His breath came in quick pants as tiny aftershocks quaked through him. He realized that he was resting almost all his weight on Grace and rolled away, collapsing into the soft down blankets on the bed. He let his eyes drift closed, his entire body more relaxed than it had been in ages. The last thing he remembered before sleep overtook him was the soft touch of Grace’s arms as they wrapped around him.
Grace pushed her notepad away from her as her eyes drifted closed. What the hell had she been thinking when she agreed to do Victoria’s party? After two days of frantic calls, she’d finally signed the contract for the hall, but now she had to search out bartenders for the evening.
She’d left messages with the seven services she’d had decent experiences with before, but the two that had gotten back already turned her down.
She sighed and looked out the window of her apartment. The sun shone and the streets were relatively calm. One of the joys of her business was that she could work wherever there was Wi-Fi. She pushed her laptop shut and tucked it into her computer bag. After a glance to make sure Princess was comfortably tucked into the corner of the couch and her water dish was full, Grace slipped out the door.
It was a short walk from her building to her favorite coffee shop. It was late afternoon, after the lunch rush and before the swarm of people trying to get home, so it only took her ten minutes to walk the few blocks.
Once inside, she slid into a booth where she could get some quality people watching in as she worked. The public place wasn’t ideal due to lack of privacy, but she could go a few hours without needing to make a confidential call.
She opened up her computer and pulled up her spreadsheets related to Victoria’s Employee Appreciation Ball. The invitations should be going out soon, hopefully giving the invitees at least a week to get ready.
In order to get attendance up, Victoria also wanted impressive gift baskets put together, along with games and raffles to show the employees a good time. Andre was in charge of organizing the giveaways for a somewhat reasonable budget and finding a temp to help out during the party and for the few weeks after.
Right as Grace was really getting into work, the bell above the door rang again. Glancing up like she normally did, she couldn’t help but stare at the striking woman who walked in. She wore her auburn hair pulled back and her perfectly fitted navy suit made her long legs somehow appear longer. Grace frowned at the tinge of recognition. She racked her brain, going through the various events she’d attended recently.
She stood as it came to her. She was Daton’s guest at Mark’s party.
As though the woman felt Grace’s gaze, she looked over her shoulder as she reached the counter. Her eyes widened as soon as they landed on Grace, and she immediately looked away.
Grace put on her friendliest face and walked over. “Hi,” she said cheerfully. “I think I saw you at Mark’s the other day.” She held out a hand. “I’m Grace.”
The woman stared at her in silence for a few seconds. “Hi,” she squeaked out as she gave Grace a handshake firmer than her voice.
“So how do you know Mark?” asked Grace, refusing to acknowledge how obvious it was that the woman wanted nothing to do with her.
“Um, I work at State Financial First Bank. Mr. DuFord does business with my boss there.”
Grace nodded. “Daton, right? I’ve met him a few times back when Mark and I were dating. Is he as much of an ass to work for as he is to double date?”
For the first time since she walked in, the woman seemed to relax. “Yeah, Daton can be hard to handle sometimes.”
Grace’s smile was genuine now. She was getting somewhere. She quickly glanced to her computer and to the one person in line in front of them. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Karina,” she said. “So you like to work in coffee shops?”
Grace shrugged. “It breaks up the day.”
The barista called Karina up, and Grace stepped back. “Come have a seat,” she said as Karina walked up to order. Grace rushed back to her makeshift work station to clear aside some of her papers. She debated texting Simon and asking for his advice. She had one of Mark’s bankers there and ready to talk. She just wasn’t sure what she wanted out of the woman at the moment.
At that moment, Karina walked over with her coffee in hand. “I really shouldn’t stay long,” she said as she sat down.
Grace picked up her own drink and crossed her legs. “No pressure. I always like to say hi to familiar faces, though. What are you doing in the area?”
“Picking up some paperwork.” She blew on the steaming drink in her hands. “Nothing fun. What are you working on? Any fancy events coming up?”
