“Darius? He’s just a kid. He barely even pays taxes.”
She shrugged. She’d picked him because he held a key role in the day-to-day running of the casino. “Shall I speak to each person individually?”
“Why these people?”
“They were chosen more or less at random.” She didn’t want to go into detail. It really wasn’t his business. He must have read her reluctance because he paused for a moment, but didn’t ask more questions.
“I’ll talk to them.” His brow had furrowed.
“Do you think any of them will object?”
“I’ll make sure they don’t. Besides, we all filed the taxes already, so what is there to hide?”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll have them all for you by the end of the day.”
“Much appreciated.” Phew. That was easy. As long as none of the individuals objected, of course.
“I want to kiss you.” His voice was ripe with suggestion.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her own voice was barely a whisper. Her lips twitched to do exactly what he’d suggested. “I have work to do.”
“So do I. But that doesn’t stop me wanting you.”
“You’re trouble.”
“I can’t argue with you. I certainly seem to be trouble where you’re concerned.” They’d reached his office. “Though I don’t have any regrets.”
He closed the door. They kissed for a solid five minutes, tongues tangling and biting each other’s lips until their breath came in ragged gasps.
“I used to be a dignified professional, I’ll have you know,” she stammered when their lips finally parted.
“I used to be a sane man. Since you showed up here everything has gone out the window.” Cool and calm as always, in his dark gray suit and pale blue shirt he looked the picture of sanity. Of course he was probably just pretending to be besotted with her. Or maybe even allowing himself to be as a temporary condition. He’d be over her before she even drove across the Ohio state line. “I hope it will take a while to go through all our returns.”
“I hope not. It’s embarrassing and totally unprofessional, but I really don’t want to find anything wrong here.” She couldn’t believe she’d confessed that to him.
“Uh-oh. I hope I’m not compromising your professional integrity.” His wicked grin warmed her as his big hands squeezed her hips gently.
“Nothing could compromise my professional integrity. Believe me, if I found something, I’d report it.”
“I love that about you, Constance. I bet everyone always knows where they stand with you.”
“I used to think so. I’m sure my employer would be rather surprised if they knew you were squeezing my butt right now.”
He slid his hand back up to her waist with a rueful expression. “True. But since our intimacy doesn’t affect your professional integrity, they really shouldn’t mind at all.”
“Perhaps not, but I’m sure they would.” She straightened his pale yellow tie, which had gotten crooked. “Now you and I should at least pretend to do some work. Preferably in separate rooms, as we don’t seem to be too professional anymore when we’re in the same space.”
“All right, Constance. I’ll see you later, and I’ll have everyone go home at lunch and pick up their tax returns.”
“Perfect.” Could it really be that easy? “And I might need to speak to each of them individually after I’ve had a chance to look over the paperwork. I might even need to look at their personal banking records to make sure everything adds up.” She held her breath. No one wanted a total stranger looking into their personal finances. On the other hand, it was one of her favorite things to request, since the person’s reaction told you a lot about how honest they were.
“I’ll warn them. And I consider myself warned.” He winked. He didn’t look at all worried, which was quite a relief.
She had one more question for him. One she already knew the answer to. “Do any of the tribal members gamble in the casino?”
“I don’t do it myself and I prefer that other employees don’t. Besides, they know better than anyone that over time the house always wins. Don likes to play a little, but no one else gambles regularly. Believe me, I keep close tabs on all our employees, especially the younger ones.”
“Does Don win?”
“He says he does.” John winked. “Whether he’s telling the truth is a whole different story. We do keep files on employee gambling, though.”
“Could I take a look at those?” No need to mention that she’d already seen them and knew Don had big winnings. It would be interesting to see from Don’s tax return whether he was claiming them. She felt a little guilty pretending to be totally in the dark, but at least now she felt as though she was actually doing her job.
“Of course.” He leaned over the laptop on the desk and tapped a few keys. The file she’d found by herself popped up. “You won’t find my name in there.”
“I’m glad that you don’t gamble.”
“Me, too. It’s much safer being the house than trying to beat it.”
He didn’t even glance at the file, so confident that the records were all aboveboard and would speak for themselves. She loved how honorable John was. Another kiss on the lips and a warm hug left her dizzy. Her heart ached as the door closed behind him. If parting from him now hurt her even a little, how was she going to feel when he was gone for good?
Nine
John didn’t invite her over that night. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed as she drove back to her hotel, the employees’ tax returns sitting on her passenger seat. He probably had some kind of meeting. Or something important to do. Or bigger plans. It was Friday night, after all.
If she had a life she’d drive back to Ohio for the weekend. But it made more sense to stay here, save the gas money and bill more hours.
For dinner, she ate a Chinese chicken salad and drank a Diet Coke at her hotel room desk while she watched the news. The pile of tax returns now stared at her from the end of her bed. She was literally afraid to look at them. Normally the prospect of delving into freshly unearthed personal papers filled her with unreasonable glee. Now it just made her nervous about confronting her own principles.
