Forever After (Montana Brides, Book 3)

by Leeanna Morgan

  “Stuffed Mediterranean olives?”

  Poking the knife into the rotisserie bag, Nicky planned out her chicken chomping strategy. “I’ve never tried olives before and I’ve always wanted to visit the Mediterranean, so I thought I’d give them a go.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sam shake his head. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tried something new because it reminded you of something else?” she asked.

  “I like sushi, but I don’t think about China when I see a pack of seaweed. Does that make me unimaginative?”

  Dropping a chicken leg onto a plate, she laughed. “No. It probably makes you normal.”

  “Tell me about Patrick.”

  Her smile disappeared. “I’ve known for a couple of weeks the fraud originated from someone on The Oasis development, I just didn’t know who was involved. When Patrick showed me around, I saw for myself what a massive project it is. He’s a real charmer. If you didn’t know what he was up to, you’d swear he does a great job as project manager.”

  Putting the knife on the side of the plate, she turned to Sam. “He knows what he’s doing and he has a great relationship with the subbies. He was really interested in how my efficiency study was going and that didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. But later on, when I started asking about the tendering process in a project as big as The Oasis, he looked a bit uncomfortable.”

  Picking up the knife, Sam started carving the chicken. “Patrick reviews all tender documents before they’re scanned into the computer. He changed the documents and added his paperwork before anyone else saw them.”

  Nodding her head, Nicky watched his hands moving backward and forward across the meat until the chicken was sliced and stacked on a plate beside the bones.

  “How did Annette get involved?”

  “I’m not entirely sure, but my guess would be she realized the fake company wasn’t one of the preferred subcontractors you normally deal with. She may have gone to Patrick and worked out a deal for her silence. Otherwise she could have been in on the fraud from the beginning.” Nicky moved outside with a couple of salads. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to eat on the balcony. It’s too nice a night to stay cooped up inside.”

  Sam stood in the kitchen, staring into space.

  Walking back inside, Nicky took another couple of bowls off the counter, leaving him to his thoughts.

  When the table was ready she headed back inside. All she needed was the man standing in her kitchen. “You know, it could have been a lot worse.”

  He looked up, blinking hard at her. “I can’t see how.”

  Moving toward him, she placed a hand on his arm. “He could have gotten away with it and taken a lot more money. At least this way he can get help.”

  “Six months ago he could have gotten help. I’ve got a feeling prison’s the only option for him for the next few years.”

  Nicky’s gaze wandered over his tired face. “Come and have some fresh from the supermarket dinner.” With a small smile she added, “You can tell me how much better your home cooked edition would taste.” Tucking her hand under his elbow, she led Sam outside. He looked exhausted. And from past experience she knew it could only get worse from here on in.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “I heard the boss wanted to see me?”

  Sam looked up from the papers he was studying. Patrick stood in the doorway with a grin on his face. Cold hard stone settled in Sam’s stomach. How the bastard could stand there looking as cocky as a rooster at dawn was beyond him. He’d stolen thousands of dollars and planned on stealing a whole lot more before he wiped his hands clean of them.

  He didn’t deserve the offer he was about to be presented with, but the board of directors had overridden Sam’s recommendations. They were willing to give Patrick and Annette the opportunity to pay back the money they had stolen before going to the police, which was a whole lot more than what he would have done with them.

  The grin slipped from Patrick’s face. “Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with the last payment from the developers. They assured me everything would be settled before the official handover.”

  Sam clenched his jaw. Trust Patrick to hit on the one issue that was close to both their hearts. He knew down to the last cent how much of the last progress payment would have ended up in Patrick’s bank account if Nicky hadn’t uncovered his theft. He’d be sweating too if there was any hint that the last forty-five thousand dollars wouldn’t be showing up on time.

  “The payments are all on track. Have a seat. I need to make a quick call and then I’ll be right with you.”

  Sam leaned across his desk, pushing the extension for Dianne Tyler, their Human Resource Manager. “I’m ready for you in my office.”

  Patrick stretched his legs out in front of him, watching Sam put down the phone. “We missed the formula one exhibition at the Convention Center in Helena. So a group of guys from The Oasis are going to the McGinness Ranch to race on their four-wheeler track instead. What do you say…do you want to come and get down and dirty in a supercharged grasshopper?”

  “Not this weekend. I’ve got something else planned.” Sam glanced at the door. “How are the kids?”

  “They’re surviving the summer break, but I don’t know about Renee. Another week and the kids will be back at school and she’ll be a free woman again.” Patrick frowned. “You didn’t pull me off site to talk about the kids. What did you need to see me about?”

  A knock at the door distracted Patrick and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Small talk wasn’t his strong point when all he wanted to do was throw Patrick’s thieving ass into the nearest police cell. “Come in.”

  Dianne walked into the office, nodding at Patrick. She’d been working at Scotson Construction almost as long as Sam had been there. Over the years they’d built up a healthy respect for each other. If he ever needed someone to give him expert advice he knew he could count on her to point him in the right direction. And he needed more than her expert advice today.

  Patrick’s frown deepened.