Grace tilted her head. “You know what I do?”
“Um…Mr. DuFord must’ve mentioned it,” she said quickly.
Grace made sure none of her disbelief showed. “That makes sense. But, no, I’m not planning anything crazy exciting. Nothing as extravagant as Mark’s barbeque the other day. Though you didn’t seem like you were having a great time.”
“Was I that obvious?”
“I have a sixth sense for people who aren’t enjoying themselves.” Grace gave Karina a sympathetic smile. “You need to come to one of my events sometime. Now I know how to throw a good party.”
Karina let out a laugh. “I bet. Unfortunately I don’t get out much.”
“Come on. Dressing up is good for the soul. Tell you what. This thing I’m working on right now is super last-minute, so we’re making sure to have lots of extra space since we’re not going to have a for sure head count. Why don’t you stop by?”
A blush crept up Karina’s cheeks. “I really couldn’t crash some big thing like that.”
“Honey,” said Grace. “It’s not crashing if you’re invited. Besides, between Mark and Daton, you know important people. And if you know important people, then other important people will want to know you. It’s the name of the game. You want to know what I’ll tell my client if she asks who you are?”
Karina’s brow crinkled. “What?”
“I’ll say you’re a banker with connections. And do you want to know how much of that is a lie?”
The corner of Karina’s mouth hooked up. “None.”
“Damn straight. Now do you have a card so I can send you the place and time?” asked Grace.
A sense of victory fell over Grace as Karina dug through her purse and pulled out a business card, even stopping to write her cell phone number on the back.
“Here you go.” She handed it over. “Send me a text if you change your mind,” she said with a weak smile.
The victory was watered down at Karina’s self-conscious words. Grace snatched the card. “Don’t talk like that. It’s a rough world out there. If someone offers you anything you can use to your advantage, you take it and don’t think twice.”
Karina nodded. “You sound like Daton.”
“Please,” said Grace. “I sound much prettier than Daton.”
Karina smiled as she stood. “Fair point. Thanks for the invitation. I guess my social skills need some work.”
Grace pushed herself up as well. “Don’t thank me. I’m excited you’re coming. See you around, Karina.”
As the woman walked out, Grace let out a deep breath. They had the forger running scared and now they might have an insider at Mark’s bank. Maybe they really could take Mark down.
~~~~~
Simon knew there was going to be trouble the second he saw the men in the reception area of Green & Sons. The two men who waited for him—a tall one with light brown hair and a shorter, Hispanic man with a severe buzz cut—both wore slightly wrinkled suits.
Before he could introduce himself, the tall one in the gray suit said, “Simon West?”
Simon clenched his jaw. He knew this type. These were cops. “Can I help you gentleman?”
The tall one opened up his wallet to show his badge and confirmed Simon’s suspicions. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“Follow me.” He turned to lead the men to his office. There were a few sideways glances as they walked by, but Simon made sure he stayed calm. He wasn’t all that worried. The police showing up at his place of business was an intimidation tactic. They were trying to throw him off balance and get him to admit something he shouldn’t.
Which meant they were still in the evidence gathering part of the investigation and he was the one they were gathering evidence on.
When they reached his office, he shut the door and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. As expected, they declined.
“Suit yourselves.” He took a seat in his office chair. He didn’t need to prove himself to these guys. “What can I do for you?”
It was the tall one who spoke first again. “I’m Detective Jones and this is my partner, Detective Munoz. We have a few questions for you.”
Simon shrugged. “Ask away.”
“So what is it you do here again?” asked Munoz.
“I am a consultant. When the current CEO took over here, the company was in a rough patch and she hired me to help turn it around.”
Jones nodded and looked around the office with a decidedly unimpressed expression. “And how has that been going for you?”
“I can’t divulge company information like that. Do you want to cut to the chase and tell me why you’re asking?”
Munoz smiled. “You’re a straight shooter. I like that.”
