scott’s culpability, but she needed something more tangible than her own suspicion to take him to court. When Josh had offered her the chance to leave early today and go home to relax, Emma hadn’t hesitated to say yes. With her thoughts in total chaos, she’d have been hard pressed to work. Since the big meeting in the conference room a week ago, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the coming audit and its repercussions.
She locked her laptop in her cabinet, grabbed her handbag, and rushed out before her co-workers returned from lunch and asked questions. Before Josh changed his mind and slammed her with a new ASAP job—although she wondered what she would do at home so early.
On one hand, she couldn’t discuss the situation with her mother and on the other she was too drained to fake a happy conversation. Following the appropriate new therapy, her mother had begun to show progress. Using her walker, she often roamed around the house to do light chores or sit in the backyard to chat with her neighbor. Emma needed some intense activity to take her mind off her problems. Maybe she’d take Rino to the park for a run.
As she started her car, Josh’s familiar ring chimed. “Emma speaking.” Darn, was he going to ask her to come back for an unexpected task?
“Are you already on the road?”
“Huh.” The temptation to say yes needled her. “I’m in my car. About to leave.”
“Can you hold on for a few seconds?”
“Why?”
“Because I’d love to ask you for a ride.”
“What?” Her head jerked up in annoyance and she caught sight of him rushing toward her car, a big grin on his face and a backpack hanging on his shoulder. She lowered her window and peered at him.
He reached her and continued to smile for a moment. “I have an idea.”
“Oh.” To be honest, she had mixed feelings about his ideas.
“I also need an afternoon off. Would you like to come with me to Nahant Beach?”
She frowned but he didn’t give her time to protest.
“It’s a beautiful day outside. We’ll walk in the sand, and then we’ll have dinner in a small family restaurant in the area. They make the best lobsters in the world. You’ll see.”
She blinked. Had he forgotten about the dinner at his parents and the scene that followed? Was he assuming she’d forgiven him, considering his efforts to help her regain control over her shops?
Actually she should forgive and forget, and be grateful to have him fight for her. He couldn’t be held responsible for his father’s scheming.
And he couldn’t help being a charming devil who knew how to make her quiver in his arms.
She heaved a deep breath and
bit her lip. Walking on the beach with him would be lovely. Dangerous for her heart, but so soothing. Well not exactly soothing, but certainly exciting.
“Hey, I’m not torturing you. Just asking you to go out for a couple of hours.”
“Nahant Beach is far.” She glanced at the GPS screen.
“Only forty minutes.” He opened her door and pointed to the passenger seat. “Sit there and relax. I’ll do the driving.”
Dark blue specks twinkled in his eyes, urging her to enjoy her few moments of fun. She would probably regret her foolish action later, but...
What the heck.
“Okay. If you insist.”
“I do.” His devilish and scrumptious smile melted her last shred of resistance.
She slid out and went to the passenger side. By the time she buckled her seatbelt he’d already revved the engine.
“Are you going to walk on the beach in your suit?” A picture of him jogging in suit and tie brought a smile to her lips. Not that she was better equipped with her high heels and pantsuit.
“I have a t-shirt, sweat jacket, a pair of shorts and sneakers in the backpack I always keep in my car, in case I want to run away from big headaches and escape to the beach.”
“Your emergency kit.” She chuckled. Maybe she should do the same. “You often go to the beach?”
“When we were small, my parents had a chalet in Gloucester. We’d gathered there for some memorable Christmas vacations or weekends away from the city. We also drove to Nahant Beach or Swampscott for the day.”
Emma would rather forget about her sad Christmases at home, but her weekends, often spent at the auto shop with Dad and his mechanics were a lot of fun. By the time Dad bought his boat, she was already in college. Once again, she envied Josh’s family life.
“I can’t go to the beach like this.”
“I’ll drop you at your house for a few minutes.” As usual Josh seemed to have a solution for every problem.
Fifteen minutes later he stopped in front of her house. “Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
“Why don’t you come in and change too? Mom is at therapy. No one around to ask questions,” she added with a half-smile.