  God help him if this turned out as bad as he suspected it would. Sam cleared his throat. “I asked Dianne to be at this meeting to discuss some discrepancies we’ve found in the financial reports from The Oasis development. We thought you might be able to answer some questions we have.”

  Patrick sat ramrod stiff in his chair, flicking his gaze between Sam and Dianne. “What the hell’s going on here? I thought I’d come to talk about the handover, not be grilled about something I don’t have any control over. If you’ve got any questions about the money side of things you should be speaking with your accountant, not me.”

  Dianne sat forward in her seat. “We’ve already met with Giles. We have a few questions about some of the subcontractors you’ve used in The Oasis. Can you tell us what you know about Gilbert Holdings?”

  Patrick’s face lost all color, turning an ashen shade of gray. He blinked, jerking back in his chair like he’d been struck squarely on the jaw. “They’re one of the kitchen joinery firms we use.”

  “I couldn’t find them on our preferred supplier list. Who chose them to work with Scotson Construction?” Dianne looked at him like she didn’t know what was going on. As if she didn’t know that Gilbert Holdings was the fake company he was using to fill his bank accounts with their money.

  “The finance guys had the final say. If this is about following the correct procedure, I did it every step of the way. They gave us a competitive quote and we accepted it. End of story.” He leaned forward, getting ready to leave the office. “If this is all you wanted to see me about then this meeting was a waste of my time.”

  “Not so fast.” Sam watched Patrick slide back into his seat, looking like a caged animal planning his escape. “Gilbert Holdings invoiced us for forty-five thousand dollars worth of work last month. The problem I have is that we can’t find any work they’ve done that justifies that amount of money.” They hadn’t done any work and the bastard knew it. A small
voice in the back of Sam’s head urged Patrick to tell the truth; to come clean and face the consequences of his deceit.

  “This is all about that woman doing the efficiency study, isn’t it? She’s warped your brain into thinking I’m not aware of what the subbies are doing.” Red hot heat flooded Patrick’s face, washing away the guilt that had been rippling along the edge of his conscience. “She doesn’t know a damn thing about project management. All she did was prance around in high heels, batting her eyelashes at the builders. The sooner you get rid of her, the better off this company will be.”

  Sam wasn’t interested in listening to the voice in his head anymore. Anger surged through his body, sharpening his gaze until all he could see was the shell of a person he’d once called a friend. Patrick had no right to speak about Nicky like that. He had no idea just how qualified she was to work in her family’s company.

  Sam flexed his fist. He knew at least two people Scotson Construction could do without and the biggest idiot was sitting right in front of him. Dianne coughed, forcing his attention back to her.

  “This conversation has nothing to do with efficiency,” she said in a calm voice, sending a warning glance Sam’s way. “What work did Gilbert Holdings carry out on The Oasis that justifies their final invoice?”

  “How the hell should I know,” Patrick exploded. “I’ve had enough of this line of questioning. If you want to talk to me you’ll have to do it some other time. I’ve got more to do than sit here being accused of letting a subcontractor rip-off the company.” He lunged forward.

  “Sit!” Sam bellowed, shaking the office door in its frame.

  No-one said a word. Patrick froze, staring at him like he was a complete stranger. Sam took a deep breath, controlling the rush of adrenaline screaming through his body. In a deadly calm voice he said, “I’m going to ask you one more time before I call the police. Do you know anything about Gilbert Holdings, the work they have completed, or the invoices we’ve received?” He paused, watching Patrick’s anger give way to fear. “Think very carefully. I won’t ask you again.”

  “I know nothing,” he spat. “And I won’t work for a company that hasn’t got the guts to stand up for their employees. Little Miss Efficiency comes along and within a few days the boss hasn’t got the balls to see past her legs. I’m done with this company. I quit.”

  Sam’s arm shook as he reached for the intercom. “Amanda, send the police officers in please.”

  Patrick jumped to his feet. “You bastard,” he yelled. “For years I’ve pretended to be your friend. You were supposed to be my rainy day policy. Bleed the perfect sucker dry, that’s what I thought. Well you’re not so perfect now. I hope you rot in hell.”

  Two officers walked into the room. Patrick spun on his heel, ready to bolt for the door.

  “Wait there, sir.” One of the men blocked Patrick’s exit.

  Patrick pushed around him, swinging his elbow toward the second officer. Within seconds he was flat on the floor, handcuffed and being read his Miranda warning.

  As soon as they were done, they hauled Patrick to his feet, staring across at Sam. “The Serious Fraud Office has been notified. One of their investigators will be interviewing Mr. O’Flynn at the police station as soon as we get back.” He glared at Patrick. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way. Now walk.”

  Patrick moved, staring at Sam on the way out. “You haven’t heard the last from me.”

  Sam didn’t say a word until the sound of heavy feet disappeared inside the elevator. He glanced at Dianne. “Are you okay?”

  She took a deep breath. “I need caffeine. How about I buy us both a cup of coffee? We can sit at one of the tables in the café and thank God we’re not in Patrick’s shoes right now.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” Sam picked up some files and followed Dianne out the door. Amanda gave him a concerned smile as he walked toward her. “We’re going for coffee; I’ll be back in half an hour. Can you make sure personnel get these confidential files immediately?”