What if she found something in John’s tax return? Excessive write-offs or under-reporting of taxes owed, maybe. She’d be duty bound to report her findings, or even any suspicions. Should she tell him first, so he’d have a chance to explain? She’d told him she would, but that would go in the face of everything she’d learned about forensic accounting. Never give people a chance to cover their tracks.
He hadn’t said anything at all about whether it was easy or hard to convince the employees to hand over their returns. Maybe they respected him so much they’d do anything he asked. She’d expected at least someone to put up a fight. So far it was all going too smoothly. For reasons she couldn’t put her finger on, that made her nervous.
She picked his tax return off the pile first with trembling fingers. His income was exorbitant, of course, but most of it was from personal investments that had nothing whatsoever to do with New Dawn. He’d only paid himself a salary of one hundred thousand from the casino and hotel. That impressed her. He’d taken plenty of personal deductions and travel expenses, but nothing out of the ordinary. His return looked similar to many she’d seen belonging to successful company owners and high-level executives. He’d paid a great deal in taxes, mostly capital-gains tax, so the government should be quite happy to have John Fairweather as a taxpayer. After several hours combing through the schedules, she heaved a sigh of relief and moved on.
Darius’s and Anna’s returns reflected their modest incomes and were totally uncomplicated, and they’d both received a small amount of money back when they filed. Anna had reported her small gambling winnings, so there was no problem there. Mona had gotten divorced in the middle of the year, so her return was more elaborate, but still nothing to arouse suspicion.
She left Don’s for last. It was almost as thick as John’s and she soon discovered that he actually earned more than John from New Dawn. No doubt it was John’s way of keeping a senior family member happy. Still, the salary was far from outrageous for a senior executive at such a profitable enterprise, and Don had paid taxes at a high rate and taken fairly reasonable deductions.
But as she combed through the schedules, she saw nothing at all about proceeds from personal gambling. Her Spidey-sense tingled with alarm. Normally this was a good feeling that she was about to earn her keep and justify her employment at a top accounting firm. But right now it came with an uncomfortable sense of foreboding. She went through the return again. Still no sign of any winnings or losses. Since the casino workers openly admitted to him gambling, and she’d seen him do it with her own eyes, it was clearly an omission. Even though table games like roulette and blackjack didn’t require that the casino submit Form W2-G to the IRS, the gambler was certainly required to declare winnings and she’d seen the records detailing Don’s fifty thousand dollars in profits.
Her phone rang and she almost jumped out of her skin. It was Lynn from work. What was she doing calling on a Friday night? “Hi.” Constance hoped she could get her off the phone quickly.
“I hope you’re back in Cleveland because you’re the only person I know who will go see the new Disney movie with me.”
Constance couldn’t help laughing. “I would love to see it, but I’m still in Massachusetts.”
“Why didn’t you drive home for the weekend? I guess you can’t bring yourself to leave the sexy casino boss.”
“What? You’re crazy. I barely even see him.” She realized she’d spoken too fast and too loud.
“Oh, boy. I did hit a nerve. I always knew you’d be interested if the right man came along.”
“You’re talking nonsense. I could care less about John Fairweather.”
Lynn laughed. “Don’t you mean couldn’t care less? If you could care less then it means you care quite a bit.”
“You know what I mean.” Constance leaped to her feet and paced in her small hotel room. “I’m only interested in his financial data.” Now she was lying to her closest friend. “Which is checking out fine.”
“What a bummer. I was hoping for a dramatic exposé and scandal that would lead to a big bonus for you next spring.”
“I’m just doing my job. I have no expectations of any kind when I look into a company’s books.”
“I know, I know. It’s just so much more interesting when you find information that someone was trying to hide.”
Now would be the perfect time to mention the telling absence of gambling data on Don Fairweather’s tax return. Yet she kept quiet. She’d promised to tell John about anything she found. It chilled her to realize that she felt more loyalty to John than to her own firm. Still, she wouldn’t lie or cover anything up. As soon as she’d told John, she’d report back to her firm, and to the BIA.
Hopefully since it was just a personal matter, and not to do with the casino itself, it would be a storm in a teacup and blow over quickly.
“You’re very quiet. Are you okay?” She’d almost forgotten Lynn was still on the phone.
“I’m fine. Just a bit preoccupied. These last few days have been a blur of numbers and figures. Casino books make corporate records look refreshingly dreary by comparison. I can’t wait to settle back into my peacefully dull routine.”
“Nothing’s dull around here. Whitlow gave his resignation. It turned out Lacey wasn’t the first young employee who’s been under his desk. There’s a class action suit in the works. It’s all anyone’s talking about.”
“Wow.” That could mean a partnership spot opening up. Not that she’d be eligible. She’d likely be considered too young. Still...
“Old goat. It’s amazing what men will risk for a little nooky. Makes you glad to be a woman.”
