Chapter 19
Alice had never regretted focusing on her career. But now that she had a life? She should have made more room for one. If “having a life” meant having sex during the day—at Edison. It was thrilling and, while dangerous, somehow sharpened her senses. It wasn’t a bad thing, given she was now working with Suzy.
She and Theodore had started by going out to lunch in an effort to take their desire for one another out of the office. But they could never make it to the restaurant. Once, they’d parked in a secluded spot in a parking garage across town. She’d climbed onto his lap and rode him senseless. Another time, they made it to a park after finding a parking spot behind some large bushes. Both times, they were late as hell back to the office.
Now they didn’t dare leave together during the day for fear of taking too long. Instead, the supply room would have to do when the mood struck. And strike it did—often. Hardly anyone ever went in there besides her, anyway.
The tiny space had a lock on the door, which was handy and necessary. The fact that it also had a nice corner niche where he could hold her up against the wall was a bonus. He often had to put his hand over her mouth to stifle her cries, which only turned her on more.
The copier room also proved useful once. She’d never been so glad to have Edison’s government contracts require secure copying space as she had in that moment. She’d slipped the “Do Not Enter” sign on the door, locked it, then sat on the Formica table while he stood pitching into her so hard black marks marred the wall behind it. Thank God, it was an outside wall because noise. And Big Whale didn’t protest once.
But it was risky, and she put the kibosh on that location.
Then, today? They were passing one another in the hallway, outside the supply room. His blue eyes did their sparkling magic, and she found herself slipping inside the tiny space, hoping Theodore would follow. He did.
Alice kicked off her panties as soon as the click on the door sounded. “We have to be quick.”
Theodore stalked to her and circled his hand around the back of her neck, a move she’d grown increasingly fond of. “Got a plane to catch or something?” He went to work on his trousers with his free hand. The clank of his belt buckle sounded in the air.
“A Suzy meeting. So, yeah, a meeting with a 747.” She flipped up her flouncy skirt. She’d abandoned anything too tight days ago.
Lowering his zipper, he drew himself out. “I got your 747 right here.” After slipping on a condom, which he now carried with him, he wasted no time moving into her slowly. He took pleasure in driving her crazy that way, taking his sweet time filling her up. A long sigh rumbled up her throat.
“I do love the way you sigh when I enter you the first time,” he whispered into her hair.
She licked her lips. “I like all times.”
“Like this one?”He pushed in again, slowly.
“Yes,” she breathed.
His hand circled her thigh, lifted her leg. “Or this?” He thrust into her harder.
“I think I need to gather more data. Have more …” Her words failed her.
His hand released her neck, moving to her other leg and yanking it higher so he could hold her by her thighs. God, he was strong. She had to put both hands on the back wall to steady herself.
He buried himself to the hilt, and she groaned at the delicious spread inside.
Words found her again. “Fuck me.”
“With pleasure.” His mouth came down on hers, knowing when he ground into her faster and faster, her cries would start. Her animal response to him was easily explained. The man was spectacular at sex. Like he had a map of her body memorized, knew every spot that drove her wild, and explored it with abandon. He had a photographic memory, after all.
His own rumblings started, and a possessive thrill ran up her spine at the sound. Pride she was the one he was fucking into oblivion in the supply closet spread like wildlife. She saw the way other women looked at him. But she was the one …
Over the last few days, ahappy, gooey feeling had settled in her chest. The glow, as she’d labeled it, was like immersing herself in a warm bath. It was relaxing. No thinking. Just feeling. Sating a relentlessbiological need. She and Theodore had declared they shouldn’t be resisting each other any longer, so who was she to stop nature from taking its course?
The room quickly grew hot and her skin clammy. She cried her climax into his shoulder, and he shook against her.
They took a second to catch their breath, and then he let her slip to the floor. She landed on her feet.
He panted into her hair. “I’m going to need at least a few hours to recover from that one.”
“Recover, as in …” She arched an eyebrow.
“I rather thought we could try all our secret places in one day.” He brushed hair off her face.
“Ambitious.”
“More like …” He didn’t finish his sentence, just stared into her eyes.
“More? You want more?” she teased, grabbing his ass and pulling him toward her. His cock was slick with her and probably ruining her skirt.
“Always more.” He kissed her.
Someone rattled the supply closet door. Then a hushed whisper. “Alice. Alice.” It was Patty.
Crap. So much for their secrecy. Of course, she’d spilled the beans to Patty one afternoon when Patty had caught them coming out of the copier room together. She said it was a one-off—and it had been … at least in that place. Alice gave as few details as possible, but she might have slipped that his skills fell in the category of “can’t say no.”
Theodore disposed of the condom in a trash bag, tucked himself away and pushed his shirt tails back into his trousers. “And that’s our cue.”
“Patty won’t say anything to anyone.”
