Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
She nodded and reached across his body to press another button. “Yes. According to what I was given, this started three years ago.”
“That was around the time that Bradford began hanging out at the office.”
She leaned back, doing her best not to be affected by the masculine scent from him, which wound around her, tempting her to play, explore, indulge. With a swallow, she kept her gaze on the screen.
“Not sure about any of that, but what I can tell you is once I began looking at the trail, a smart one really, left by the perpetrator, I came to understand how it had gone undetected for so long. The threads were intelligently and extremely intricately woven into the finances. But three years ago, something happened. Not sure what, but she changed and began laying this groundwork to set him up.”
“It couldn’t be Monica.” He shook his head. “She’s been with me for years. If there was a woman in the world that I trusted it would be her.”
What he didn’t say was as opposed to her.
“Mr. Rhodes, your father is on the way up.”
Even had she not been looking at the man’s face, she would have been able to feel his displeasure, given how the temperature dropped to nearly arctic warmth at the mention of his father.
She sighed as she rose from the chair, noticing that the sun had gone down and even though the streetlamps were on, the rain still thundered down around them. With one hand she closed the top of her computer then picked it up.
“My job is finished, Mr. Rhodes.” She moved around the desk, putting the chair where he’d pulled it from. With the large oak desk between them, she faced him, her computer safely tucked back in her bag. “I have emailed you the findings. Given what I found, I sent you a different email that you will need a code to access. That code is on the paper I left on your desk.”
He flicked his gaze down to where she had left it.
The door to his office flew open and, without looking, she knew it was his father.
Readjusting her hold on the briefcase handle, she shrugged, ignoring the man behind her. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Rhodes. Have a lovely holiday.”
“You’re wrong.”
Yeah, she wasn’t.
Their gazes locked one last time and she ignored the pain lancing through her. Then she walked out on him for the second time in her life. Head high, she ran a cool glance over the disapproving male before the door, then edged by him and out.
Time to return to her life.
Chapter Nine
“I don’t have time to deal with you, old man. Come back after you make an appointment.”
He sat heavily in his chair and thought about Daisy’s words. Monica. The one who, supposedly, according to Daisy, was behind the embezzlement. And when he thought about the money that had been stolen from him, which was far more than he’d been initially told, rage was too tame of a word to describe what pulsed through his veins.
“You can fucking make time. I’m your father and I’m the reason you have this damn casino.”
“No, you’re not. I busted my ass and went up against you at every turn to get this and make it mine. You didn’t help.”
He crossed his arms, his arrogance not fading at the truth having been pointed out to him. “I could have.”
Livingston pocketed the sheet of paper that Daisy had left him and pulled up his email. Sure enough it was there, the one from her, and it showed it had already been read.
Shit. Was she right?
“We need to talk, Livingston.”
God, he didn’t need this right now. He glanced away from his email to the smug grin on his father’s face. “About what?”
“I’m thinking it’s time you meet your new mother.”
Exhaling, he rolled back from the desk and stood. “I don’t care anything about the woman that you’re going to marry. Didn’t care for the first five after you drove mother to her death and I don’t care about this one. For the last time, get out of my office.”
He bypassed his secretary and called security. “Chester? Bring Quincy. Someone let the senior Mr. Rhodes in the building again and I want him banned. The next one to let him in loses his job. I want him taken out.”
“We’ll be right there.”
“You can’t be serious.”
Livingston herded him to the door. “Stop with the pretend astonishment. We both know you’re just pissed I’m booting you from my office and my casino.”
“I’m your father.”
“I have no father. You are nothing more than a sperm donor. Before you try to threaten me, remember there isn’t anything you can do to me.”
His smile was evil. “Don’t be too sure about that, whelp.” He stepped right up to Livingston. They were nearly eye to eye, but all the Rhodes boys had gotten taller than their old man.