Settling For More

by Aria Grace

  Ten

  Ian

  I’m right in the middle of photocopy hell, complete with paper cuts and cracked fingertips, when Tanner knocks on the door frame at the copy room.

  “Hey, kiddo. Got a minute?”

  “Yeah, of course.” I arrange all my printouts in neat stacks then follow Tanner into Professor Ryan’s office. “Is everything okay?”

  “Almost.”

  Tanner follows me into the office and takes a seat between Johnny and Rainier, another friend of Tanner’s who I’ve done some internship work for. After saying hello to everyone, I take a seat in the corner as Rainier hands out a folder to each of us.

  “Based on the timestamp of the survey, I believe whoever completed it has a free period at five PM. It was completed in the psychology department library, but that only narrows down the suspect pool to about 800.” Rainier flips through the folder and points out a chart with data that appears to be a usage log. “I think our best bet is to camp out in some of the classes that end prior to five PM and see if anyone looks familiar.”

  “Of course. Anything you need.” Professor Ryan nods his head. “Johnny, do you want to sit in my classes this afternoon?”

  “Yeah.” Johnny looks at his watch then back to Professor Ryan. “It’s almost one. Are there any classes starting now?”

  “I’ve got a one thirty and a three thirty. There are other classes going on, but let’s start with mine so I don’t have to bring more faculty into this than necessary.”

  “Agreed,” Tanner says. He turns to me. “And, don’t mention any of this to Asher yet. We’re still on a strict need-to-know basis.”

  “Doesn’t Asher need to know? He’s the general manager of The Vault.”

  Tanner looks between Johnny and Rainier before sighing heavily. “He’s been under a lot of pressure lately. As soon as we know something definitive, I’ll loop him in. For now, let’s just keep this to the five of us.”

  I look between him and Johnny, surprised that they’re leaving Asher out of such an important development. “Is this because of that missing money? It’s not him.”

  Tanner’s eyes narrow in confusion. “What missing money?” He turns to Johnny. “What is he talking about?”

  Johnny lifts his hand in surrender. “No fucking clue. I’ve been trying to keep people alive all week. I don’t know anything about any missing money.”

  Tanner turns to Rainier next. “We’ll deal with that after we get this situation handled.” Then he’s looking back to me with rage in his eyes unlike anything I’ve seen from him before. “This is just between us, right?”

  I huff and nod my head. “Yes.”

  After working out some logistics, I walk Johnny into the one thirty class and we take seats in the back row, trying to blend in with the other students. Johnny is wearing a UNLV cap and sunglasses, and I hope that’s enough to disguise him from anybody who might know him.

  By the time the class is full, Johnny is pretty confident that no one from The Vault is in the room. So, we spend the rest of the class on our laptops, doing our own work until the next batch of students to come in.

  We’re not ten minutes into the second class before Johnny ducks his head behind the cover of his cap and nudges my knee. “That’s a Cayson Dickson. We’ve been keeping an eye on him for the past week, and unless anyone else shows up that I know, I think it’s pretty safe to assume he’s our guy.”

  Johnny sends a message to Tanner and Rainier to confirm Cayson’s enrollment in the class, and Rainier is able to hack into Cayson’s cell phone to mirror everything he does while recording every call he makes. The capabilities to eavesdrop on a person’s life is astounding, and I just hope I’m never on the other end of one of Rainier’s investigations.

  After the class ends, Johnny follows Cayson out while I head back to Professor Ryan’s office. Rainier and Tanner are still in there, monitoring Cayson’s location and phone usage.

  “What’s going to happen to him?” I ask Tanner as I slide onto the wooden chair in the corner.

  Tanner gives me a serious look and lowers the register of his voice. “He’ll be taken care of.”

  “Like, arrested?”

  Tanner holds my gaze, telling me what I don’t want to know with just a glance. “We can’t involve the authorities. It has to be...quieter than that.”

  A chill runs down my spine as I realize what he means. Just as the ramifications of messing with The Vault start to sink in, Tanner folds his arms across his chest and leans back in his chair, pinning me with his gaze. “So, tell me about this missing money.”

  I heave out a low breath, wishing I had kept my mouth shut. “Asher wants to tell you himself.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “He has it under control, Tanner.” I plead with my eyes for Tanner to drop the subject, but I know he can’t. Not when his livelihood and that of so many other people are on the line.

  “Has what under control, Ian?”

  “There’s been some missing money at The Vault. Asher doesn’t know what’s going on, but he wants to find a solution before he bothers you with it.”

  “Fuck.” Tanner turns to Rainier. “Check all of our accounts, and find out what’s going on. We recently changed some systems, but that shouldn’t result in any missing deposits.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Tanner looks at me with an almost sympathetic expression. “I’m sorry, Ian. I warned you to be careful with Asher.”

  “He didn’t do anything. I swear!”

  Tanner shakes his head and turns back to Rainier. “And look into Asher’s accounts. I find it hard to believe he would steal from me, but the sooner we rule him out, the better I’ll sleep at night.”