He yanked his belt back together. “Not worried.” He placed a hand by her head, caging her anew. “I’d be more worried if someone took our spot here. Harrison’s got a thing for her.” He winked at her.
“I know. But Harrison’s got no hair.”
“Shallow.”
The sting at her friend mixed with the sentiment he was right. Still, his assessment of Patty irked her, but she let it go. “A girl’s gotta follow her chemistry, right?”
He unlocked the door. “It’s only natural.”
Patty stood on the other side with her arms crossed. “It would be so much easier if you two kept a schedule. I needed new batteries for my mouse twenty minutes ago.”
Theodore merely grinned down at her. “How’s Chainlink Logistics going?”
Her face softened. “Great now that I’m on it, too.” She pushed past him and went into the supply closet. “God, please put air freshener on your list, Alice.” She pivoted to smile back at her.
Alice stuck her tongue out at her.
Patty waved at her. “Ewww. I don’t know where that’s been, so keep it yourself.”
Theodore chuckled as he sauntered away, shaking his head.
Well, see you later to you, too. She glanced up at the big wall clock. Shit, she was a minute late to Suzy. She only hoped Suzy wasn’t as perceptive as Patty in the sex department.
* * *
Suzy sat at the conference room table, which she commandeered most days. Something about needing space. Alice thought it was so she could spy on everyone wandering the hallways. Or perhaps eyeing Roger’s office door, usually closed, across the cubicle farm. Alice got the sense Suzy wasn’t a Roger fan, which was odd, given she and her brother had placed him as CEO.
She strode in. “Hi, sorry I’m late.”
Suzy waved her hand without looking up. “How many times a week do you do a full back-up of the accounting files?” She took off her reading glasses and chewed on the end.
“Weekly. Every Friday. Why?” She took the seat across from her.
Suzy leaned back in the chair. “Hmmm. Samuel was right.”
“Of course, I was.” Samuel strode in carrying a cup of coffee. He lifted it at seeing Alice. “Thanks for the new shipment of Kona, by the way.”
“Sure.”
“So, did you fill her in?” he asked Suzy.
“I was just about to. Close the door, will you?”
Samuel obliged, then took a seat next to his sister.
Suzy studied Alice for one long awkward moment, then rested her elbows on the table, steepling her fingers under chin. “Roger has been embezzling.”
Alice froze. She blinked as if that might clear the buzzing rising in her ears. “He what?”
Samuel scratched at his hairline. “That was quite a lead-in, sis.”
“Not pussy footing around anymore. We need to act swiftly.”
“Could have done that two weeks ago when I found it,” he chuckled into his cup.
Alice had no idea what they were talking about. Embezzlement? “I’m not sure I understand. Are some books missing? Maybe I didn’t forward everything.”
“Oh, you sent everything,” Suzy said. “But there are discrepancies.”
A slither of fear snaked up her spine. She was super careful to make sure everything reconciled every day. How could there be anything amiss?
She swallowed thickly. “Discrepancies?”
Samuel thunked upright in his chair. “Roger has been copying the files, doctoring them, and re-uploading them. You didn’t notice anything?”
“Well, sometimes, and I brought it to him. But then things went back into the black. Of course, I’d review it every weekday, so he’d have to do it on the weekend and then, I have to confess something…” She stopped her rambling. Suzy’s eyes had narrowed, and she and Samuel exchanged glances.
Alice cleared her throat. It was now or never. “The petty cash that was stolen? It was thousands, not hundreds as Roger said. I should have told you earlier but?—”
Suzy raised her hand and Alice snapped her lips closed. “I know. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me.”
Samuel rested his elbows on the table, and clasped his hands together. “Alice, you didn’t notice anything, like unexplained, large expenditures?”
“There are always large expenses.”
Samuel nodded his head. “Sure were. Rolexes, cars, restaurants.”
Alice’s lips parted on a gasp.
Suzy waved her hand. “Plus, his house is mortgaged to the hilt. Georgetown real estate isn’t cheap.”
Alice swallowed thickly. “I should have caught it. I apologize. I wasn’t aware of this situation.” She might as well show some responsibility in an act of self-preservation. She wouldn’t have them believe she was in on Roger’s theft.
“You weren’t operating with the right books. Minor changes had been made. But the matter of the false vendors was not minor. It’d take a deep investigation to catch it.” Suzy then gave her an unexpected, understanding smile, and heat rose on Alice’s face. It humiliated her that she wasn’t capable of catching that files were being doctored. It was her job, for God’s sake, to make sure numbers were right.
Alice tried hard to cool the rising shame growing up her spine. “How did you catch it?”
“I didn’t.” Suzy turned to her brother. “Few people know Samuel was once a forensic accountant.”
Theodore strode in. “I knew Samuel was. Most boring job in the world.”
