” She surprised herself with her calm recovery.
11
Eva went into the stockroom. She’d stashed her personal shipment of zirconia among the boxes of accessories and supplies. Rita was planning on stopping by during her lunch hour so they could begin removing some of the goods.
Eva went to the back of the room. She frowned as her eyes ran over the boxes. She turned and looked at the row behind her, and her heart pumped faster. Maybe she’d put them someplace else. One by one, she scanned each row of boxes again. Panic seized her. She tugged in a deep breath, and her heart pumped faster. Eva closed her eyes for a moment and then looked again. The three boxes were not there.
For several seconds she stood in the center of the stockroom, chewing on her thumbnail, forcing her mind to clear. Someone had obviously moved them.
“Oh, there you are.”
Eva jumped, grabbed her chest. She turned. “Tara, you startled me. Something wrong” She surprised herself with her calm recovery.
“Sebastian is here. He said he wanted to start going over the inventory with you.”
Damnit. She’d hoped that he would have forgotten all about it, with the busy season picking up. “Uh, tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Sure.” Tara hesitated. “Are you okay You looked flushed.”
Eva cleared her throat and rubbed her forehead. “Hmmm, think I might be coming down with something.”
Tara stepped back, made a cross with her fingers. “Well, stay away from me, girl. I cannot afford to get whatever it is you think you’re getting.” She grinned. “I’ll tell Sebastian you’re on your way.”
“Thanks.”
Tara started to leave.
“Uh, Tara, I was looking for three boxes that I’d put back here last week.”
Tara frowned for a moment and then brightened. “Oh, yes, I have them up front. When I was going over the weekly deliveries, I didn’t see those boxes on my spreadsheet or on yours. I was going to send them back, figured it must have been an error.”
Eva almost grinned with relief. “Stupid me. I should have transferred the information to your system but totally forgot. I placed that order.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I have them up front. Good thing you mentioned it. They were going back today.”
“You are just too efficient for your own good,” Eva teased.
“I’ll bring them back to your office.”
“Uh, no. That’s okay. Leave them where they are. Sebastian and I will be working in my office for a couple of hours. I’ll just be sure to include them on the inventory sheet.”
“I can do that for you.”
“No,” she snapped with more bite than she intended. Tara flinched. “I mean, don’t worry about it. You have enough to do if I’m going to be tied up for the next few hours. Plus I need to check them out first. They just might have to go back.” She smiled. “I’ll get them from you when Sebastian and I are done.”
Tara looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “You’re the boss. I’ll tell Sebastian you’re coming.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
When Tara left the stockroom, Eva turned around in a slow circle, her fist pressed to her mouth, trying to think. Now Tara knew about the boxes. She would be looking for them to appear on the spreadsheet. She’d just deal with that later. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that the boxes were at Tara’s desk and not in the stockroom. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Sebastian noticing them there or in her office.
She straightened her jacket and walked out. Now, if she could get through the next couple of hours with Sebastian, she’d figure out the rest. Rita would just have to wait for the pickup until she’d worked everything out on the inside and soothed any suspicions Tara might have.
Tara was young and eager, but she was also willing to please and loyal to Eva. If she’d thought anything was awry, she’d come to Eva before ever going to Sebastian. Of that much Eva was certain. Tara had dreams of running the office if and when Eva moved to the new location. It wouldn’t serve her well to get on Eva’s wrong side.
Holding on to that small comfort, Eva walked into her office, where Sebastian was waiting.
“I was ready to take a nap,” Sebastian teased. He stood to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.
“Bass, you weren’t waiting that long.” She walked around him. “How are you Looking good as ever.”
“I’m good. Better than good.”
“Oh” Her brow arched in inquiry.
“The young lady I was telling you about—”
She smiled. “The one who is still nameless”
“Her name is Allison. Allison Hampton.”
Eva eyes widened. “The Allison Hampton Of Hampton Enterprises”
Allison Hampton was the white equivalent of Oprah. She owned two magazines, a radio station, sat on the board of several Fortune 500 corporations, and recently launched her own charitable foundation. She had her hand in any and every humanitarian cause, near and far. That’s because she had enough money to pay off the national debt—out of her petty cash. Her father was a senator for decades until he died five years earlier. The family made their first fortune during Prohibition and then legitimized themselves in oil, then turned to stocks. She was an only child and heiress to a megafortune, which, by all accounts, she spent wisely. There’d been rumors that her father had had very close ties with the Saudis, but the speculation was never proved.
Sebastian grinned. “Yes, the Allison Hampton.”
