Claire
Something was nagging me, and I couldn’t figure out what. Meg, Collin, Ethan, and I reviewed all the employee documents.
We had discussions on them.
We tried to see if anything on their initial background checks was missed or stood out.
We created scenarios that could have possibly happened.
It led nowhere.
Everyone was frustrated, but Ethan was getting especially frustrated. He sat with his elbows on the table and rubbed his hands over his face.
I could see the tension in his shoulders. It reminded me of Friday morning, when I’d peered through the conference room glass. This time, I walked over to him and dug my fingers and thumbs into his back. He tipped his head back to look up at me. I leaned down and kissed him.
“It has to be someone in these folders.” Collin pulled another folder off the table.
Ethan sighed. “I’ve gone through all these folders about twenty times myself.”
Meg looked up. “Are you sure you have everyone in the company in these boxes?”
“Yes. Anyone who has been with us for the last five years. The embezzlement began two years ago, so five years more than covers it.”
I snapped my fingers as it hit me. “I think we’re looking at this the wrong way. ”
“Claire, what do you mean?” Ethan squinted at me.
“If it isn’t in this box, then we have to look somewhere else. Who else, outside of the employees, has knowledge of where income comes from or has access to accounts?”
Collin looked over at me. “The investors have access. But we’ve all been investigated and cleared.”
“So that’s once place we can comb back through. Who else?”
“Don’t you have outside real estate agents sometimes?” Meg inquired. “Would they have access?”
Ethan nodded. “We would have to tie them to the properties that had money stolen, but we used internal agents for most of those properties. They’re in these boxes. It’s a stretch, but I guess anything is possible.”
“Who does your books?” I asked.
“Accounting is all internal. We’ve gone through those employees.”
“But our CPA firm isn’t,” Collin pointed out.
“Okay, add them to the list of external real estate agents and investors,” I instructed Meg, who started to write a list. “Who else has access to all your account information?”
“Honestly, only our bankers, CPA, and attorneys. That’s it.” Ethan held up his hands in frustration.
My stomach started dropping. I sat down from dizziness.
“Claire, what’s wrong?” Ethan rubbed my back.
No. It couldn’t be. As much as I wanted to figure out who did this, I didn’t want it to be him. I closed my eyes.
Could it be possible? Yes.
Would he have done it? I prayed not.
Why did he have you step into this case two days before you were leaving his firm?
“Claire?” Ethan bent his head to mine.
I slowly opened my eyes. “I need a list of all the firms and copies of contracts you’ve signed with your attorneys.”
“I only use Dan’s firm.”
I stared at him.
His face got white, and his eyes widened. “He wouldn’t.”
“I hope not.” I gulped.
“Please tell me he didn’t.” Ethan pleaded with his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“Dan Crane?” Collin questioned.
Ethan and I both nodded.
“Wow.” Collin sat back in shock.
I turned to Collin. “I know. But there are things you don’t know about him... About how he’s been running things this last year.”
“Such as?” Collin wanted to know.
“I... I can’t say anything right now. There are confidentiality issues I’m dealing with.”
“Claire, if you know something that may tie him to this, you need to tell us.” Meg looked upset with me. “Ethan’s life is on the line here. Screw your confidentiality issues.”
I jerked my head. “You think I don’t know that?”
“Then tell us!”
“I took an oath when I became an attorney, Meg. I can’t rattle stuff off because I think something might be going on. And even if it is, I have to disclose it the right way.”
“But—”
Ethan cut her off. “Meg, stop. Claire’s right. I don’t want her to put her career at risk over anything to do with me.”
“Ethan, wake up. You’re at risk of going to jail. The clock is ticking. We don’t have time to screw around with this!”
I snapped my head back at Meg and jumped out of my seat. “Is that what you think I’m going to do? Waste time, screw around, and not try my damndest to figure this out?”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Don’t worry, Meg. I heard you loud and clear!” I grabbed my purse and quickly walked toward the door.
“Claire!” Meg yelled after me.
But I had already gotten to the door, stormed out, and slammed the door behind me. I quickly pushed the elevator button and got in it. Tears welled in my eyes. I focused on the ground as the elevator stopped on several floors and passengers stepped in. I willed it to hurry up and get to the lobby. I felt suffocated and needed air.
