Chapter 7
seven
“I’m telling you, Everett. I've run it four times, and it’s been the same every time. There’s a little over two thousand dollars missing from the account.” I breathe out a heavy sigh. There’s never been a single error in the entire time I’ve managed these accounts.
I don’t make mistakes. Not like this. There’s money missing from the account and over ten minutes missing from the one interior security feed.
“Everyone who has access to these accounts I trust with my life, Helo. Run it again. There has to be an error somewhere. Something entered incorrectly or a miscalculation? I don’t know, but there’s something.” The tension in his voice is palpable, even through the phone.
I read over the figures line by line again, comparing them to the numbers written in the logs I picked up from the shop.
Nothing is entered incorrectly. I’ve accounted for every expense, every transaction, everything.
There’s still over two thousand dollars missing.
In my head, I try to list every single person who has access to these accounts.
Ev and Eli are obviously not taking their own money.
They would just tell me if they needed to make a withdrawal that large.
Breaker controls the online account access, but I know he would die for this family.
He would never do this. I suppose the wives have access to these accounts, but there’s not a single reason they would do anything like this.
Megan, the daytime shop assistant, has access to any cash coming in, but she’s new.
And she definitely doesn’t have access to the security feeds.
She barely knows what she’s doing with the scheduling system.
Honestly, I don’t think she’s got the brainpower to do something like this.
And Willow. My beautiful, mysterious girl.
All the business finances are wide open to her because we all trust her.
I believe deep in my bones that she would never do something like this.
I’ve seen her soul, tasted her, I know she isn’t the type to betray the people she loves.
She struggles to keep things going for herself and Jaxon, but she works her ass off to keep it together.
She works doubles at the shop, babysits, literally anything and everything to make sure she can take care of her son.
Why would she work so fucking hard if she was stealing the money behind our backs?
“We’ll go over it again on our end. Maybe I input something wrong when I charged a client or something, I don’t know,” Eli says, huffing out a breath. I highly doubt that, but what else can we do?
“Yeah, I’ll do the same. We’ll figure it out.” I tell them, disconnecting the line. I need to call Breaker and see if he can recover the missing video footage, but I don’t have the energy right now. I toss my phone down on my desk when I’d much rather throw the fucking thing across the room.
This office is much bigger than I’ve ever needed, but then again, so is this house.
Floor to ceiling bookshelves line two walls, holding thousands of books on mathematics, law, science, technology, anything and everything a true nerd needs to take over the world.
A rolling ladder spans across the shelves to give me easy access to the knowledge I want at any moment.
I’m practically living in the fucking Beauty and the Beast movie up here on my mountain.
But the space around me is barely big enough to hold the nervous energy pouring off of me.
It’s my responsibility to protect these finances. To make sure my closest friends are always taken care of and that their assets are safe. And I’ve managed to fuck that up. There’s no easy way to talk to people about money, but how do you ask if someone has seen two thousand lying around anywhere?
I drop my head into my hands, a headache creeping in around my temples.
I’m not entirely sure when the last time I slept was.
I’m going to have to talk to Willow. I don’t suspect her of anything, but maybe she saw something she doesn’t realize was important.
Shooting her a text, I ask her to meet me at the coffee shop next to Grovewood Ink, and her response is almost immediate. We make plans to meet in half an hour.
After rushing through a shower, I pull on a worn pair of jeans, slide my boots on, grab a t-shirt and walk out the door.
I tug my black t-shirt over my head as I start the engine of my 67’ Ford Mustang fastback and take a second to listen to the engine rumble.
I love this fucking car. I’ve got more money than I know what to do with, and I’m more than happy to spend it on beautiful things like this.
I paid to have it custom built in the exact image of Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds. Totally worth it.
I glide her down the mountain, and through the streets of Grovewood, parking in front of the shop just as Willow pulls up behind me.
I gather my computer and the notes I’ve made, and step out of the car.
Willow is digging for something in the floorboard of her car, giving me time to open the door for her.
Sometimes, I think she hates my gentlemanly tendencies.
But she’s just not used to chivalry being consistent.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to get the door,” she says, stepping out of the car. Her black jeans hug her curvy hips, flaring out at the bottom. She almost looks shy, like she’s struggling not to think about our kiss. I don’t blame her. I’ve relived it a thousand times, and still can’t get enough.