“I’d say catching thieves is worth the tedium.” Samuel yawned.
Theodore mock-gasped and slapped his chest. “I only swiped one bottle of your sake from your stash the other night. That’s a misdemeanor, at best.”
What the hell were they talking about? Other night? When? She shook her head a little to focus. “But … how could I not have noticed? How long has this been going on?” She couldn’t let go of the fact that Roger’s stealing was under her nose.
“We’ve been watching the books for about a year,” Samuel said.
A fucking year?
Samuel pointed at Suzy’s laptop—as if she could see through the screen and understand better? “As far as we can tell, he did a little doctoring over the weekend. Copy the file, upload a new one. Everything reconciles, but expenses show a little higher each week. Yet nothing justified it—except for some artfully crafted withdrawals.”
Of course. Alice forwarded financial reports every Friday to The Twins via email, per Roger’s instructions. Never Monday, he’d said. Only Friday. Now, it was making sense. On Monday, things would have looked different.
Occasionally, an email would land in her inbox from the O’Flannerys asking to see the files. She’d send them along, too, but sometimes didn’t get to it until Monday or Tuesday. It never occurred to her to tell Roger about the requests. So, she could see how they’d see the discrepancies from Friday to the next week if they were looking.
For her, however? Mondays were slammed with all kinds of things. Alice didn’t spend a great deal of time scratching her head over minor changes she thought she’d seen but had dismissed. She’d chalked it up to being so tired by Friday she must have remembered the numbers differently.
Samuel scratched his chin, the sound too loud in her ear. “Then there’s the matter of returning purchases for the cash. Still can’t believe people have cash on them.”
“Right?” Theodore asked him. “National Cash Back Day isn’t even until November.”
“Date?”
“The second.”
Alice glanced up at Theodore. His presence hadn’t really registered with her. Then again, she was surprised she could think at all, given how Alice’s brain spun.
“I’m sorry we didn’t let you in on the investigation,” Suzy added. “But you were instrumental in discovering what was really going along. You being named CFO scared him.” Glee colored her voice. “It made him start, let’s say, taking more drastic measures. Like stealing the petty cash. Then, when you were actually promoted? Well …”
An awkward beat passed. There was so much to unravel in Suzy’s words. Roger had been the thief of the petty cash box and his own goddamned pen. But worse? She was only made CFO to apply some heat. Roger knew how fastidious she was. She wasn’t promoted on her own merit, after all.
“I see,” she said slowly.
“But I knew I could count on you.” Suzy placed a hand on her shoulder, and Alice had to work hard to not pull back out of hurt. “We didn’t let you in on it because we couldn’t afford an entrapment scenario.”
Entrapment?
“Setting him up for the fall,” Suzy answered her unasked question. “We just let nature take its course.” Her eyes glowed. She was truly enjoying the moment.
Alice turned to Theodore. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Theodore’s not at liberty to say,” Samuel filled in for him.
Theodore didn’t say anything, and it appeared as if he wouldn’t. Rather, his face was as placid as a mountain lake.
“However, that’s not why this place is falling apart, is it?” Suzy asked him.
Suzy’s question made her head swivel back to her. “Falling apart?” Alice had done a valiant job of holding it all together. She wasn’t a martyr by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d like a little credit for doing what needed to be done.
“We know about the lack of support here for employees. And about Roger’s dalliances,” she said carefully.
Samuel and Theodore must have sensed her discomfort as Theodore took her arm. “But that’s for another day,” he said. “Today, we have a changing of the guard.”
God, here comes the demotion. It would be more humiliating than being passed over in the first place. Nothing screamed incompetent like being sent down the corporate ladder.
Suzy clapped her hands. “You got that right. Let’s talk new CEO. That’s what matters now.”
That was it? What about CFO? Alice didn’t ask.
You know what? At that second, she didn’t care. Being told you were advanced for a sting operation, well, stung. She could get a job elsewhere after having worked for the Golden Twins. Perhaps they’d give her a good reference.
“Roger isn’t a good chief officer, embezzlement or not,” Suzy continued. “We’re replacing him. In fact, I might step in.”
Samuel chuffed and rose. “Like you have the time. I’m off to find coffee.”
“I like it around here. We have a stellar CFO, after all.” Suzy beamed at her.
She should feel relieved by Suzy’s faith—if it were real. Instead, a sadness crept in. Her limbs grew too heavy on her body. It was a strange reaction. Alice should love Suzy as head of Edison. She was fun but smart. Direct but not mean. And she listened to Alice. But the fact that Alice wasn’t allowed to know about their secret setup niggled at her enthusiasm.
Suzy rose. “Alice, will you give Theodore and I a minute?”
She nodded, her tongue too numb to speak. She closed the door behind her just in time to hear Suzy’s next words.
“Now, Theodore, about you and Alice ….”