Meg thought I would seriously sit on possible information and let Ethan go to prison? I had no idea she thought so low of me. It stung. Meg was one of my best friends...or so I thought.
The elevator opened, and I quickly got outside. I pushed the palm of my hand to my face and swiped at the waterworks that had begun leaking out of my eyes. I started walking down the street and tried to stop the waves of emotions that crashed throughout my body.
I didn’t get far before Ethan pulled me into his arms. “Shh,” he whispered to me as I completely lost it.
We stood in the middle of the sidewalk as New Yorkers bustled all around us. I sobbed into his chest. So many things I’d pushed down over the last few days, and even the last year, gushed to the surface.
Unethical decisions made by my employer that I kept ignoring, telling myself that it was his company to run how he saw fit.
My attraction to Ethan that I couldn’t hide or stop, that made me close to doing something that could have gotten me disbarred.
The fact that I’d been drugged, and still didn’t know who did it or everything that happened while Ethan took care of me.
The knowledge that I could not represent Ethan and fight for him in the best way I knew how.
And the realization that I was just as scared about Ethan going to prison as he was, even though I’d tried to put on a good face for him.
The dam broke, and I couldn't stop it.
“Claire. Shh. It’s all going to be okay.” Ethan held me tight and stroked my hair.
“I’m sorry, Ethan. I’m so sorry,” I cried into his body.
“Shh. You have nothing to be sorry about, Claire.”
But I did. I wasn’t sure how to best protect him in the wake of everything happening. I couldn’t explain it to him, but I had been his attorney. If Dan was involved, I should have put two and two together sooner.
I don’t know how long we stood there. The pink summer sky turned dark. Ethan finally picked me up and carried me to the car while I hid my face in his chest.
Inside the car, he held me in his lap and pushed my hair back from my face. He put his soft, succulent, sexy lips on mine.
I fell into his kiss—his heavenly, delectable mouth that slowly explored my own. His fingers massaged my skull, then gently pulled my hair as his lips moved down my neck. I felt his erection grow under my hip. I shifted my body to straddle him and unzipped his pants. He had on his underwear, as did I, but I ground on him hard.
He untied the top of my sundress, and my boobs fell out. I pushed my biceps on his shoulders for leverage to grind on him harder, and popped my chest in his mouth.
His warm tongue slid over my areolas and teased my nipples as his massive hands caressed my naked back.
The thin material of my panties felt like nothing was there. I was soaking wet, moaning against his touch and needing to fly.
His shaft was so hard. I shimmied it against my nub over and over again, aching for the high, dry-fucking him with urgency.
Ethan groaned. “Let me get a condom. You’re going to make me cum in my pants, Claire.”
I grabbed him tighter, pushed my tits back in his mouth, and moved my hips faster. His arms tightened around me. My face flushed.
So much warmth.
I didn’t say anything as I continued to grunt against Ethan and move faster while my body started to release on him. My throbbing sex started quivering as I continued to terrorize Ethan’s dick in smaller, quicker, desperate bursts. The tremors rippled through me until they shattered all of my cells, and I ricocheted all over Ethan’s body, groaning, mumbling, crying out against him.
His arms wrapped even tighter around me, and I stilled in my aftermath. The car stopped. The driver, no doubt aware of my orgasm, didn’t come over to open the door. I pulled back from Ethan.
He grabbed my sundress straps and tied them up. “Upstairs, now,” he growled, and opened the door to the car.
I stayed quiet and got out. Steering me through the lobby and into the crowded elevator, he put my body in front of his. His steel dick pushed into my spine. The elevator stopped on floor after floor, as if to torture us. Finally, it reached my level.
He put his hand on my back and quickly led me to my apartment. I fumbled as I tried to push the key into the lock. He grabbed it, jammed it into the lock, pushed the door open, then quickly shut and locked it.
Not saying anything, he turned and scanned the room quickly, reached behind my neck, and released my sundress. Lowering his hands, he pushed my panties to the floor.
I stood naked. Ethan Knight’s eyes blazed over my body as I wondered what he was going to do to me.