“Is this the detective you mentioned to me earlier?” Jordan asked, and watched the older man walk behind his desk.
Ralph Layette turned to straighten a framed picture of downtown Kansas City at the turn of the century. Jordan remembered the old oil painting hanging in his father’s study and knew that Layette cherished the picture more than he would ever admit.
“It’s very important that we determine who is taking money from these accounts without letting the public know that there’s a problem.” Layette didn’t turn around as he spoke. “I know you realize this, Jordan, but the scandal could ruin you. Someone is stealing from Hall Enterprises and Dixon will be able to dig in places that you and I can’t dig without eyebrows being raised. He will be our tool of discretion.”
“And how will he do this?” Jordan didn’t like the thought of bringing someone in from the outside. The more parties that knew the money was missing, the more people Jordan had to keep an eye on.
A cell phone that sat on top of a pile of papers on Layette’s desk began buzzing and Layette turned to pick up the phone. He glanced at the number displayed and then answered it with a gruff acknowledgment. A minute later he ended the call and dropped the phone back on the desk.
“You can ask him yourself,” Layette said, and moved to leave his office. “He’s here now.”
Jordan stood and followed Layette into the hallway. “We’ll meet in my office,” Jordan said, glancing at the man who stood on the other side of the glass doors, waiting to be let into Hall Enterprises.
The scent of Roxanne’s perfume captured Jordan’s attention as he passed through the doorway but he couldn’t let his thoughts stray to what she might be doing this evening while he plotted to capture a thief.
Chapter Nine
Sounds of laughter and steady conversation mixed with the clicking of silverware against china when Roxanne entered Senorita’s. She sat next to Joanie, greeting the two of them with what she hoped was a relaxed smile.
“Strawberry margaritas for both of you?” David wagged his finger at the two of them once the waiter had come to their table.
“Sounds yummy.” Joanie looked relaxed in her pale pink blouse and matching skirt.
“Sure. With salt.” Roxanne nodded to the waiter who jotted down their order then hurried off.
Minutes later she sipped at the drink, feeling the strength of the alcohol immediately. Maybe she should just get good and drunk tonight, anything to clear her head of Jordan. His silence when she’d made it clear she wanted from him what he wanted from her—honesty in what he did, where he went—had hurt her more than she wanted to admit.
Jordan wanted her submission, her undying loyalty, but he wouldn’t offer the same. And she didn’t want him to submit to her. She didn’t want a weak man. That much she knew already. What she wanted was honesty, respect, appreciation of the fact that she was intelligent, and not some stupid bimbo to use and then discard.
“Roxanne, are you with us?” David waved a chip in the air and Roxanne blinked and then smiled.
“I’m sorry, David. I’m with you.” Roxanne tried to recall what they had just been talking about.
Her thoughts kept straying to the nonchalant way Jordan had acted when she left the office. She took another drink of her margarita, the tequila in it floating to her head. Nothing she wanted mattered to Jordan and it pissed her off.
“What were you thinking about?” Joanie asked, and then sucked the last of her margarita through her straw.
“Oh, nothing,” Roxanne lied. “It’s just been a long day at work.”
She wouldn’t put a damper on their evening by telling the two of them she had allowed her boss to turn her into a sexual play toy. And that is exactly what had happened. She wouldn’t deny how Jordan affected her physically. Dear God. Just thinking about some of the things he’d done to her warmed her more than what the alcohol could possibly do. But great sex wasn’t enough to create the foundation for a good relationship. And so she’d put an end to it. If only it didn’t hurt so much. She took another gulp of her drink. There wasn’t enough alcohol in it though to numb her pain.
Roxanne watched Joanie study her for a moment, and knew her psychologist friend could see through her lies. Roxanne smiled and hoped Joanie wouldn’t press the issue. Now wasn’t the time for her to dump her personal problems on her friends. Roxanne wanted to enjoy the evening and not end up crying on her friend’s shoulder.
