Chapter 15
“How’s it feel to be the town hero?” Travis, aka Captain, settled in his wide desk chair, a dubious tone in his words.
“Uncomfortable, to be honest. And it wasn’t just me but the whole crew.”
“I’m giving you room on this refurbishment budget deal, but let me tell you, Ryder…” Travis angled forward and pointed his fat finger at the ranger. “I’ll turn your hero reputation into that of a reprobate overnight if I figure out you’ve been pilfering the money.”
Ryder tossed the USB drive onto Travis’s desk. He’d gone over them again when he came home from Ella’s. He didn’t need Elizabeth or anyone else to find proof of his innocence. It was on the thumb drive. “My records.”
Travis palmed the device and walked around the desk. “If I hand over your files, this turns into an official investigation.”
“Bring it. I didn’t steal or forge anything.
” He felt and sounded defensive but sensed the same presence he’d felt at the tower.
Humble up, dude. “Travis, I appreciate the predicament this mess puts you in, but I can’t confess to something I didn’t do.
The files are yours. If it becomes an official investigation, I’ll cooperate. ”
Travis’s hard exterior softened with surprise. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I’m sure. In the meantime, get with your crew, see what you discover about the fire. As for the commendation ceremony,” Travis said, “false humility is as bad as pride.”
Ryder absorbed the man’s cloaked praise with a twist of wisdom and headed out.
If Wharton kept her on the wait-list, she’d get a different job that made her a better candidate for next year’s application.
Elizabeth spent her lunch hour the next week touching base with recruiters and headhunters she’d talked with during her final semester at MIT, emailing some of her classmates, letting them know she was looking. She also circled back to the Fortune 500 company she’d interviewed with in Boston.
Taking a bite of her ham and turkey sandwich, she thought about school, which made her churn. She dismissed it as nervous energy. Otherwise, why would the idea of school feel like a drag?
“Beth, do you have the quarterly report?” Will asked from her doorway. “We’re meeting with the board of directors in half an hour.”
“I do except for a final number…Hold on.” Elizabeth filled in the information, then hit print.
“We’re going to miss you when you leave.” Will paused at the door. “Ethan said everything runs smoother when you’re around.”
“You’re just saying that so I’ll stay.” Nevertheless, the compliment boosted her sagging confidence.
“We’re saying it because it’s true,” Will said.
“And if it weren’t, we’d be talking about your going-away party, telling you how you’ll kill it at Wharton.
You’re smart, forward-thinking, dedicated, hard-working, and we love you, and we want to keep this a family business.
But not every Dorsey works here. Like Raelynn and Marcus. ”
Raelynn was Aunt Barbara’s daughter. Marcus was Uncle Steve’s son.
“Yeah, well, okay.” She looked away until a sheen of tears passed. “It means a lot, Will. Honest. I’ll keep the offer in mind.”
When he’d gone, Elizabeth hid in the private ladies’ room for a short cry. Was this about leaving Dorsey and letting Will down? Or were her tears for her mounting confusion? Or for Ryder and everything she couldn’t possibly feel for him?
Gathering herself and checking her makeup in the mirror, she returned to her office and was deep into the next year’s projections when her phone rang. Ryder.
“Sorry to bother you, but did you get a chance to check those purchase orders?”
“No, sorry.” Elizabeth clicked another program on her screen. “I’ve been working on the end of the fiscal year for Will.”
“No worry,” he said. “I gave Travis my files. If he turns them over, it’ll be an official investigation, but I just wondered—”
“Investigation? Are you okay with that, Ryder?”
“I have to be. Then maybe we can find the truth.”
“Why would someone pin this on you? Why would Travis believe it?”
“He’s getting heat from the higher-ups, so he has to be somewhat suspicious. As for why someone would pin it on me? I don’t know. Maybe because I’m the new guy in town.”
“Little Hearts Bend, Tennessee, has a dark side.”
“Every town has a dark side.”
“Every person has a dark side,” Elizabeth replied.
“In my experience, that’s very true. Maybe more people should listen to the preachers who talk about the Light of God.”
Maybe. She’d be one of those people. “Are you all set for the celebration tomorrow night?”
“Will you be there?” he said with a hint of hope.
“I’m coming with the family. They want to stay for the Movie in the Park afterward. The Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda is playing. Granny loves the screwball comedies of the thirties and forties.”
“They’re showing old movies again? How’d I miss that news? Those were fun times when I was in high school.”
“I remember watching Grease with you, Will, Ethan, and Bobby one summer.”
“Now I’ll have bits and pieces of those songs in my head the rest of the day.” His laugh was soft and sincere. “So, I’ll see you at the ceremony, and hey, thanks for any help on those POs.”
“You should watch the movie with us,” she blurted. Do not encourage him. “For old time’s sake.”
“I’ll see. Maybe. For old time’s sake.”
Ending the call, Elizabeth hoped he’d not join them. If he did, everyone would be talking. And by everyone, she meant the whole town because she ran into his arms after the fire. People would think it meant something, and it didn’t. Not much, anyway.
Well, who cares? Ryder knew where they stood, and that was the only thing that mattered.
Back to work, Elizabeth dove into accounts payable, which happened to be a collection of purchase orders and invoices surfaced from the WMA, all of them like the ones she’d seen before. Cuts of expensive wood, all bearing Ryder’s name.
But he’d just called her. Told her he’d turned over his files to Travis. If he was hiding something, why would he give Travis the evidence? Unless he’d doctored his account, which didn’t seem like Ryder Donovan at all.
