The front door of the red-brick building clicked open and she ran inside. The staircase’s wrought iron balustrade felt cool against her skin. It was one of the loveliest features of the building, but the special features didn’t stop there.
Harry’s Manhattan apartment was huge compared to hers. With floor-to-ceiling windows and a gourmet kitchen, it was the type of home she could never afford.
As well as being the best contract photographer The Daily Times employed, Harry regularly exhibited his work in art galleries. He’d won prestigious awards and had a reputation that gave him access to New York’s glitterati. He was living his dream—unlike Ashley.
She knocked on his apartment door and waited.
When the door opened, a yawning Harry stood in front of her. His mop of blond hair stuck out at odd angles and there was still stubble on his face. “Have you just fallen out of bed?”
“I had a busy night.”
“It looks like it. How was your Twilight Zone marathon?”
He rubbed his eyes and headed toward the kitchen. “What’s another word for totally awesome?”
Ashley smiled. “I get the idea. Do you want to go over the photos for my story now or later?”
He glanced at his watch and groaned. “Better do it now. I have to leave in an hour and I won’t be back until later tonight. Don’t tell me you worked on your story all night.”
“You know me—if something bugs me I keep going until I’ve found an answer.”
“What was bugging you?”
She sat on a kitchen stool. “I’ve got one ultra-wealthy widow who is the darling of the social circuit, a nonprofit charity that receives a lot of money, and a bank account that doesn’t make sense.”
Harry dropped two slices of bread into his toaster. “I hope it’s the wealthy widow’s bank account that doesn’t make sense and not yours.”
“You’re just worried that one day I’m going to come and live with you.”
He snorted. “You forgot about the security camera over my front door. At the first sign of a woman carrying anything larger than a folder, a solid steel door drops in front of her.”
Ashley waved her folder in the air. “Your bachelor status is not under threat, but I’ve got a feeling Jasmine Alfredo might be.”
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t need to defraud anything. Her charities have all got plenty of money, except Reach High. It’s the largest nonprofit she manages. They haven’t done half the projects they said they would, but they’ve spent the federal grant money they received.”
Harry buttered a piece of toast and held it toward her.
“No, thanks. I’ve already eaten.” She opened her folder. “If you don’t spend the grant money on the services or products the government is funding, you’re supposed to pay it back. Reach High can’t afford to repay any money.”
Harry wiped his hands on his jeans and opened Ashley’s folder. “If the funding didn’t go to the projects it was supposed to, where has it gone?”
“That’s what I tried to find out. Not all nonprofits have to complete an independent audit. But Reach High should have. Last year, they received three federal grants worth between two- and three-hundred thousand dollars each.”
“And the money’s disappeared?”
“Most of it.”
“I hope you didn’t do anything illegal to figure that out?”
“Not really.”
“Don’t tell me what you did. I’ll only get stressed.” Harry frowned as he read the notes she’d made. “How do the photos from the dinner party tie in with the grants?”
“The people invited to the dinner party are all involved in Jasmine’s nonprofit charities. She wanted to thank all the board members for their support. I only knew half the people there. I looked for them on the Internet, but a lot of the board members are camera shy. I’m hoping you and Bonnie can tell me their names.”
Harry turned to the first sheet of photos. “That’s Jason Le Blanc. He manages an art auction house called Taylor and Mitchell.”
Ashley wrote his name under the photo.
He pointed to another image. “Stephanie Malcolm, Chief Financial Strategist for Duncan and Malcolm. Her father owns the company.” Harry turned to the next page. “Duncan Gardiner, big whiz in the telecommunications industry.”
“How do you know these people?”
“I’ve been working in New York for twenty years. You see a lot of faces in that time. That’s Marty Williams—great guy—owns a yacht in the Bahamas. I can’t believe he’d be involved in anything illegal.”
Ashley added Marty’s name to his photo. “I don’t know which charities each of these people support, but I’m going to find out.”
Harry told her the names of another four people. “Are you sure you want to investigate Jasmine’s nonprofit charities?”
“She needs to be held accountable for the money the charities have received.”
“Apart from Jasmine, the people in this folder are some of the wealthiest and influential in New York. If you annoy them, your career could be over.”
Ashley closed the folder. “I know, that’s why I’m being careful.”
“Define careful.”
“You and Bonnie are the only people who know what I’m doing.”
“And?”
“And nothing. That’s it.”
Harry shook his head. “It’s not enough. Some of these people have bodyguards. You were lucky to get away with taking the photos at Jasmine’s party.”
“No one knew what I was doing.”
“Are you sure?”
Ashley bit her bottom lip. “No one said anything.”
Harry crossed his arms. “You’re living in New York, not Bozeman. If you make false accusations about these people, you’ll be run out of town. They’re not going to let a junior reporter from The Daily Times ruin their lives.”
“Someone needs to investigate what’s happening.”
“All I’m saying is to be careful. Keep backups of everything on a cloud storage system. Don’t let your laptop out of your sight and be careful with your emails. Have you been working on this from home?”
Ashley nodded. “And work.”
Harry rubbed his forehead. “As soon as you arrive at your desk, remove anything to do with Jasmine’s story. Send it to a cloud account. I’ll delete the photos off my computer.”
She slipped the folder into her bag. “I’ll be more careful.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
Ashley didn’t think it was a good idea to mention the early breakfast she’d had at Jasmine’s favorite café.
“Call me straight away if something doesn’t feel right.”
“I will.” She gave Harry a quick hug before leaving. “Good luck with the job you’re doing today.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it. Remember to be careful.”
Ashley ran down the stairs. She needed to get to her desk as fast as possible.
Jasmine Alfredo hadn’t eaten breakfast on her own. Congressman Welsh had been with her, and she hadn’t seemed happy.
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Other Contemporary Romances by Leeanna Morgan:
Montana Brides:
Book 1: Forever Dreams (Gracie and Trent)
Book 2: Forever in Love (Amy and Nathan)
Book 3: Forever After (Nicky and Sam)
Book 4: Forever Wishes (Erin and Jake)
Book 5: Forever Santa (A Montana Brides Christmas Novella)
Book 6: Forever Cowboy (Emily and Alex)
Book 7: Forever Together (Kate and Dan)
Book 8: Forever and a Day (Sarah and Jordan)
The Bridesmaids Club:
Book 1: All of Me (Tess and Logan)
Book 2: Loving You (Annie and Dylan)
Book 3: Head Over Heels (Sally and Todd)
Book 4: Sweet on You (Molly and Jacob)
Emerald Lake Billionaires:
Book 1: Sealed wit
h a Kiss (Rachel and John)
Book 2: Playing for Keeps (Sophie and Ryan)
Book 3: Crazy Love (Holly and Daniel)
The Protectors:
Book 1: Safe Haven (Hayley and Tank)
Book 2: Just Breathe (Kelly and Tanner)
Book 3: Always (Mallory and Grant)
Book 4: The Promise (Ashley and Matthew)
Book 5: Coming Home (Mia and Stan)
Book 6: The Gift (Hannah and Brett)
Book 7: The Wish (Claire and Jason)
Always (The Protectors Book 3) Page 24