  “Tanner, what are you saying? You know he wouldn’t do this.” I’m two seconds away from stomping my feet, but I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

  “I’ve known Asher for a long time, Ian. I love him like a brother, but when backed into a corner, people do what they have to do.”

  “Are you saying that because he tried to mug you when he was on the street?”

  Rainier cocks an eyebrow in Tanner’s direction with a look of amusement on his face. “He did?”

  Tanner rolls his eyes. “He was a desperate kid. I’ve never held that against him. But he has the keys to the kingdom right now, and for some people, that’s hard to handle. I’ve thrown a lot in his lap over the past few months, so if he’s made some bad decisions along the way, it’s as much my fault as it is his.”

  I stand up, my hands balled up in fists at my sides. “Please, Tanner. Give him a chance to figure this out. He just needs a little more time.”

  “Your name won’t be mentioned, Ian. But I don’t think you should see him until we get this settled.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I head to the door, ready to storm out like a child. “I’m an adult, and I will see whoever I want to see. I think I’m falling in love with Asher, and I won’t let something as stupid as an accounting mistake interfere with what we have together.”

  “I hope it is just an accounting mistake, Ian,” Tanner says as I walk away. “I hope it is.”

  I miss you.

  I’ve been staring at Asher’s text for ten minutes, and I have no idea how to respond. I miss him too.

  So fucking bad.

  But what if Tanner is right?

  Maybe I should give them some space to figure things out. I don’t believe Asher is stealing from The Vault, but this whole world is new to me. Tanner has my best interest at heart, and I need to respect that. If he’s asking me to keep my distance for a little while, it’s the least I can do.

  Me too. But I’m gonna be busy with Tanner and Dad all night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow or the next day.

  The little bubbles pop up on my screen and disappear ten times over the next five minutes as Asher hesitates in his response. Asher never hesitates. When I finally get a simple OK back from him, I know he’s hurt. He probably thinks I’m having
doubts because of what he admitted to me. And I guess, to some degree, that’s true.

  I honestly believe in my gut he’s innocent, and Tanner will figure out what’s really happening to that money. But until I know for sure, I have to put my family first.

  I go to bed early, not in the mood to spend time with anyone or even watch TV. I just want to close my eyes and get through the next few days until I can be with Asher again.

  The next morning, Dad and Tanner are sitting on the couch when I walk out for breakfast.

  “Good morning,” I say, heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

  They both look at me like it’s anything but. “We need to talk to you, Ian. Can you come sit down for minute?”

  The knots in my belly that were starting to form last night are growing by the second as I sit down across from the men I trust more than anybody else in this world and wait for them to say what I know I don’t want to hear.

  Tanner looks me dead in the eye and takes a deep breath. “Rainier found the missing money.”

  “That’s great. Where is it?”

  Dad gets up from the sofa and walks to me, kneeling beside me as he takes my hand in his. “Asher opened up an overseas account two months ago. He’s been funneling part of the money from customer transactions into his account ever since the new payment system came online. I’m sorry, Ian. I know how much you care about him.”

  “That’s not possible.” Nothing makes sense as I think back on everything Asher has said to me. “He’s not involved. This has to be a mistake.” I stand up, pulling away from Dad and pacing in front of the window. “Why would he do that?”

  Tanner comes to me next, putting his strong hands on my shoulders to still me. “Sometimes we don’t know what motivates people, but there’s no mistake. I can show you the statements myself, but I hope that’s not necessary.” He slides his finger under my chin and lifts my head so I’m looking right at him. “You know I wouldn’t like to you, right?”

  “I know you wouldn’t…but neither would he.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ian. I wish I had better news for you.”

  I’m not sure if I want to throw up or burst into tears as the weight of Asher’s betrayal envelops me. Did he mean anything he said to me? Was he just using me to put in a good word for him with Tanner in case he ever got caught? Were any of the moments we shared together real? They felt real to me. Very fucking real.

  I feel the teardrops land on my neck before I realize that they’ve even started to fall. Tanner pulls me against his chest in a strong embrace. “I know, Ian. I feel the same way.”

  Eleven

  Asher

  Last night was a cluster.

  Johnny wasn’t around because he was dealing with the Cayson situation. That not only left me down my head security guy, but I was also stuck rescheduling all of Cayson’s appointments. Mateo was off duty and able to fill in, so it all worked out, but there’s an unsettling vibe in the air that has everyone on edge.

  And then there is Ian’s text from last night.

  He’s never short like that, and he always sends a good night text before he goes to sleep. The fact that he didn’t respond to my one word reply, and I haven’t heard from him since, is a clue that he’s having doubts about me. I don’t know if his dads have finally convinced him that I’m not good enough for him or if he isn’t interested because I revealed a dark moment from my past.

  Either way, I think he’s gone.

  Truthfully, if some pickpocketing when I was a kid is enough to turn him away, then I guess his feelings for me were never as strong as my feelings for him.

  I don’t want to admit to myself that whatever connection I felt to Ian might be one-sided, but it’s hard to ignore reality. Instead of wallowing, I exchange the SD cards from the cameras in the lobby and copy them all to my cloud storage. If there’s anything going on in that lobby, it should be clear on one of these memory cards.