She laughed. “Hardly. The men who get themselves into trouble are usually doing something with a woman.” Someone like her, for example, who would apparently risk her career for a few brief moments of bliss.
It didn’t make any sense at all, yet she’d done it.
“True. Humans are irrational creatures. That’s what makes us so interesting.”
“Yes, indeed.” She’d turned out to be far more dangerously human than she’d ever expected.
“Do you need anything?” Lynn’s question took her by surprise.
“Not that I can think of. I’m sure I’ll be back next week.”
“And you’ve found nothing at all?”
She hesitated. “I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”
“So you did find something?” Lynn’s voice was a breathy whisper.
“Don’t twist my words. I’m still investigating.” The last thing she needed was the office administrator sparking rumors.
“My lips are sealed.”
“Good. Keep them that way and have a good weekend. I’ve got to go.”
Constance hung up the phone, breathing a little faster than usual. She really wished she hadn’t given Lynn the idea that something was up. On the other hand, it would have been weird to say she’d found nothing, then reveal in a day or two that in fact she had uncovered tax fraud. This whole situation was getting far too complicated.
And now she had to tell John. She wanted to email him or text him, but somehow putting words in print felt wrong. They could be saved and used in some kind of legal situation. She didn’t want to call him in case the phones were monitored. He might even record incoming and outgoing calls himself as some kind of protection. And she knew it was inappropriate to tell him before reporting back to the people who had hired her.
There was nothing for it but to hunt him down in person and figure out what to do from there.
* * *
When Constance arrived at the casino the next morning, John was in the lobby talking to Don. Since it was the weekend they had on more casual clothing: John wore a fitted shirt and faded jeans that hugged his powerful thighs and Don was dressed all in black like a movie mobster. She tugged her gaze away and headed for the bank of elevators. She didn’t want to have to make polite conversation with a man she was about to report for tax fraud. Who knew how many years he’d been doing it? He could be in for a hefty fine or even a prison term.
She had no choice but to pass quite close to the two men, but she skirted around an electronic display that showed a list of the day’s events so they couldn’t see her.
“It’s a good thing she’s sweet on you.” As she passed by, Don’s words made her ears prick. “I don’t like her snooping through our tax records. Make sure you wine and dine her tonight. We don’t want her getting creative.” Constance froze, despite knowing she was in a crowded lobby where others could see her, even if John and his uncle couldn’t. Did Don know they were having an affair?
“My tax records are entirely accurate and I assume yours are, too.” John’s voice sounded dismissive. And why didn’t he say something about her not being bribable? She was offended that he didn’t defend her honor. On the other hand, maybe that would have been too much. He was being subtle.
Don laughed. Which sounded very false under the circumstances. “Don’t you worry about me. She won’t find anything in my taxes. And I’m the one who told you seducing her was a good idea. You should listen to me more often.”
Constance’s mouth dropped open and her heart hammered. She glanced at the bank of elevators, which now seemed about a mile away across the shiny marble floor. Had they planned this together? Was she a victim of a plot between them?
She blinked, hardly able to believe it.
“Don’t be too smart for your own good, Don.” John’s voice made her jump. Wasn’t he going to deny that they had planned her seduction? Her breathing became audible and she looked around, hoping no one was watching. She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation right in the lobby where anyone could hear it.
John was now asking
about a band due to perform that night. He’d simply changed the subject without contradicting Don? A sense of betrayal crept over her and chilled her blood. Suddenly she was glad she’d found the discrepancy in Don’s taxes. John deserved the media’s ugly attention and anything that came from it if he was the kind of person who’d deliberately set out to charm and cajole her into bed for his own purposes.
She lifted her chin and marched for the elevators as fast as she could, praying that no one would talk to her. She counted the seconds while she waited for an elevator to take her up to the office floor. What a disaster.
“Hey, Constance, where are you going?” John’s voice boomed across the marble space. “It’s Saturday.”
She spun around.
“Up to the office floors. They are open on the weekends, I hope.” She responded as primly as she could. How could he talk to her so casually in full view of the other employees and guests? Did he want them all to know they’d been intimate? Probably he did. Maybe he thought it was funny.
“Weren’t you even going to say hello?”
“I could see you were in conference.”
“In conference?” He laughed. “Don was just telling me about the new Maserati he ordered. Crazy. I told him I hope I won’t get to practice using the Jaws of Life on it.”
No mention of Don’s thanking him for seducing her. And his own complicit silence. “Can we meet in your office?” She needed to talk to him. They’d gone too far for her to just go back home, report her findings and pretend they’d never slept together. The situation could blow up in her face if he decided to retaliate. Her hands were shaking and she hoped she wouldn’t cry.
“But of course.” His voice contained more than a hint of suggestion. “I’d be delighted to get you behind closed doors.”
She glanced up at the security cameras. She hadn’t even noticed them before. Hopefully no one ever listened to the tapes. “It’s something serious.”
All humor vanished from his expression. “About the returns?” And his voice was hushed.
A HIGH STAKES SEDUCTION Page 13