“Yeah, I do. Let’s grab some coffee,” I say, placing my hand against her lower back and steering her towards the coffee shop. She shivers slightly at my touch, and internally I smile. I know I’ve still got a chance at convincing her this isn’t the disaster she fears it will be.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to your old-school ways, Beck.” She smiles that soft, beautiful smile, and I push down the overwhelming need to pull her body against mine.
“I’m not that old-school. That’s just the way it should be. A woman like you deserves to be taken care of, Willow.” I shrug.
“Whatever you say.” She rolls her eyes, ordering her caramel macchiato with two extra shots. Jesus, it’s like a heart attack in a cup. I order my black coffee and take a seat across from her at a table in front of the window.
“So, what’s up? Was there something you wanted to talk about?” She asks, and I feel my stomach knot.
“Well, I finalized the books for this past month for the shop. There seem to be some income discrepancies.” I say, turning my computer to show her the logs. Her brows furrow as she looks over them line by line.
“I don’t know what any of this means, Beck. Money is missing?” She says, staring back at me with a confused expression.
“Yeah, that’s the jist of it. Like this transaction here, it’s noted as $500 cash. And then three more $500 transactions from that day. It should have been $2000 total at the and of the day. But the cash drop was $1500.” I point out the figures to her, and the crease between her brows deepens.
“How did that happen? I log every transaction exactly as it’s written up to me.
I take the cash immediately and put it in the register.
It’s all added together at the end of the night and dropped in the lockbox.
” She scrolls through the financial history for the last few months, looking genuinely confused about what’s happened.
“It seems like it’s been short a few times a week for the past month or so. There’s over two thousand dollars missing at this point, Will.” I say, and she gasps.
“What the fuck?! That’s a ton of money, Beckett! Where did it go?!” she says, panic in her eyes. To most people, two thousand dollars is a lot of money.
“What about the cameras? For sure, they would’ve picked up that footage, right? If somebody was taking money from the cash drops, it would be on camera, right?” Willow asks, her mouth hung open in a perfect o.
“I have no idea. That’s why I’m here. I just wanted to know if you-” I start, and she sits straighter in her chair.
I try to keep my expressions neutral, knowing neither of us will like where this conversation is gonna go next. She knows what I have to ask. Hell, I don’t even want to ask, because I know without a doubt she didn’t do this.
“Me? You wanted to know if I what, Beckett? If I took the money?” I see the moment she guards herself against me. Willow doesn’t trust anyone easily, and no one completely.
“No! I don’t think you did this, Willow.
Let me make that clear right now. I absolutely do not think you took this money.
But somebody did. And as someone who has consistent access to the cash flow in this business, I want to know if you’ve noticed anything unusual.
” I’m trying my best to diffuse her hostility, but I feel like I’m always walking on a tightrope with her.
“No. I haven’t noticed anything unusual. I would’ve said something to the guys, or to you, if I had.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Will, don’t be mad. I know you didn’t take this money. I know you work hard to live the life you do…” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to reel them back in. But I can already tell she took them in the worst way possible.
“The life I do? You mean in my piece of shit house that you constantly tell me to leave? You mean scraping my paychecks together to make repairs every week and still save for Jaxon’s college?
Yeah, I work my ass off to live the way I do.
In my shitty little house with my shitty little things.
I’m sorry I occasionally need help. I thought you were someone I could trust to help me, but I guess I was wrong about that.
” She’s completely spiraling. Her drastic response seems out of character for her, but I know I would probably feel the same if I thought my character was being questioned.
“Will, I’m really not trying to upset you. I swear I know you didn’t do this. But somebody did. Someone has stolen two thousand dollars from Elijah and Everett. From our friends,” I say, and her eyes soften. I know she loves them and would never want to see them taken advantage of.
“I wish I could help you. I really, really do. But I have no idea where that money is, Beckett. Have you asked Megan? I mean, I’m not accusing anyone of anything.
I don’t know her very well, and I usually only see her in passing.
But I can ask, I guess. I can see if she’s noticed anything or maybe isn’t ringing things in correctly.
” She leans forward, bracing herself on the table.
She looks so tired. I hate contributing to that exhaustion in any way.
“I’m sorry, Willow. I know this isn’t something you would ever do. If nothing else, please know that I never questioned that for a second. I know who you are,” I say, reaching for her hand across the table. She pulls away, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
“I have to get to work. If I see anything, I’ll let you or one of the guys know.” Without another word, she grabs her coffee and walks out the door.
I understand her defensiveness. She keeps so much of herself hidden away from us all. I know it’s self-defense. I just wish she would trust us when we say that we love her, and we will protect her no matter what.