Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lucas
Frustration was becoming a daily occurrence in my life.
Legal had been in and out of our office all week as we finalized reports.
The DA had told Valerie she might be needed to testify at her father’s trial.
And the defense would bring up everything they could get their hands on.
Valerie looked tired, and then yesterday, she’d taken off in the afternoon, saying she had an appointment.
All I wanted to do each night was take her home and cuddle with her, giving her my strength and love.
But that hadn’t happened. I’d kept things very professional in the office for her sake.
I didn’t want anyone to pry into our private life.
But damn. This was killing me. Worse, Valerie didn’t look well, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Surprisingly, Valerie’s mother and sister were silent. I was a little nervous over that. But maybe they’d finally come to realize the implications of what Bernard had done. All I could do was hope.
Today was Valerie’s last day at FI. Miles had been the one to remind me of that. I thought Legal needed her to stay more than this week, apparently not. It fueled my frustration.
I walked back into the office to find her back from her appointment and tidying her desk. “When were you going to tell me you were leaving?”
“I assumed you knew.” Her voice was soft and subdued. It had been that way all week.
“Valerie, we need to talk.”
I heard her sigh. “I know, but…” She waved her hands. “It’s been crazy this week.”
“It has been.” A knock on the door stopped me from saying more. The door opened, and Marcus poked his head in.
“Hey, we’re all heading to the pub early.” Marcus glanced at Valerie. “We want to treat you to a night out since this is your last day with us.”
“That’s not necessary,” Valerie commented.
“To us, it is. We expect to see you there in five minutes.” Marcus withdrew.
“I guess I’m going to the pub.”
“It will be good for both of us.” It gave me more time to figure out a game plan. I walked over to her. “Come one. Let’s go.” I captured her hand, and she didn’t resist. Good.
When we got to the pub, everyone was there.
“There’s the woman of hour,” Miles said, standing up along with the others.
“I was just doing my job.” Valerie sat in the chair I held out for her.
“You saved us,” Josh said.
“Saved our reputation and our bacon,” Dean added.
“Definitely on the bacon,” I commented.
“Can anyone tell us how this will affect us from acquiring Rustic?” Emma asked.
Eyes turned to me and Valerie. “I don’t know.” I didn’t. I’d never been in a situation like this. That was John’s decision. “From what we’ve learned this week, the owner, Fred, had no idea what was going on.” I broke off as the server walked up. We all ordered food and drinks.
“How could he not?” Marcus asked.
“Fred didn’t review the books very often, and when he did, everything looked good to him.
He was the owner and left things up to his team.
As for the substandard material, he was beginning to get suspicious.
I think that’s why he was so nervous when Valerie and I visited, especially after we pointed it out.
But he hadn’t done anything about it, yet. ”
“So Rustic is no more,” Josh sighed. “We’ll have to find another company.”
“About that.” All eyes turned to Valerie, including mine. “I did some digging, and I found a company that might work for you guys.”
“What?” Josh looked shocked.
“I know I’m not as familiar with what you guys need or do, but I started looking around. There’s a company call Lilly’s. They mainly do custom work. I checked out their work online, and I think they might fit.” She pulled up their website on her phone and handed it to Josh.
Josh huddled with Dean as they scrolled through the website.
“They’re pretty new, but they might be willing to do some sort of partnership or make what you need and sell it to you rather than rent it. That was the original plan, wasn’t it?”
Shock ran though me. She’d researched a company to replace Rustic? That was unexpected.
Josh handed her phone to Miles and said, “What do you think?”
“Why are you asking me? John would be the one to talk with.” Miles glanced at the screen. “This does look promising.”
“Let me see.” Marcus held out his hand. When he had the phone, he scrolled through. “Wait a second. I know the owner.”
“You do?” Cassie asked.
“Yeah. We met up at an engineering get-together a little over a year ago. I think I still have his business card. He was just starting out making custom furniture. We need to talk to John.”
Reaching over, I took Valerie’s phone from Marcus and stared at the screen. “You are fantastic,” I whispered to Valerie.
“Sounds like a good thing I was invited tonight,” John said, coming up to the group.
“We weren’t sure you were going to make it,” Asher said, standing to snag another chair for John.
“I couldn’t miss Valerie’s last night. You saved my company a lot of heartache and at great risk,” John said, sitting down.
“I did my job.” Her voice was quiet.
“So, what was everyone so excited about?” John asked.
I handed Valerie’s phone to John while Josh and Dean explained what Valerie had found. She fiddled with her iced tea.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly.
“Fine. It’s everyone reaction. I’m a bit puzzled.”
“About what?”
“My father is the cause of Fantasies, Inc. losing out on buying Rustic, and no one seems to care.”
“You’re not your father.”
Valerie tilted her head and stared at me.
“Everyone here knows you did what your moral and ethical standards told you to do. Yes, he’s your father, but you’re nothing like him or any other member of your family. You’ve carved out your own life and on your terms.” Couldn’t she see that?
“I didn’t think about it like that.”
“And you found us an alternative without anyone asking you to.”
Her cheeks turned red. “I wanted to help.”
“Valerie,” John said, holding out her phone to her. “You didn’t need to find us a replacement company, but I’m glad you did. Would you mind staying on to look over their books?”
“I’m sure Lucas can do that.”
Was she that anxious to leave? Damn, I had to fix this. Somehow.
“He’s more than capable, but he’s going to be busy as I’ve decided to add a new warehouse for the company.”
I sat back in my seat. “A warehouse?”
Everyone started talking at once, but I kept my gaze on Valerie. Her gaze darted from person to person. I wondered what was going through her mind.
“Settle down.” John waved his hands. “I wasn’t going to say anything until next week, but now that this company has been brought to my attention, I think we should jump on it. Lucas, how do you feel about this?”
“Marcus said he has met this company’s owner. If he can introduce me, I’ll set up a meeting. Josh and Dean can ask all their questions. Hopefully, their books are clean.”
“They will be.” There was certainty in Marcus’ voice.
John nodded. “Who in your group can you put in charge if Valerie isn’t staying.”
“You don’t need a forensic accountant,” Valerie commented.
“Not all the time, but you have talent, young lady, and I’d love to have you on my team,” John said, leaning forward. “Would you consider coming to work for Fantasies, Inc.?”
Valerie sat back in her chair, shock on her face. “I don’t know. I need time to think about this.”
I wasn’t sure what she needed to think about, but I was going to lobby hard for her to take the job. There was no way I was going to let her slip away from me again.
“No worries. Lucas can get the ball rolling while you decide. How about I buy the next round of drinks, and we celebrate.”
Four hours later, the party broke up. I walked Valerie to her car. “I’ll follow you home.”
“Thank you.” We stood facing each other.
“Tomorrow, we need to talk.” At the lines of fatigue on her face, I knew I didn’t want to press any issues tonight. “Get a good night’s sleep.” I leaned down and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Now, get into your car before I change my mind.”
Her lips turned up. My mood brightened as I walked to my car and followed her home. She hadn’t shot me down about talking and even smiled at me. Maybe we could work this out?