Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“I’m not certain why you couldn’t have waited until I got out of class, Alan,” Azelie ventured, seating herself across from her boss.
“I told you it’s an emergency. I need you to fix the problem tonight. All you had to do to prevent my coming here was answer your damn phone.”
Maestro didn’t like his tone. The man sounded threatening, ugly even. It didn’t seem to faze Azelie. She looked at her boss calmly, not even blinking at the building tension between them. Maestro would have to always remember that his woman would hold her ground under any circumstances if she believed she was in the right.
“I told you that I have school tomorrow. I study before I go to class, particularly if there is going to be a test. I don’t always have my phone on me. I don’t during class, and I don’t when I’m studying. I watch children sometimes, and I rarely have my phone on during those times.”
“That’s bullshit, Azelie. You’re to be available whenever I need you.”
Azelie lifted one eyebrow. “We had a deal, Alan. In fact, I have it in writing, signed by you. School is important to me, and there wasn’t to be any interference with my classes or studies. I get your books done. I’ve never once failed you. I don’t understand the sudden emergency. If you somehow found out you’re going to get a surprise audit, you should have told me this afternoon. At night I study. You know that.”
“I know you get paid a hell of a lot of money to push numbers around.”
“Actually, I don’t. We talked about that too.”
He leaned forward. “What does that mean? I know how much you get paid.”
“I don’t get paid what a regular bookkeeper gets paid. If you had someone else doing for you what I do, you’d be paying them thousands.”
He opened his mouth, closed it, sat back, folded his arms across his chest and pressed his lips together, glaring at her. Maestro studied his expression. Billows didn’t like what Azelie had just revealed to him. He had to have known the going rate for a bookkeeper like Azelie. Basically, she cooked their books. She tracked down lost money for them. She laundered it into legitimate businesses. According to Code, she barely scraped by.
What the hell? It was impossible for Billows not to know what she got paid, but Maestro was a master at reading people—it was what kept him alive. Billows believed Azelie made far more money than she did. Did he have another bookkeeper? Was he setting Azelie up so it appeared she was skimming cash from the books?
“Let’s start over, Azelie,” Billows finally said. His tone wasn’t exactly conciliatory, but he clearly wanted her to be on the same page with him.
Azelie smiled at her boss and inclined her head—princess to riffraff. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, but it illuminated the beauty in her face. Maestro didn’t like the satisfaction gleam creeping into Billows’ expression. A man training trafficking victims for the sexual assault that would end up being their lives should have been able to read the falseness of her expression. Either Billows was so arrogant he believed she was into him and wanted to please him, or he didn’t care enough to learn to read others. That made him stupid and even more dangerous, in Maestro’s opinion.
“I’ll see to it that you receive the proper amount of money for the work you do.” Billows sat back in the chair and regarded her with shrewd eyes.
To Maestro, the man looked cunning. There was a cruel edge to his mouth, and far too much interest in his gaze when he looked at Azelie.
“I don’t know why you aren’t receiving what you should be, but I’ll fix that immediately.”
“I appreciate that, Alan, but my not going tonight isn’t about the money. School is extremely important to me. When my classes are over tomorrow, I’ll come straight to the club. You know I’ve never once let you down. I need these classes and I can’t reschedule them.”
Billows scowled at her, openly showing his displeasure. Maestro paid attention to Azelie’s reaction. Had Andrii been the one upset with her, there was no doubt in his mind that she would be uncomfortable and would try to find a compromise. Instead, she appeared serene but implacable.
“How late will you be tomorrow?”
“My last class gets out at four. So basically, all day. I don’t even have time for lunch. On my break between classes, I’ll study for the tests I’ll be taking. So, after four, I’ll grab something to eat and come straight to the club.”
Maestro noted that she wouldn’t have time for lunch. He would find out where she was going to be and bring her something to eat. Someone needed to look after her, and he wanted to be that someone.