“Well, you certainly go for the gusto. Congratulations.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Are those really her boobs, or does she have a good surgeon”
Sebastian tossed his head back and howled with laughter. “I’ll let you know. How’s that”
Eva chuckled. “As long as you’re happy. I just hope she treats you nice. Or else you know she will be subject to a beatdown. I don’t care how much money she has.”
“I’m a big boy, Eva. I can take care of myself. But I appreciate your sentiments.”
She wagged a finger at him. “Listen, you know all you have to do is put your lips together and blow. I’ll be there.”
He shook his head in merriment. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“So … I take it the date went well”
“Yes, very. The first, and every one since then too. We’ve been seeing each other practically every night.”
“Wow. This does sound serious.”
Sebastian sat down. He looked up at Eva. “I think so. At least I hope it will be. I really care about her. She’s a good person, funny intelligent, beautiful.”
“Sounds like she’s the whole package.”
“And I want you to meet her, you and Jake. I’m going to have a little dinner party at my place, next week Saturday.”
She froze. “Next Saturday”
“Yes, does that work for you”
“Well, actually … I was going to talk to you about next week. I know this is a bad time, but I’m going to have to take a few days off.”
“Now, with everything that’s going on”
“Yes, uh, you know my cousin Rita.” He nodded. “Well, she’s going in for some … female surgery. And she’s going to need someone to take care of her for a few days when she gets home. We’re the only family. She doesn’t have anyone else.”
His mouth formed a firm line. “Will you be reachable, in case we need you”
“Of course. You can always get me on my cell phone.” She hoped it would work on the ship.
“Hmmm. Well, family is family. How long will you be out”
“All of next week, for sure. I hope it won’t be longer than that.” She snatched a glance at her desk clock. Damn, Rita would be walking through the door for their lunch date any second now. “Can you excuse me one minute I need to check on something with Tara.” She hurried out and reached Tara’s desk just as Rita stepped off the elevator.
Eva practically ran to Rita. Thankfully, Tara was busy with one of the designers. She grabbed Rita by the arm and turned her back to the elevator.
“Change in plans,” she said under her breath. “Don’t call the office. I’ll call you later.” She pushed Rita back on the elevator just before the door closed.
She quickly walked over to Tara. “Uh, Sebastian and I will be busy for a while, so would you hold my calls for me”
“Sure thing.” She looked past Eva. “I swore I saw your cousin just get off the elevator.”
“Really” She laughed. “At first I thought it was her too, and I went rushing over to her like a fool. Just someone who got off on the wrong floor.”
Tara looked at her. “Are you sure you’re okay You’re acting really frazzled today.”
“I do feel a bit warm. Right after I finish up with Sebastian, I think I’ll leave early. Try to nip this thing in the bud.”
Tara nodded. “Okay.”
“Well, let me get back.” Eva hurried away, whispering a desperate prayer. Please let this work.
“Everything okay” Sebastian asked when she returned. He scrutinized her with a pinched expression. “I don’t see why you didn’t just call Tara on the phone. The phones are working, aren’t they”
“Yeah, but I knew she was working with the designers and wouldn’t be at her desk.”
“Hmmm.” He looked at his watch. “Okay, well let’s get busy.”
“Sure.” She was more than happy to sit down. Her legs had gone all wobbly.
Three hours later, they’d finished the preliminary work. They’d matched all the inventory with the in-house files and began the process of seeing what could be cut back.
“There really isn’t much room for cuts, Bass,” Eva said, rotating her neck.
“Unfortunately, you’re right.” He pursed his lips in thought. “Our biggest expenses are the rent for this place, salaries, and utilities.”
“We can’t afford to let any of the designers go, especially not now. And they can’t work in the dark.”
They both chuckled.
“The only thing we can do, which will save several thousand per month, is to cut back on the hours of operation.”
“What You’re kidding!”
He shook his head. “What choice do we have The staff is going to have to do more in less time. Since they’re all paid by the hour, we can cut that way, and if no one is here, that will save on the electric bill, which is astronomical.”
“Bass … I don’t know.…”
“If you have a better suggestion, I’d love to hear it.”
She had none. “Who’s going to tell them Not me,” she added quickly.
The corner of his mouth turned up in a sardonic grin. “Guess that leaves me.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
* * *
To say that the staff was disgruntled was a mild understatement, Eva thought as she drove home from work. Sebastian’s new work plan was to go into effect the following day, which meant that everyone was in at their same time of eight but would end the day at two. All that might work out in her favor. No one besides her and Sebastian had keys. Once the employees were gone for the day, she could simply come back and remove the boxes. In the morning she’d let Tara know that she was planning on returning them after all.
She turned onto her street. Today’s bullets had been dodged, but she was sure there were more where those came from.