Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I found myself rubbing absently at my neck while I worked, trying my hardest not to fixate on the devilishly handsome man sitting across from me. His presence was so much of a distraction that my petty cash numbers were off by almost a hundred and fifty euros. Well, that was embarrassing, given Jonathan’s earlier statement that I came across as competent.
Sighing, I started over, but again, the receipts came up short. I frowned down at my tally. Rina and I were the only two people who had access to petty cash. I was the custodian, the one who collected the receipts, calculated what had been spent and replenished the cash. Rina, being the cashier, was the one who distributed the money when something needed to be purchased or a service paid for.
“Something wrong?” Jonathan asked, his attention rising from his phone.
“My petty cash numbers are off by quite a bit. I must’ve miscalculated somewhere.”
Sliding his phone into his pocket, Jonathan stood and removed his suit jacket, “Mind if I take a look?”
My eyebrows rose as he approached and began rolling up his shirt sleeves, revealing faintly tanned forearms with hair a shade darker than that on his head. Jonathan owned a successful investment firm. I imagined with a profession like that he had to be a numbers whizz. He moved close to where I sat, barely an inch between us as he leaned down to gather the receipts. I was immediately hit with a waft of his scent, faint cologne and something that was just him. Male skin. Well, that was inconvenient, given my recent revelation of being attracted to him. Tingles skittered across my neck at his proximity, and I watched in fascination as he diligently worked through the receipts.
I was taken aback by his speed. He also appeared to add everything in his head instead of using a calculator like I had. I sat there the entire time willing my heart to quit racing at the heat of him next to me, the soft brush of his arm whenever he moved.
When he was finished, he turned his head to me, a beat of silence elapsing when he realised just how close we were. I was convinced his pupils dilated, his gaze flicking to my lips for a fraction of a second before he seemed to gather himself, moving away to stand upright. He cleared his throat. “Receipts are off by one hundred and fifty-three euros and seventy-two cents. Is that what you got?”
“Yes,” I replied, surprised that he’d completed the task so swiftly but also that he’d done the calculations in his head. “That was impressive. Were you a maths whizz at school?”
His lips twitched. “Something like that.” He gazed down at me, folding his arms. Why couldn’t I stop staring at his forearms?
“So,” he went on. “Who else has access to petty cash?”
“Only my admin assistant, Rina. I think maybe there are some receipts missing. She’s at lunch right now, but I’ll ask her when she gets back.”
“Do you think she might’ve spent the money herself and was planning to replace it before you noticed?” Jonathan enquired.
“Gosh, no. Rina would never do something like that. I trust her.”
“Well, then, someone must’ve accessed the cash box and stolen the money.”
“No, there’s no one here who would steal. There are misplaced receipts. I’m sure of it.”
“If you say so,” Jonathan said as he moved around my desk, his tall frame suddenly making the room feel smaller.
I sat back as he returned to the chair in front of my desk, but what he said had me worrying. What if there weren’t any more receipts and someone really had taken the money? It was kept in a lock box. Only Rina and I had keys, but I’d been so distracted lately. Someone could’ve easily taken the key and returned it before I’d even noticed it was missing. I mean, in the grand scale of things, it wasn’t a lot of money, but I couldn’t allow an employee to steal and get away with it. And if this person were a member of staff, who was to say they weren’t also stealing from the residents? A sick feeling filled my gut at the thought. Alternatively, it could’ve been one of the many visitors who came and went from the building on a daily basis. There were way too many possible suspects.
Then I remembered Hannah casually hanging out in my office when I’d taken time off for the funeral. She could’ve done it. No. Not Hannah. She wouldn’t do something like that. Then again, she and Cathal had had an affair behind my back. An unproven affair, sure, but my gut instincts didn’t tend to lie to me about stuff like that.
I was still deep in thought when a knock sounded on my door just before Rina stuck her head in. As soon as she spotted Jonathan, her eyebrows rose, and her expression turned apologetic. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company, Ada.”