Simon laughed. “Funny. Most people hate it.”
The tall one moved to the back corner of the office and stared out the window. “Have you had any money problems lately, Mr. West?”
Simon looked between Munoz and Jones, who were now effectively surrounding him. “Money is my business, Detectives. I
make
people money. I don’t have money problems.”
Munoz raised a brow. “How exactly do you make your clients so much?”
“A combination of tactics. Analyzing the market and giving them out-of-the-box options to stabilize or grow the business.”
Jones crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t move money for your clients?”
“I tell them where I think they should move the money. I don’t touch anything myself.” Simon waited for the next question, trying not to offer any information the detectives didn’t explicitly ask for. DuFord must’ve tipped them off to something, but Simon was certain he hadn’t broken any laws. Which meant DuFord was either trying to scare him or he was actively framing him for something. But Simon couldn’t do a damn thing about it unless he knew what DuFord was up to.
“What do you do with your own funds?” Munoz subtly inched closer and closed in on Simon even more.
Simon was unfazed. “I have a guy for that.”
Jones also took a step closer. “What’s his name?”
Simon opened up the top desk drawer and dug around for a moment. “Here you go.” He handed a card to Munoz. “Now are you going to tell me what this is about?”
Jones and Munoz exchanged a look before Jones finally moved away from Simon and toward the door. “Thanks for your help, Mr. West.” At that moment, Munoz handed Simon their contact information. “We’ll be in touch.”
Simon stood. “Glad to help,” he said, not even bothering to try to sound sincere. “I’ll see you out.”
The detectives were quiet as he led them down the hallway and to the elevator bay outside of reception. In case anyone was watching, he made sure to shake their hands and smile as they waited for the elevator to take them away.
But his act wasn’t enough to fool everyone. Victoria waited for Simon by the reception area and fell into step with him as he passed. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“I have it under control.” He gently shut his office door after she entered.
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “As long as I’m paying you, your personal business affects me. Terry is looking for any weakness right now. I need to know if I should be worried about the police showing up to have a super-secret conversation in your office.”
He sighed. Of course she’d realize they were cops. He looked her straight in the eye. “It has nothing to do with Green’s. And I can guarantee you that I haven’t done anything illegal, so I doubt this is going anywhere.”
Victoria’s eyes widened. “What’s going nowhere? There’s an investigation on you? I can have one of the company lawyers call you.”
Simon shook his head. “Not right now. They’re still gathering information and there’s a good chance they won’t find anything. But I’m going to dig into what they’re looking for and try to stop anything before it escalates.”
Victoria stared him down.
“I promise I’ll keep you updated,” he said.
She didn’t look comforted. “West, I know you’re the best at what you do, but don’t get arrogant.” As she turned to leave, she looked back over her shoulder at him. “This isn’t just your ass on the line.”
As she shut the door behind him, he sunk into his chair and rubbed his temples.
Even if Simon hadn’t done anything, DuFord was smart. Too smart. He needed to dig up every bank statement and investment history for his accounts possible. He didn’t bank with the institution DuFord used in his own scams, but the man had connections everywhere. Simon needed to figure out what the hell the man’s plan was and how to fight it.
Victoria had a very valid point. It wasn’t just his ass on the line. If charges were filed, it could reflect badly on her, but it was more than that. DuFord could be going after Grace too. The forger had seen her. In the Hamptons, DuFord thought Simon was only using Grace. If he changed his mind, there was no telling what DuFord would do to her.
Damn it. He’d warned her. He told her to stay away. Why was it so hard for her to fucking listen?
She wouldn’t have a choice now, though. DuFord wasn’t joking around. She barely scraped her business out of the muck. And that’s assuming DuFord only went after her professionally. She needed to stay as far away from this shit as possible.
But she would never see it that way. The last time he told her to stay away, she shot him down. If she was going to back away from this whole mess, it had to be her idea. And as long as they were together, she wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Somehow, he was going to have to make her hate him.