David leaned forward. “Well, I had just suggested the three of us get naked and get in a pile,” he said quietly, so the people in the booths on either end of them wouldn’t hear.
“Oh, you did not,” Joanie scolded, and moved to kick him under the table.
“Ouch,” David cried out, and this time a couple of kids at a nearby table did turn, and then giggled.
The waiter showed up then with several steaming plates of fajitas complete with all of the fixings. Suddenly there was food everywhere, and again Roxanne envied her friends’ happiness when the two of them helped each other prepare their plates. And she was glad when they turned the chatter toward something easy.
Try as she did, eating simply wasn’t an option, the churning lump in her gut not letting her put her personal problems to the side. David talked about his work, rambling on about things going on in his office. Joanie added comments about her day, and the two of them supported each other, offering support and agreeing with what the other said. A true bond lay between them. And although she knew they were her friends, at the moment she felt like running home to her bed and crying her eyes out that she didn’t have the same camaraderie with Jordan. Hell, they weren’t even close.
No. She wouldn’t cry over the man. Being with her friends was a good idea. The last thing she needed to be was alone right now.
“Let’s go,” Joanie finally said. “If I have another drink, I won’t be able to walk out of here.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying to get you drunk,” David said, winking at Roxanne.
They paid the bill and then left the restaurant to walk toward their cars parked on the street. It was still light out, but streaks of orange and pink ran across the sky as the setting sun painted a beautiful picture along the Kansas City skyline. Roxanne slid her arm around Joanie’s, and the two walked amiably with David bringing up the rear.
“Is it okay if I come over for a while?” Roxanne asked quietly. “I’m not in the mood to be alone tonight.”
“Of course.” Joanie squeezed Roxanne’s arm. “You can stay the night if you like.”
They reached Roxanne’s Probe first, and David’s black Nissan was parked just a few parking places more down the street. Joanie turned to her fiancé and released Roxanne to wrap her arms around his waist.
“I’m going to ride with Roxanne,” she told him. “We’ll meet you back at the apartment.”
“Okay,” David said, and then kissed Joanie while Roxanne watched. “Don’t dawdle, you two.”
The two women climbed into Roxanne’s car, and Joanie waited until Roxanne had pulled into the street before speaking.
“You going to tell me what’s bothering you?” she asked.
Roxanne turned to see the concerned look on her friend’s face. She smiled, and returned her attention to the traffic.
“I could tell you all the problems at work,” Roxanne said, but then felt an incredible urge to unload all of her frustrations about Jordan on to her friend.
“Why don’t you tell me about this boss of yours,” Joanie said quietly.
Roxanne laughed, but then felt dampness in her eyes, and rubbed them. She would not cry over that man.
“He wants so much from me,” Roxanne began. “And he won’t give me the same in return. Not to mention I think he’s seeing other women.”
“He’s dating other women?” Joanie asked. “Did he tell you this?”
“Well, he sure didn’t deny it.” Roxanne remembered his stubborn silence, and anger consumed her all over again. “I just don’t get
him. He moves into my space, and tells me what I can and can’t do like he owns me. But then for some reason he feels he doesn’t have to follow the same rules.”
“So how did you find out he was seeing other women?” Joanie asked.
“He came over the other day, and reeked of some other lady’s perfume.” Roxanne gripped the steering wheel, as an image of Jordan’s unreadable face appeared in her thoughts. She wondered what he was doing tonight, but then pushed the thought away in frustration.
“So you confronted him about it,” Joanie prompted.
“You’re damn right I did,” Roxanne declared. “He had just finished berating me about who I spent my time with. Can you believe it?” Roxanne turned to glare at her friend, feeling the outrage all over again. “And he just stood there. He made no attempt whatsoever to try and deny anything. It was like he could do whatever he wanted, but I was supposed to follow his every rule and demand.”
“So let me get this right,” Joanie said. “You told him you could smell the perfume, and then accused him of being with another woman? Or did you ask him if he had been with someone else?”