Elizabeth clicked on the WMA’s account and opened every purchase order and invoice for the last year, studying each one.
Most seemed legit. All from a legit account.
Most of the billing numbers had been in the system for years.
When she examined the purchase orders from Ryder, they matched the fire tower invoicing, and the electronic signature looked like his. Ryder’s Rs were always the same.
The orders for the cherry and teak had different signatures. Like the person hadn’t even tried. How had she missed this? How had Dorsey accounting missed this possible fraud? Elizabeth printed every PO and invoice, arranged them by date, and moved to the copier.
She called Grant to see if he knew who’d fulfilled the order. “No,” he said. “The initial box is blank. Which shouldn’t happen. You can’t start the order without it being filled in.”
“Do me a favor,” she said. “Try it with two spaces. See if that saves the order.”
After a few clicks, Grant said, “I’ll be. Yep. Two spaces and the file can be saved.”
“We’ve got a glitch in the system.”
Then she called Ryder. When he didn’t answer, she tried the Cheatham office and was told he’d left for the day.
Grabbing her bag and the evidence, Elizabeth set off to find him.
A low growl emanated from Fred. Ryder glanced up from the computer where he was hovering over his refurbishment files, trying to see the numbers like an investigator.
He’d been so bold in Travis’s office, but now? What if he missed something?
He raised his head when Ginger barked and hurried to the back door.
“Lie down, Ginger. No one is here.” He clicked the printer icon above the spreadsheet. It’d be wise to have a hard copy of his spending…just in case someone doctored the files on the thumb drive. He was starting to be suspicious of everyone.
A soft knock on the back door stirred the dogs into a barking frenzy and proved Ginger was right.
“Simmer down, you two.” Ryder peeked through the window to find Elizabeth under the deck light. He invited her in with “Everything okay?”
“I’ve discovered something.” She plopped her big leather bag on the kitchen counter and pulled out a stack of papers, systematically spreading Dorsey invoices and WMA purchase orders across the counter.
“Invoices and purchase orders?” Ryder scanned the pages. “You mean you didn’t come here to tell me you realized you do like peas?”
“Please, I will never like peas.” She shoved the first stack at him. “POs with your name on them.”
He skimmed the pages. “Can’t be. Two hundred board feet of cherry? An order of teak? For a fire tower?” He shuffled through more papers. “I see my name, but that’s not my signature.”
Elizabeth shoved over his order for pine. “That’s how you make your electronic Rs.” Their eyes met. “I remember from the summers I worked at Ella’s. You always paid with a debit card. And from Angelo’s. When you paid for the pizza.”
“Yeah, I never seemed to have any cash on hand.” Ryder’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment. “So where did these come from?”
“I think someone is charging expensive materials to the WMA and signing your name.”
“Who’s my enemy?” Ryder examined one of the forged orders. “Have these been paid by our finance office?”
“Yes, but something feels off. And the order was fulfilled by someone at Dorsey, but we don’t know who. He or she got around a glitch in our system. Which could mean someone inside Dorsey is part of the fraud.”
“Did you tell Will?”
“No, I came to you first,” she said. “You should go to your boss. I’ll let Will and Dan Harper know.”
“Elizabeth, thank you. This means a lot.” Ryder stacked the printouts on his desk, then motioned to the fridge. “Can I get you something to drink? Water? Soda? Milk?” Now that she was here, he didn’t want her to go. He peeked inside the all-but-empty fridge. “I can make iced tea or—”
“No, thanks. I appreciate—Ryder, I can’t let you kiss me.”
He looked up. What did she say?
“Th-that’s why I avoid you when it looks like you might…I mean, maybe you don’t want to kiss me and I’m making a fool of myself right now.”
“I want to kiss you. In the worst way. But I get it, Elizabeth. You didn’t want your first kiss to be with a man you didn’t love.” He stepped toward her, letting the fridge door close. “Would it be your first kiss?”
“No, no, that’s not the reason. And well, yes, kissing you would be my first—” She slung her bag over her shoulder.
“You said you loved me and…The point is, I can never kiss a man, ever. On the lips, anyway. I could pass on the Epstein–Barr virus, which is the big brother of mono. I can’t do that to you or anyone. ”
“I see,” he said. “But you’re not infectious?”
“Not now, no. But the virus can flare up and—”
“What if I didn’t care about a possible virus?” He came around the kitchen island to where she stood in the living room. “What if I thought you were worth the risk?”
“I’d say you should care.” She glanced down at Ginger, who was sprawled at her feet.
“I wanted to be honest. With you. With myself. This is why grad school and a career are more important to me than ever. Love may not be in the cards for me. I don’t want to pass this virus on to anyone I love.
I’d feel like a bad princess in a Grimms’ fairy tale. ”
She was so serious. As if a virus truly rendered her loveless. “Elizabeth, I’m pretty sure people who’ve had mono or Epstein–Barr marry and live full, romantic lives.”
“Maybe, but that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Even for love?”
“Even for love.”
“Elizabeth, it doesn’t matter to me. Are you sure this is not just an excuse to—”
“If you want me to go with you to your boss, let me know.” She bent to scratch Ginger behind the ears.
“Yeah, okay, if you don’t mind. That’d be great.”
“Text me when,” she said, walking around him for the kitchen door.
Ryder startled a little as the door softly clicked closed behind her.