  “No problem. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He met Dianne at the elevator. Half the building would have heard the commotion erupting from his office. But it wasn’t half the building he was worried about; it was Nicky. He looked across at her open door and hoped she’d managed to miss most of the yelling. Patrick’s fraud was now out of their hands. It was up to the police and the legal system to make him accountable for his actions.

  The elevator doors pinged open. As Dianne pushed the button for the ground floor Sam knew one thing for certain. No matter how much Patrick wanted him to rot in hell, his thieving former friend would be passing through the fiery gates long before he did.

  ***

  Nicky looked up from her desk. Someone was yelling. With her door closed the voices were muffled, but it was enough to have her moving out of her chair and across to the door.

  She glanced at her watch. Sam had scheduled a meeting with Patrick this morning and she hoped like crazy the loud voices hadn’t come from his office. It was bad enough that two of his employees had stolen from Scotson Construction. That one of those people was his friend made the fraud a thousand times worse.

  She opened the door and looked up and down the corridor. Two police officers left Sam’s office, escorting a defiant Patrick between them. Other staff stopped what they were doing, staring at the scene in front of them. Patrick turned around, shooting an acid glare at his former colleagues. Before the elevator doors closed, his gaze locked on Nicky. The loathing in his eyes sent a shiver of unease down her spine.

  She looked across at Sam’s office. Everyone in the corridor held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next. Amanda swiveled to face her computer, ignoring the curious stares from other people still hovering between rooms.

  With a sigh, Nicky headed back to her desk. Whatever had gone on in Sam’s office shouldn’t concern her. She’d completed the first part of her job and started the final recommendations that would make sure this didn’t happen again. Sam would call her if he wanted to talk.

  A few minutes later, Nicky heard the click of heels on the wooden floor. Amanda walked past, a pile of folders balanced in her arms. For all of two seconds Nicky debated whether to let her pass or ambush her for information. The ambush won out.

  “Psst. What happened?”

  Amanda backtracked, sticking her head around the door of Nicky’s office. Looking over her shoulder, she whispered, “Patrick O’Flynn. He’s just been arrested for fraud. Sam has gone for coffee with Dianne. From all the yelling that came from his office I’d say they both deserve the rest of the day off.”

  Nicky had known Patrick wouldn’t be let off with only a warning. From what she’d discovered he’d become more devious and manipulative each time he changed jobs. What amazed her was that it had taken so long for him to get caught.

  A smaller company with less cash reserves would have been pulled into receivership long before now. And maybe that was why he’d targeted Scotson Construction. Multimillion dollar contracts involving lots of individual subcontractors gave him more opportunity to cover his tracks and a whole lot more opportunity to fill his bank accounts.

  Amanda moved closer to her desk. “Did you catch up with your granddad this morning?”

  Nicky shook her head. “He left before I got a chance to see him.”

  “That’s a shame. He waited in your office for a few minutes before heading home. I’d better get going. I’ve got to get these down to personnel. Are you still able to do lunch today?”

  “You bet. Does one o’clock suit you?”

  Pulling the folders close to her body, Amanda nodded. “One o’clock’s fine. See you.”

  She disappeared out the door, leaving Nicky to focus on the next part of her contract.

  Forty-five minutes later she was still working at her desk, trying to figure out how to manipulate the data on her computer. The phone on her desk rang and she was almost tempted to let it go to voicemail. Sh
e wanted to get the flowchart finished before lunch, but it didn’t look as though that was going to happen anytime soon.

  She grabbed the phone. “Nicky Scotson speaking. How can I help you?”

  Nobody replied. She leaned over to see her caller display. “Sam? Is that you?”

  “Can you come down to my office?”

  “Sure. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” Nicky logged off her computer and locked away the files she’d been working on.

  Amanda wasn’t at her desk so she knocked on Sam’s door and entered his silent office. He looked pale and worn out. Deep grooves of strain were etched into his skin either side of his mouth and his eyes looked dull and lifeless. If this was what he looked like after a coffee break, she dreaded to think what he’d been like before he left the building.

  “Sam?” she said quietly.

  “Have a seat.” He pointed at a chair on the other side of his desk. “You probably heard all the commotion this morning.”

  She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

  “The board decided to give Patrick and Annette the opportunity to pay back the money they’d stolen before we went to the police. Dianne and I met with Annette first thing this morning. She’s given us a check for the amount she received from Patrick.” Sam stood up, walking toward the window. His gaze swept along the street. “Patrick wasn’t even prepared to listen to what we had to say. Dianne asked the police to be here in case the meeting turned nasty. It did and he’s been arrested. If he’s got any common sense left he would have contacted a good lawyer by now.”

  “I’m sorry, Sam.”

  He glanced back at her, a hint of a smile softening his face. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. You did your job. I guess from now on it’s a matter of preventing this from happening again.” He moved back to his desk, sitting down heavily in the leather chair.