Roxanne watched as David’s Nissan whipped around in front of them. She glanced over her shoulder to check for cars, and then focused on the rear of David’s car, as she followed him to the other lane.
She frowned as she considered her friend’s question. “What’s your point?” Roxanne asked.
“Well, if you told him he had been with another woman, and he hadn’t, you might have pissed him off, and he kept quiet out of anger,” Joanie explained, sounding very much like the therapist she was. “But if you asked him if he had seen another lady, and he didn’t answer, that would imply guilt to me, and he is taking time to consider a good alibi, or another means to respond to your question.”
Roxanne sighed. She tried to remember the details of their conversation in the bedroom, but all that stuck out in her thoughts was the smell of that perfume, and the hardened expression Jordan had offered her.
“I don’t remember.” Roxanne blew out a hard sigh of resignation. “None of it matters now anyway. It’s over.”
They pulled into the parking lot of Joanie and David’s complex and Roxanne parked in a stall next to David’s Nissan. The sun still lingered but cast long shadows from the cars, and the pink in the sky faded into a darker blue. Roxanne made sure her car doors were locked after Joanie was out on her side of the car, and then moved around to the front of her vehicle to join her friend.
“I don’t want to think about Jordan tonight,” Roxanne said quietly, as David approached.
“Well then, we shall do our best to distract your thoughts.” Joanie smiled, and tossed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder.
“And how shall we distract her thoughts?” David came up behind Joanie, and tugged on her blonde strands, pulling Joanie’s head back so that she stared up at him.
David planted a passionate kiss on her mouth, and Roxanne watched the two lovers. David opened his eyes, before pulling back from Joanie, and met Roxanne’s gaze.
“Always the voyeur,” he said, and chuckled.
“Sorry.” Roxanne grinned too, and redirected her attention to the cars in the lot, as she started walking toward their building.
“You can watch anytime you want,” David teased, and tugged on Roxanne’s hair, then fell into line between the two women, and wrapped an arm over Roxanne’s shoulder, pulling her to him in a brotherly fashion. “So what do you two ladies have planned for the evening?”
“Since I have Roxanne all to myself for the entire evening,” Joanie began, and looked around David to smile at Roxanne. “I thought she could help me with some wedding decisions.”
Roxanne saw the enthusiasm in her friend’s face. Joanie had wanted her advice on several matters. Roxanne wasn’t sure if planning the ceremony where these two would commit to each other for the rest of their lives would help her take her mind off Jordan, but she wouldn’t let her personal life dampen her best friend’s enthusiasm.
“That sounds like the perfect night to me,” Roxanne smiled at her friend.
David let go of the two women and unlocked the door to their apartment. Joanie and Roxanne made a beeline to the bedroom, made themselves comfortable, and spent the next hour or so going through catalogs, and discussing miscellaneous items that Joanie had on her list of things to do for the ceremony.
“I can’t believe how much preparation is involved in planning a wedding,” Roxanne said, and tossed a magazine she’d been looking through to the floor on top of a stack of magazines already there.
“Want something to drink?” Joanie asked, and closed the magazine she’d been reading.
“If you want,” Roxanne said, glancing around at the stacks of wedding paraphernalia that cluttered the bedroom.
“Let’s take a break from all of this.” Joanie looked around her room too. “How about we go out to the patio, see what David is doing. He’s probably forgotten we’re here by now.”
“It’s more like I figured I’d been forgotten.” David had obviously overheard them, and greeted Joanie in the kitchen with a swat to her rear. “She just uses me,” he added, doing his best to look like he was pouting, but his grin gave him away.
“I really do envy you two with how happy you are.” Roxanne accepted the bottled water that Joanie gave her and then followed her girlfriend out to the patio.
“You’re a hell of a catch,” David told her, moving the lawn chairs around so they could all sit and face each other. “Is that boss of yours still giving you grief?”
“Well, thank you. And I’m not sure what to make of him, to be honest with you.” She quickly shared his reaction to her phone call with Joanie before she’d left work. Maybe the best thing to do was unload on these two. “He asks me all of these questions, but then goes silent when I ask him questions.”
