Calculated Risk. Heather Woodhaven

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СКАЧАТЬ pressed his thumbs into his temples, attempting to fight off the headache threatening to start. “So, in English, that means the stockholders are about to be very rich.”

      She tilted her head to the left and right, as if weighing his translation. “Essentially, yes. Except, the numbers were blatantly wrong, Jeff. I’m sure of it.”

      Victoria consistently proved to be the best accountant in his department. It’s why she’d risen to lead accountant within a year. Normally, he’d believe her in a heartbeat, but she was standing in his living room with her massive dog at four in the morning. Had she lost her mind?

      “The problem was—when I checked the data again—everything matched the public numbers.”

      “So you misremembered.”

      She blinked and shook her head. “No, I don’t think I did. But your reaction proves my point. I knew I needed evidence.”

      Jeff winced but covered it by taking long strides into the kitchen. She may think they had no time to waste, but if he didn’t at least get some instant coffee into his system, he wouldn’t be able to retain a single word she said.

      Victoria followed him to the sink. “So, this time around, at the end of the quarter, I took action. I saved my own copy of the report onto a flash drive before submitting it to Wagner and the audit committee. Then, when the report became public yesterday, I went into work early—before everyone else—to see if the numbers matched the statements on my flash drive.”

      “And?”

      She folded her arms across her chest. “I was right on the money, Jeff. Someone changed the numbers in the company files and the public reports.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her arms. “Except Wagner caught me comparing the reports.”

      Jeff’s spoonful of coffee grounds froze in midair. While Jeff was supervisor of the accounts payable department, Todd Wagner managed the entire accounting division. In fact, Wagner had just reassigned Jeff to supervisor of the accounts receivable department starting next week.

      Jeff frowned. “Victoria, listen. I’ve always respected your opinion and your work ethic. But Wagner is my boss, too, so I’m not sure this is the best way to communicate any prob—”

      “Please.” She bit her lip and made eye contact for a brief second. “Please, hear me out. Wagner implied that I better be careful...that someone might suspect me of insider trading. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong.”

      Jeff rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. “I think I’m missing something.”

      “Wagner ordered me to meet him after work for drinks. He said I would regret it if I didn’t show up.”

      A chill ran up his spine. He clenched his jaw and mixed the spoonful of instant coffee into a mug of tap water. If Wagner was harassing Victoria...Jeff took a deep breath to remain professional. “This sounds like a matter for Human Resources. I know April in HR well enough that I can arrange an emergency meeting first thing tomorrow—I mean today.”

      She smirked. “I know April, too, but that won’t help. I slipped out of work an hour early to avoid Wagner. Then, a red Range Rover started following me everywhere I went. The grocery store, the dry cleaners, the gym...it even pulled up next to me. This guy in a ball cap made frantic gestures at me, like my car had a flat tire. He motioned for me to pull over, but instead I drove straight to the auto shop.” She took a shaky breath. “Jeff, there was nothing wrong with my tires. It was a lie to try to get me to pull over.”

      Jeff stared at her for a moment, imagining what could’ve happened had she pulled over. Victoria stared at his hands. He followed her gaze to find them in fists and purposefully relaxed them. “I’m glad you thought fast, but, Victoria, even you have to admit there are a lot of Range Rovers in town.”

      Her blue eyes narrowed. “I know what I saw. The same red car was on my street when the fire started, and gone by the time the police arrived.” She tightened the blanket around her shoulders. “I think Wagner is the reason I’m in danger. If I’m right, he’s making millions while committing fraud. If he gets away with it, the stockholders and employees will be the ones to suffer. I need your help to prove it. I don’t dare go into work alone again.”

      Jeff gulped down the disgusting, lukewarm instant coffee. He tried out the idea of his boss as an embezzler, a mastermind of fraud. Was it possible? Wagner wasn’t someone who valued people skills. He lived in a fancy house and liked to show off his latest purchases. He also seemed to be a man who prided himself on a job well done. Jeff placed the mug in the sink. “Why not go to the police? Or even the FBI?”

      “How can the police help me when I have nothing solid to give them? I made an appointment with the FBI yesterday, for this morning. But now—” Her gaze dropped to her intertwined hands. She sighed. “I have nothing to give them.”

      “I thought you had the evidence on a flash drive.”

      She turned her attention to his wall clock. “It burned to a crisp in the fire.” She looked back at him. “So, do you understand the urgency? We need to go now, Jeff. Before they see where I hid a copy of the file. I’m...I’m a little worried they won’t stop until I’m dead.”

      Her phone vibrated and simultaneously released a loud alarm. She looked down at it. “Someone is breaking into my car!”

       TWO

      Victoria ran back into the living room. “I need to get to a window!” She passed the couch and slid two wooden blinds apart to see through the window closest to her car.

      “What’s going on?”

      “My brother put a car alarm application on my phone. He said it’s more effective than an alarm on your car because it alerts you, not the crook.” Victoria squinted out the window. A man wearing a baseball cap had one knee on the passenger seat, rifling through her glove box.

      “I think my brother was right.” The man looked up. Victoria jerked away from the window and gasped. “What if he saw me?” She put a hand on her chest. “I parked in the guest parking lot just in case I was being followed. I had hoped he wouldn’t know which town house I was visiting.”

      “I’m calling the police.” Jeff grabbed his phone off the end table and took her place at the window.

      Victoria nodded mutely. Her throat burned with the threat of tears. Her house was a pile of used matchsticks, and she was acting like a crazy woman begging Jeff for help. She caught sight of a small navy leather book on the end table by the couch. A Bible. The confirmation that she’d come to the right man steadied her pulse.

      Jeff gave ethics lessons on taking pens from work to use for personal reasons. He also knew only the bare minimum about accounting, but that wasn’t his job. He was there to manage employees, and the job suited him. He was considered the most eligible bachelor at work, so much so that April—one of her friends at work—had staked her claim. The last time she’d stopped by Victoria’s cubicle to say hi, April had said she was dating Jeff.

      Victoria cringed. Would April be upset that she’d gone to Jeff for help? She hadn’t even told any of her friends about her suspicions, fearing that she was wrong. If only April had access to the accounting divisions, then Victoria could’ve СКАЧАТЬ