Chapter Thirteen #3
Chad stared at Britt for a long moment before nodding. Then he slowly leaned in, giving her time to refuse his advances. But Britt had no intention of doing that. She met him halfway, almost desperate to get lost in his kisses once more.
It wasn’t until a wolf whistle sounded from the doorway that they pulled apart.
Britt had been two seconds away from begging him to take her right there on the desk.
She could feel herself blushing furiously as she turned toward the door.
Chad didn’t lower his arms from around her, though.
He simply smiled at Walt, who’d been the one to whistle.
Britt’s lust died when she saw a frowning Otis at Walt’s side.
“Just getting Britt for lunch,” Chad told the two men.
“Is that what that was?” Otis muttered.
“Good,” Walt said at the same time as Otis’s snarky comment. “She’s been in here working for hours.”
“Doing what?” Otis asked, standing taller, his gaze going from her to the computer on the desk.
“Inventory,” Britt blurted, that sick feeling in her gut returning. “Just trying to get everything entered into the system.”
She saw the older man’s shoulders visibly relax at her words.
Shit, shit, shit. She had a very bad feeling the Youngs’ oldest and dearest friend was responsible for the inconsistencies in the accounting.
The very last thing she wanted to do was call him out and hurt his relationship with the family.
But how could she not? From what she could tell, thousands of dollars were going missing every month.
And if Otis was stealing, she had to say something.
“Come on, we’re doing Mom’s cake after lunch,” Chad said. “And you’re all invited. Say in about forty minutes or so? Come up to the house and we’ll do the singing thing.”
“Awesome!” Walt exclaimed, rubbing his belly. “Please tell me it’s German chocolate.”
“Would it be anything else? That’s her favorite,” Chad said. “And Zach made it.”
“Hot damn!” Walt said with a huge smile. “That boy’s magic in the kitchen.”
“He is,” Chad agreed. “Otis, you’ll join us, right?”
“I’ve got a lot of invoices to input,” the older man hedged.
“Come on. Please?”
“All right.”
“Good. Come on, Britt. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
She wasn’t. At Otis’s words, she felt even sicker.
Was that why the number of invoices for this month had been fewer than previous months?
Because he hadn’t gotten around to putting in the rest?
She had a feeling that when she next looked at the accounting software, it would more closely match the previous months .
.. but would the inventory match the bills?
She doubted it. And the Youngs’ bank account would be that much lighter.
It didn’t escape Britt’s notice that Walt stepped between her and Otis when Chad pulled her out of the room. She hated that the older man’s dislike of her was so obvious ... but she couldn’t help thinking of how much more he’d hate her if she could prove he was embezzling money from Lobster Cove.
And with a start, she realized that it might go even deeper. He was in charge of all Evelyn’s finances. Taxes. Investments. The question of how much money he could’ve stolen over the years without anyone knowing was mind boggling—and terrifying.
Chad walked them halfway to the main house, then stopped and turned to face her. “I know we’re just starting our relationship, and you’ve had some not-so-great experiences in the past when it comes to men, but I’m not like them.”
Britt stared at him with her heart in her throat.
“You can trust me to have your back. If someone is bothering you or harassing you, we’ll deal with it.
If you changed your mind and don’t want to help with the admin stuff, no one—especially me—is going to be upset.
If all this is too much and you need to find another job, put some distance between yourself and my crazy family, that’s all right too.
It can be a little overwhelming to live and work at the same place.
I’m feeling a little of that myself. It’s difficult to go from living on my own to moving back in with my mother.
“All I’m saying is, whatever’s on your mind, you can share it with me when you’re ready. I won’t judge, I’ll listen, and we can figure out how to fix whatever it is ... together .”
Britt wanted to cry. This man ... he was ... pushy, confident, moving forward at the speed of a bullet train ... but she didn’t hate it. “I need to mull something over for a bit. I don’t like making split-second judgments,” she told him. “But I’ll talk to you. Soon. I promise.”
“I can live with that.” Then Chad leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I can be intense.”
Britt couldn’t help it. She laughed. That seemed like the understatement of the year.
Chad chuckled a little. “Yeah, I know. Mom always tells me I’m like a runaway train coming down the tracks at a hundred miles an hour.
But all you need to do is tell me to back off, and I will.
I just want what’s best for you, Mom, my brothers, Lobster Cove.
And believe it or not, I do have a ton of patience .
.. had to as a sniper in the Army. There were times I had to lie unmoving for hours to wait for the perfect moment to take my shot.
I just like to cut to the chase when I can. ”
Britt hadn’t thought much about what he’d done before she’d met him. But she couldn’t deny she was curious. Being a sniper couldn’t have been easy, physically or mentally. It made her admire him even more.
“Come on, everyone’s waiting on us.”
Britt frowned. “They are? Why’d you stop me, then? We need to get inside!”
Chad laughed but obediently followed behind her as she hurried toward the house.