“So you ask him where he’s going and what he’s doing?” David asked. “And then he tells you it’s none of your business?”
“Well, no,” Roxanne said, shaking her head. “I’ve never asked him to share the details of his day.”
“Then what do you ask him?” Joanie wondered.
“Well, maybe I don’t ask him questions.” Roxanne knew all of this would be too confusing to explain. Hell, she didn’t get most of it herself. “He won’t share anything with me.”
“That’s not easy for a guy to do,” David said, seeming to understand what she didn’t.
“You and Joanie don’t seem to have a problem with it,” Roxanne argued.
Joanie laughed. “You have to work hard to gain perfection.” She ran her foot up David’s leg, grinning. “When you find it, you go after it until you get it.”
“We don’t know this guy is right for her, though.” David turned serious, always the protector. “I still think I ought to meet the guy. If he’s just playing her, then we don’t want our girl hurt.”
Roxanne let out a staggered sigh, appreciative of his friendship but frustrated at the same time.
“I’m not sure that there is any reason to meet him,” she said, the pain in her gut returning with a vengeance. “I won’t chase him if there isn’t any reason to.”
“If you can’t live without him, that sounds like plenty good reason to me.” Joanie spoke softly, reaching out to touch Roxanne’s hand. “It might hurt a little fighting for him, but if he’s worth it, you’ll be happy you did in the end.”
Roxanne nodded but didn’t say anything, fearful she might start crying if she did.
Shortly after that she left, the evening getting late. She would face Jordan again tomorrow at work, and a good night’s sleep would only help.
The night air felt good, and the sky was clear and black. Roxanne turned up the radio on her ride home and forced herself to sing along, clear her head. She didn’t hear her phone ring, but felt its vibration against her side, and her stomach did a flip when she guessed Jordan was checking up on her. But it wasn’t Jordan’s number that display
ed on the small phone’s screen.
“Hello,” Roxanne said.
“Roxanne, where are you?” The hushed voice spoke so quickly that Roxanne didn’t recognize the caller.
“Who is this?” she asked.
“Oh, sorry,” the male voice continued to speak in rushed whispers. “This is Aaron Tipley.”
“Why are you whispering?” Roxanne wanted to know.
Aaron sounded strange, but the man got excited easily, and his hushed whispers simply aroused Roxanne’s curiosity.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Nope. I was just heading home.” She held the phone with one hand, so she could look over her shoulder as she merged on to the Interstate. Traffic was light this late in the evening, and within seconds she had accelerated to the speed limit, and adjusted the phone between her shoulder and ear.
“I’m in Nebraska,” Aaron said, and then continued quickly. “I brought up my own computer and found a cheap motel room, since I didn’t have time to authorize anything through the office.”
“What the hell are you doing in Nebraska?” Roxanne frowned, suddenly worried that Aaron had done something stupid. “What are you doing?”
“I’m tracking our thief,” Aaron told her. “And I think I need your help. How soon can you be here?”
“What?” Roxanne almost shouted into the phone, and her smile disappeared.
Chapter Ten
Roxanne stood up and stretched while continuing to stare at the glow of her computer screen. She rubbed her lower back, and then picked up her cell phone to make sure the charge and signal were still strong.
After convincing Aaron that it would be foolish to make a three-hour drive from Kansas City, across the state line, to the small Nebraska town where Aaron had set up camp, she had gone home and signed on to her computer so she could catch up on the work Aaron had accomplished while she’d been at Joanie’s.
She’d talked to Aaron on the phone several times over the next couple hours, and learned the accountant had discovered that a withdrawal of ten thousand dollars had occurred earlier that day from an account that had not yet been touched. He had confirmed with the banker, whom Aaron had managed to get out of bed and convinced to work with him, that the withdrawal had been made in the small town of Auburn, Nebraska. While working with the banker over the phone, the two men became aware of a second transaction from another account at Hall Enterprises. The withdrawal had been made from the exact same location.
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