Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Another glance at the next set of documents he handed her proved his assertion right. Both were signed in the name of Annabelle Block, but one had distinctly masculine handwriting on the endorsement. Handwriting similar to her brother’s.
She felt the heat of Peter’s stare as he waited for her to come to a conclusion. She’d already reached one that churned her upset stomach. Just this morning, Brian had come begging to borrow money, and now…What was going on here? He’d issued two checks and cashed one himself?
Or was she jumping to unwarranted conclusions, and maybe this was just an innocent mistake. She bit the inside of her cheek. Only her brother or Annabelle Block, the shop owner, would know. Liza needed to decide who to talk to first.
She glanced at Peter, who looked at her expectantly. “Thank you for being so thorough,” she said to her accountant, careful to feed his need for approval.
She didn’t want to alienate the man and put him on Brian’s trail. Even if Accounts Receivable was his department, they’d both been careful to skirt the issue and not mention his name. She’d like to keep it that way for now.
“I’m very grateful you called me in to see this,” she added.
“What do you want me to do?” Peter asked, obviously eager to help.
Liza gripped the papers tighter in her hand. She needed to look into this herself and, if Brian was involved, figure out what he was up to before she involved the office or Peter directly.
She gave Peter a forced smile. “Just your normal work. I’ll take it from here.” She folded the papers he’d given her and put them in her oversized bag.
Liza glanced at her watch. “I have to get going. I have a meeting I’m going to be late for, but thanks again.”
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m happy to call the account in question.” Peter inclined his head, as usual, beaming with pride that he’d done his job so well.
Liza strode out of his office and was headed for the exit, preoccupied with thoughts of what Brian was up to and whether she should confront him outright or do a side investigation first. Dare would know. The errant thought brought her up short, and she stopped in the entry hall.
She’d spent one night with him and dropped defenses she’d spent years building, only to have him withdraw over the tattoo and then judge a situation he knew nothing about. He’d wormed his way in and hurt her in a short span of time. Lesson learned, Liza thought. Dare had nothing to do with her business or her problems with her brother. So while the cop might well have answers she needed, Liza was capable of figuring out what to do on her own. She had no intention of relying on Dare Barron again for anything.
She pulled herself together and started for the door, bumping into Jeff as he entered through the other side.
Liza hadn’t seen him since the awkward “this isn’t a date” incident at the fair, and she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him now.
“Jeff, hi!” Liza said, hoping all she’d be facing was a quick conversation between co-workers.
“It’s good to see you,” he said, his gaze looking her over. “How’s your injury?”
“My head is doing pretty well. It still hurts occasionally, and sometimes I have to take painkillers that knock me out. Which is why I didn’t get back to you,” she said, knowing she owed him an explanation.
She wouldn’t tell him she’d been afraid he’d read too much into a return call. “But thank you so much for calling to check on me.”
He nodded in understanding. “Frankly, I’m surprised your watchdog told you I called.”
“Dare told me,” she assured him evenly.
“How did you like the flowers? I wanted to make sure you got them.”
Liza blinked in surprise. “You sent the flowers?”
“You didn’t know?”
She shook her head.
“No wonder you didn’t call,” he said, more to himself than to her.
Embarrassment flooded her. “I’m sorry I didn’t acknowledge them, but there was no card, and I just thought…”
Jeff’s eyes widened in sudden understanding. “You thought your cop sent them,” he muttered and shook his head.
Liza gritted her teeth, a mixture of embarrassment and frustration filling her. Could this mess with Jeff get any worse? They’d had a great working relationship until she’d gone and screwed it up in a misguided attempt to be nice and invite him to meet her at the fair. So she could introduce him to people in town, not because she had any romantic interest in the man.
“Jeff, listen. I realize this is awkward, and we’ve had a lot of misunderstandings in a short time—” Liza began.
“It’s fine. You already told me where I stand. The flowers were just what the card said—if you’d gotten it. A friendly get-well gesture from a colleague,” he assured her, sounding like he meant it. “And I’m sorry for what I said about your cop friend. He just stepped up and took over before I could.” He shrugged, and his cheeks flushed.