Connor pressed the phone tighter to his ear. “What did you find?”
“Most of the financials looked pretty good,” Jim said, “except for one significant transaction the accountant couldn’t—or wouldn’t—explain.”
Connor’s heart pounded as he navigated his truck through the neighborhood streets, grateful that the subdivision wasn’t heavily traveled. He didn’t have the presence of mind to pay attention to heavy traffic.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it seems there was a large sum of $20,000 that disappeared from the books last August. It then reappeared a few weeks later. I double-checked where it came from…the check was written by Risa Kennedy.”
Conor felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Why would Risa be taking and then replacing $20,000 from company funds?
“What did their accountant say about it?”
“That’s the thing that makes it even stranger. She started acting all nervous and evading my questions. I thought the woman was going to have a breakdown.”
Connor’s mind whirled with the information. Maybe there was a logical explanation…or maybe Risa had played him for a fool.
“Is that it?” he asked.
“Yep, other than that one thing, the company looks good. It’s very profitable.”
“Okay, thanks, Jim. You’ll get me a written report?”
“Sure thing.”
Connor snapped the phone shut and stared at it incredulously. He felt hot anger rise up inside him. Had he let himself be duped by a pretty woman again? He thought about the feelings he had for Risa. It was more than just an attraction; he’d felt a connection to her. Was that all part of her plan?
Parking in front of his house, Connor got out of his truck and walked inside in a daze. Looking at the couch where, not even an hour ago, they had been sitting, he could still feel the effects of her kisses.
Connor held on to a glimmer of hope. Maybe there was a logical explanation. Shouldn’t he at least ask? He looked at the phone he was still holding in his hand, but before he could open it to call her, the alert that he had a missed text message blinked. Jason Anders’s text.
Connor felt like a rock was lodged in his chest as he stared at the ominous message. “Found something you’ll be interested in on RK”.
With a sigh of resignation, he punched in Jason’s number.
“I’m calling about your text. What did you find?”
“Seems like your friend may be up to something. I looked into her banking activities and I see cash withdrawals that are out of the norm for most people. There’s also some strange lump-sum deposits that also seem unusual. The type of activity that is consistent with some sort of money problem.”
Connor’s heart jolted. “What kind of money problem?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure, but my guess would be maybe a gambling problem or even some kind of blackmail. Or she could be into something else; I really don’t know.”
Blackmail? Was Risa being blackmailed…and if so, what for?
Connor let out a long sigh. “Okay, thanks Jason. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”
He tossed the phone on the coffee table and collapsed on the couch. The private investigator’s findings made it clear there was no explanation. Not one that he wanted to hear, anyway.
It was just as he had thought. He’d been such a fool. Risa Kennedy did have something to hide. He felt like a schmuck, realizing she’d probably been manipulating him all along.
He thought back to the day he first saw Risa at Healthy-Pet. She’d acted rather strangely that day; he should have paid more attention to his gut feeling that something was off.
He realized she had probably set up the whole sequence of events. Arranging for him to drive her home from the party and pretending to be tipsy so that she could have an excuse for tripping and falling right into his arms. Looking up at him with those deep hazel eyes so that he had no choice but to kiss her. Then trying to seduce him right on this very couch.
She probably already knew he had moved into the house. It would have been easy to find out from Kenny or Bill or anyone else in her circle. How much of a fool was he to fall for her story that her dog had led her here? It was clear now, she’d orchestrated the whole thing in order to manipulate him into doing what she wanted with the buyout, and he’d played right into her hands.
Yesterday he’d been so happy with his decision to put an offer on the house, to finally settle down. Now, the last place he wanted to live was Gardner’s Grove. He hoped it wasn’t too late to get out of the purchase.
Connor rubbed his face with his hands, his gut churning. He still had to make a recommendation to his father on the Healthy-Pet buy out. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how Risa’s extracurricular activities might affect the company. And with both of their fathers on his case about moving things along, he was inclined to recommend they buy the company but ditch the clinic. He couldn’t trust his instincts on that now, not after the way Risa had manipulated his feelings.
Connor went into the kitchen and booted up his laptop. Suddenly he wanted this whole Healthy-Pet business over and done with as soon as possible. He could write out the proposal for the buyout tonight and call his father in the morning after he’d talked to the realtor about backing out of the house purchase.
Once he had his proposal written, there was no real reason for him to go to the meeting on Thursday. Which suited him just fine. That would give him the time he needed to pack up his stuff and get back to the city where he belonged.
The sooner he got out of here the better. As far as he was concerned, he’d be a lot happier if he never saw Gardner’s Grove…or Risa Kennedy ever again.
###
Risa was practically floating on air as she made her way to the conference room. The past two days she’d felt happier than she had in a long time. She could barely get her work done; she was so delighted that the clinic was going to stay open. In fact, she’d neglected most of her phone calls the past two days in favor of day-dreaming-something that was totally out of character for her.
