“I know you probably have a folder full of things to discuss with me, Dana. Well, I’m here today, and I’ll be around for a long while. I’ve put things in place so that I don’t have to keep running off.” He turned, his brows furrowed, a look of concern on his face. “I can’t imagine the level of stress you’ve been under these past three months. I know I have a lot of catching up to do and I need you to help me. I may even have to ask you to work late sometimes. Can you do that?”
Surprised at his humble tone, Dana didn’t answer right away. Rock seemed to take that as an objection to his proposal because his face grew darker, just slightly, but she could sense that, for some reason, he was not pleased. “Or are your evenings usually taken?” He said the words softly.
Dana almost frowned but she held herself in check. She had a good mind to tell him that all her evenings were taken but then she decided against it. She had to be honest, and her answer would have to be that if he needed her to work late she could. All her evenings were free.
“I won’t touch your weekends. Promise.”
Dana was just about to say it didn’t matter, she wasn’t busy on the weekends anyway, but then she caught herself just in time. Rock didn’t have to know that. Okay, so her life was pathetic, but that was none of his business.
“You’re going to see a whole lot more of me,” he continued. “I’m serious about the success of this corporation and I plan to dedicate my time to it.”
She was going to see a whole more of him? Damn her heart for fluttering at that thought. She dropped her eyes. Now was not the time for her boss to be reading her thoughts.
“Knock, knock.”
They both looked up at the sound of Jason’s voice as it drifted in from the outer office.
Dana’s heart sank. Not again. Right at this moment the last person she wanted to see was Jason Blake. He was already the source of contention between her and Rock and she desperately wanted to avoid stirring up any more trouble. Cautiously, she lifted her eyes then looked at her boss. Just as she’d feared, he looked livid.
She jumped up out of her chair. “Let me see what he wants.” Quickly, she turned toward the door then hurried to the outer office. And there was Jason, heading toward her desk, a broad smile on his face.
“Yes, Jason,” she said through clenched teeth. “What is it?”
He paused, looking taken aback by her vehemence. “I’m hurt. Don’t you miss me?”
Her response was a frigid stare. “Get to the point.”
Instead of being fazed by her rancor, Jason sauntered over to the chair in front of her desk and flopped down. “I thought you’d be lonely in here all by yourself. I finished my meeting early so I decided to come keep you company.”
Of all the nerve. It would be just her luck to have Jason show up with this attitude on the very day that Rock decided to come back to the office. The fact was, she hadn’t seen Jason for days. So now what was his problem? She marched over to stand in front of him. “I’m not lonely. In fact, I’m busy. I’m in a meeting.” She whispered the words angrily, praying that Rock wasn’t listening to every word. All she wanted to do was get rid of Jason. Fast.
Her visitor didn’t look like he planned to budge at all. He chuckled. “Yeah, right. You’re just trying to avoid me. Just when you’re looking so lovely, too.” His eyes roamed over her body, openly, boldly. “I suppose you know everybody’s been talking about how good you’ve been looking lately. What’s the occasion? On a man hunt?”
Dana could have slapped him right there and then. Her palms itched to do it but now was not the time. Jason needed to leave her office now and she would throw him out bodily if she had to. Clenching her fists at her sides, she took a step closer to him. “Jason, I’m warning you-”
“Looks like my employees have too much time on their hands.”
Dana whirled round and Jason jumped to his feet. This time she didn’t even spare him a glance. If Rock took him by the collar and threw him out, she would do nothing to defend him. He didn’t deserve it.
“Jason was just leaving,” she said then turned back to the miscreant and fixed him with a hateful glare.
Jason, coward that he was, did not have to be told twice. Within less than a second he was gone, leaving Dana to face the music with Rock. Again.
This time when she looked at him the enthusiasm in his eyes had been replaced by hardness. His mouth twisted in a cynical smile. “I’m going to have a hard time getting some work out of you. Looks like I’m in for some serious competition for your time.” Without another word he turned and walked back into his office, leaving her to follow behind him.
Dana could only stifle a sigh. Why did these things have to keep happening to her? The gods must really hate her.
**
“I tell you, my books are clean.” Sean Johnson leaned forward, a look of consternation on his face.
Rock stared at him coldly, but said nothing. He’d been back in office three days now and ever since his arrival he had made the decision that before the week was out he would get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing funds. Without saying a word to anyone he had used the services of an outside financial consultant to review the books and get the confirmation he sought. Richard French had been right. The cash did not match the books. Something was definitely going on. The big problem, though, was that the financial consultant had not been able to pinpoint exactly where the leak was taking place.
“So why don’t the accounts match the cash balance?” Rock’s glare was unwavering as he watched every move the man made, from the way his eyebrows shot up each time he was confronted with a new piece of information to the way they darted away whenever Rock looked him in the eyes.
“I don’t know,” the man said, putting up a hand to wipe at his brow. “Something crazy is going on.”
Rock stared at the man who sat in the chair across from his desk. He felt absolutely no pity for him. “And you never realized this?”