  It takes over an hour before I finally see something that gives me a hint as to what’s going on.

  At 8:17 last night, while Daniel was working alone at the front desk, he takes a customer’s credit card and disappears behind the counter for several seconds before reappearing with the card and receipt in hand.

  I switch the view to the camera directly above Daniel’s head and pull up the footage from that same time frame. It takes me a minute to understand what I’m seeing, but sure as fuck, Daniel takes the credit card and kneels in front of his backpack which is stowed inside the open shelf of the front desk. Then, he pulls out a portable credit card reader and swipes the card. The terminal looks similar to our new card readers, but ours is still sitting on the counter, untouched. I’m just about to pick up the phone to call Tanner and Johnny so I can explain what’s been going on when my office door flies open, and both men fill the doorway.

  I’ve seen Tanner mad before, but I’ve never seen a look of hurt on him like the one I’m looking at right now. I’m about to ask if Ian is okay when I notice him standing behind Johnny, wiping tears from his cheeks.

  “Ian, are you okay?” I ask softly, wondering if maybe it’s his dad that has him so upset.

  Instead of speaking, Ian merely shakes his head and takes a step back, further hiding himself from me.

  “What’s going on?” I stand up, suddenly in fight or flight mode.

  “We know about the money, Asher.” Tanner’s voice is calm but deadly as he stares me down with a look I’ve only seen him give his worst enemies.

  “I can explain—"

  Tanner holds up his hand, stopping me in midsentence. “Don’t bother. We know what you did, and we’ve already recovered the funds. I just don’t know why you would do this to me.”

  “You think I stole the money?” I ask quietly, looking between the three men and praying to see a spark of amusement that might indicate this is all a stupid prank.

  Tanner sighs as if he’s tired of my antics. “We know you did, Asher. There’s no use denying it at this point. It’s just insulting.”

  I look at Ian, expecting to see sympathy and love in his eyes, but all I see is the same disgust that’s pouring off Tanner right now.

  “Wow…”

  “You need to leave the state and never come back. You know I don’t normally leave loose ends, but I want to give you the benefit of the doubt here. I need to believe that you had your reasons for doing what you did, and even though I’ll never know what they are, I hope you won’t force my hand into taking more drastic and permanent measures.” Tanner is completely stoic.

  My jaw drops as I listen to the threat I never thought I’d hear from him. “So that’s it? You think I stole money from you, so I’m out.”

  Johnny crosses his arms over his chest, unable to look me in the eye. He’s obviously upset but standing by his trusted employer and not the object of his schoolyard crash.

  I look at Ian next, most hurt by his quick dismissal of what I thought we had together. “So we’re over? You believe what he’s saying?”

  Ian chokes out a sob as tears stream down his cheeks. “How could you do that to him? Why did you tell me about it at all? Were you just using me so I would be on your side of Tanner ever found out?”

  I feel numb as I pull my keys out of the desk drawer and gather all the SD cards in my palm. “Watch these. Then you’ll know who really took your money. Have a nice life.”

  Tanner shifts his gaze to the ground as I drop the memory cards into his hand and shove past him with Johnny hot on my heels to escort me off the property.

  Before I push through the exit door, I turn back to Ian and catch his glassy eyes as he looks at me with so much sadness that it breaks my heart. “And for the record, it was all real. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved, and you let them destroy that without even coming to ask me for the truth.”

  Ian lets out a sob and falls against Tanner’s chest as I open the exit door and storm to my car. I should’ve known my life was too good to be true. Nothing good ever lasts
, and I got cocky. I thought I had the world on a silver platter, and I was just starting to let myself believe that I deserve happiness.

  But I was naïve.

  Guys like me don’t deserve happy endings. And we certainly don’t end up with a prince.

  I let my calls go to voicemail for twenty-four hours before I finally answer Tanner’s call. “What?”

  “I’m sorry.” It’s the only thing he can say after everything that went down yesterday.

  But I don’t have much to say back to him. “I believe you.”

  “Asher, man. I fucked up. I didn’t want to believe it was possible, but then we found the bank accounts in your name…” He sighs, and I can hear his pain over the line. “What was I supposed to think?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe that I’ve been loyal to you for the past decade, and I deserved a conversation before you barged into my office throwing accusations around and firing me.”

  “You’re right. There’s no excuse for the way I behaved, and I truly am sorry. Rainier did some more digging after we saw the videos, and even though the money was initially being funneled into an account in your name, all the deposits were immediately transferred into an account in Cayson Dixon’s name.”

  “Cayson? He was in on this?”

  “He and Daniel worked together at the bank that set up our merchant account. I’ve been talking to them for over a year about making the switch, so as we got closer to the implementation, they worked out a plan to get on the inside. They knew they could steal the money in plain sight without anyone noticing for a while.”

  I didn’t say anything as I waited for Tanner to get to the point.

  “I want you back, Asher. I know you probably hate me for everything I said and the way I treated you, but I need you. You know the business better than anyone, and I trust you.”

  I bark out a sarcastic chuckle at that, but deep down, I know he’s being sincere. And honestly, I would’ve probably reacted the same way in his place.