The clinic wasn’t the only thing that had occupied her thoughts and kept her from her work. Her mind kept insisting on replaying the kisses she had shared with Connor--over and over again. Just thinking about it made her pulse quicken and her body temperature rise.
She took a deep breath as she approached the door to the conference room. She had to keep her mind on business; there would be plenty of time to think about Connor later on. Her lips curled in a smile as she thought about meeting him later that night to celebrate and her whole body flushed as she thought about what that might entail.
She entered the room which was dominated by a huge table in the center. Leather chairs were situated around it. Her eyes searched the room for Connor, but were disappointed. Only her father and Tristan Dunn were in the room, seated at the far end of the table. Her stomach dropped when she saw the dour looks on their faces.
“Good morning.” She ventured a smile.
They looked at her uncertainly. Her father cleared his throat.
Risa narrowed her eyes at them. “What’s going on?”
Her father exchanged a glance with Tristan, and Risa’s heart skittered. Something was wrong.
Dan Kennedy cleared his throat. “Risa, we have the report here on the acquisition and…well…I’m afraid there are a few questions we need answered.”
Risa stared at them, brows furrowed. “Like what?”
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Tristan gestured to a chair opposite him.
“I think I prefer to stand,” Risa said. A sudden feeling of claustrophobia came upon her, and she felt like she was being cornered. What was going on here?
“Well,” her father said hesitantly, “the accountant uncovered a couple of mysterious transactions and we need to know what they are.”
Risa’s heart jerked in her chest. She’d forgotten all about that. She thought about the missed calls she’d neglected on her p
hone. One of them was probably a warning call from Caitlyn.
She took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. Her father and Tristan looked at her expectantly from the other end of the room.
“It’s not what you think. It’s actually got nothing to do with Healthy-Pet.” She grimaced, realizing how stupid that sounded. Closing her eyes, she figured it was best to tell the truth.
“Look, I don’t want anyone to get into trouble, so I’m not going to name any names unless I have to.” Her eyes darted from her father to Tristan. “Last year one of our employee’s elderly parents fell on hard times. You know how bad the economy is and all. Their retirement savings were in the stock market and they lost everything. Their house was about to be foreclosed on and they needed $20,000 to become current and avoid the foreclosure. The employee took it from Healthy-Pet accounts. They intended to pay it back over time and didn’t think anyone would notice.”
She stopped to take a breath, and the men encouraged her to go on.
“Well, naturally someone did notice. I mean you can’t just take that much money undetected. They told me and I confronted the employee. I was going to fire them, but once I heard the story, I replaced the money in the account with my own money, and they’ve been paying me back ever since.”
She looked at the men defiantly. She knew she had done the right thing and would stand by it, including protecting the employee who only did what they did out of desperation to help their parents.
She saw a glint of understanding in the older men’s eyes and felt the tension ease from her body.
“Oh, well that sounds reasonable,” Tristan said turning to her father. “I think we can consider that matter fully explained.”
Risa’s father nodded, then looked at her apologetically. “We didn’t know what to think,” he said, spreading his hands.
Risa turned on her father, anger welling up in side her. “Well, what did you think it was?”
Her father looked down at the table, apparently unable to meet her eyes. Tristan cleared his throat. “So that just leaves this other matter--”
“What other matter?” Risa caught her voice rising along with her anger. She shifted her weight on her feet. This meeting wasn’t turning out at all like she expected. Instead of a joyous occasion, she felt more like she was facing the Spanish Inquisition.
“There are some odd-looking deposits and withdrawals on your bank account statement,” Tristan blurted out.
Risa felt her brows knit together. Her mind reeled with confusion. “What does that have to do with Healthy-Pet?”
“We don’t know--does it have something to do with Healthy-Pet?” Risa’s father was still looking down at the table, a flush spreading on his cheeks.
“Wait a minute.” Risa’s momentary confusion gave way to fury. “Just what are you doing looking into my personal finances?”
She stood facing them, her hands closed into tight fists, the nails biting into her palms.
“Connor noticed some inconsistencies and thought it best to look into your activities—”
“Connor?” She cut him off. “Had me investigated? Is that why he’s not here - too chicken to say it to my face?” Risa felt like the walls were crashing in on her. She had trusted him, even thought there was something between them. Tears pricked her eyes and she bit hard on her lower lip trying to keep them at bay.
“Now, Risa.” Tristan stood and held his palms up in front of him, trying to calm her. “It’s not uncommon for us to investigate the CEO of a company we are trying to buy. Connor was doing a thorough job.”
Risa jerked her head toward her father. “And you…you think the worst of me too? That I have something sneaky or underhanded going on?”
“Risa, no. Of course not. I just-”
Risa held up her hand. “For your information, not that I should have to justify myself, but those withdrawals from my bank account are to pay for art school for a young artist that I’m sponsoring. It’s something personal - nothing to do with Healthy-Pet. And the deposits are from the employee that borrowed the $20,000. Not that any of this is any of your business.”
She glared at them from the other end of the room. Tristan shuffled some papers at the end of the table and cleared his throat.
“Based on Connor’s recommendation, we’ve offered your father his asking price for Healthy-Pet. We’ll be keeping the company intact, except for the clinic. We’ll be closing that down over the next few months.”
Risa heart lurched and she felt the breath rush out of her. She looked at her father, tears forming in her eyes. “You’re closing the clinic?”
Her father turned eyes full of sorrow on her. “Risa, I’m sor-”
Risa didn’t wait to hear the rest of his apology. Tears made her vision blurry, her throat felt tight. Spinning on her heels, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
###
Risa slammed her notebook down on her desk. Shoving her day planner into her tote bag, she grabbed her keys and stomped out of the office.
She was too angry to talk to anyone, and she could feel people staring at her back as she stormed off toward the parking lot. It was unusual for her to act this way and she was sure people would be talking about it after she left.
But what did she care? There was no way she was going to continue to work at Healthy-Pet under the rule of Dunn International, not with the way she’d just been treated.
She jammed her car into drive and headed out of the parking lot feeling thankful she hadn’t brought Bailey to work. She didn’t want the sensitive dog to see her like this.
Adjusting her rear-view mirror she noticed her face was all red and splotchy. She swiped at her puffy eyes trying to wipe off the mascara that her tears had painted her cheeks with.
She didn’t actually care what she looked like, though. She was mad as hell and needed an outlet for her wrath. Connor Dunn.
She could have called him, but that wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as looking him in the eye and watching him squirm. Hours earlier the thought of him had her stomach flittering with butterflies; now the thought of him had her stomach churning with nausea. How could she have fallen for him?
She wondered if Connor had been playing her the whole time. What reason would he have? She couldn’t think of one. She’d sensed his feelings for her were real. Which made her wonder if her lack of experience had messed with her ability to judge men’s intentions. Clearly she’d been just another notch on the belt for Connor Dunn.
She felt a little pull in her stomach, her gut telling her that wasn’t true. But it didn’t matter now; he’d lied to her and betrayed her. She wanted nothing to do with him--or his company.
Pulling onto his street she felt twitchy, nervous. Her stomach went through a somersault and cartwheel routine. Anger at what he had done spread through her veins, pushing out all other emotions.
Turning the corner, she felt a jolt run through her as his house came into view. Something was off. The house was dark, its windows empty. Then she saw it, and it hit her like a punch in the gut. The “For Sale” sign had been placed in the center of the front yard.
Smacking her steering wheel with the palm of her hand, she let out a string of curse words with Connor Dunn’s name attached to them. She would never get the chance to vent her anger at him in person. He was already gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Connor stood in the empty house and looked around, his heart shrinking in his chest. So much for a new start.
He shrugged and packed the last of the silverware into a box, marveling at how much stuff he had actually moved in. A final sweep through the cabinets, fridge, and drawers found them empty. He picked up the box and turned to leave but not before taking one final glance out into the back-yard.
The mighty oak tree stood in the corner. Was he imagining it, or did its leaves seem sad and droopy? An adolescent memory of Risa by the tree floated to the surface, and his heart lurched. He shook it away. Best not to be think
ing about Risa Kennedy right now. If only things had been different.
His eyes found the on the missing boards in the fence and he was glad he hadn’t put any work into fixing them yet. Then he realized he didn’t see Picasso in the back yard.
The sudden squeal of brakes outside the house told him why. His heart jerked as he heard a sickening thud and a gut-wrenching high-pitched yelp. Picasso!
Adrenaline shot through him. Dropping the box with a thud, he ran to the front door, ripping it open. His heart stopped when he looked out into the street.
Picasso lay in the road, his leg at an impossible angle, his fur smattered with blood.
Connor ran to him. His heart squeezed with relief when the big dog lifted his head and looked him in the eye. He was alive!
“It’s okay, boy.” Connor stroked the dogs head reassuringly. He looked over his body, trying to determine where he’d been hit. There was a lot of blood near his hip and back. His leg was obviously broken. He hoped there were no internal injuries, but he couldn’t be sure.
“I’m so sorry, he ran out in front of me. I couldn’t stop in time." A voice wailed beside him.
Connor turned to see a young girl who appeared to be even more distraught than he was. Tears streamed down her face, her wide eyes darting from Picasso to Connor and back again. Her car stood ten feet down the road, engine on, the driver’s door hanging open.
“It’s okay,” he said. Then turning his attention back to Picasso, he added, “Maybe you can help me get him into my truck.”
The girl nodded, staying with Picasso while Connor backed his SUV out of the driveway, pulling up next to the dog. He lifted the Picasso gently, wincing at the howl of pain while the girl spread a blanket in the back.
He waved off her offer to go with him, assuring her everything would be okay. Then he sped away, tires squealing to the one place he knew would be open for emergencies where the staff would do their best to save Picasso: the Healthy-Pet clinic.
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