“MAYBE WE’RE GOING about this the wrong way,” Roberto said.
Stasia leaned back in her chair and stretched her sore muscles. Leaning over a laptop for hours made for aches and pains. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re going about this with a micro view. Perhaps we should pull back and go about it with a macro view.”
“But we already went over the balance sheet. It tied in to the supplemental files.” She wasn’t getting his meaning, but she did agree that what they were doing now wasn’t working.
It didn’t help that she was distracted by their earlier conversation. His words had been like nails driven into her heart. But she had no one to blame but herself. She knew from the start that this relationship was temporary.
“I don’t know.” Roberto’s voice drew her attention. “Maybe we have to do spot checks on the expenses because if there’s going to be something unscrupulous, it’s going to be with the outgoing funds. Let’s hope we get lucky.”
“Spot checks? You mean like pick a random number—”
“Or entry. And track it back to its origin.”
She could feel his rising desperation. The cruise was over in less than two days and he so desperately wanted to have the answers for his grandfather. And she wanted to help him find those answers. But was this really the right way to go about it?
His fingers were already moving over the keyboard when she said, “Isn’t this like throwing a dart at a board and just hoping it hits the bull’s-eye?”
Roberto paused and glanced up at her. “If this business were smaller. If the numbers didn’t run in the hundreds of millions, then yes, I would agree with you, but we just don’t have time to do a full-fledged audit. My grandfather wants answers now.”
“And you want to show him that you’re the man to give him those answers.”
His gaze met hers, but he didn’t say the obvious.
After a few minutes, he said, “Okay. I’ve just printed off a couple of pages of entries. Pick a few numbers on each sheet and trace them back to their invoices.”
“Invoices? We don’t have that sort of detail.”
“No. But I have the password and access to the company’s servers. We’ll be able to pull everything, as the system is automated and all the invoices are stored digitally.”
And so they set to work. Time passed quickly with few results because it was a big task. They started with a vendor and then tracked the payments back through the system.
The first number was tracked back to a legitimate invoice.
The second tracked back accordingly.
The third and the fourth did, as well.
Stasia was beginning to think this was a fruitless mission. And the hour was getting late. Dinner had been a number of hours ago and she was starting to get tired as well as hungry.
As though he sensed her restlessness, Roberto glanced up from his laptop. “You should call it a night.”
The idea was so tempting. This was the last place she wanted to find herself. Being so close to Roberto and yet so far apart was excruciating. But she’d told him that she would help him find answers and she wasn’t going back on her word.
Her gaze met his. “What about you? Do you want to get some sleep and tackle it again tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “I want to get through a few more numbers.”
She restrained a sigh. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
He arched a disbelieving brow. “Are you sure? I’d totally understand if you want to go.”
She shook her head. “But can we call for food? I’m starved.”
He smiled. “I like the way you think.”
They continued to work, verifying number after number. Then something didn’t quite add up. Stasia had an expenditure on the reports that tied to an invoice. When she took it a step further, she could not locate a company that went by the name on the invoice.
Knock. Knock.
Stasia was so confused. She refused to give up until she resolved this mysterious company. Because there was a lot of money charged off to it over the years for construction materials.
“I’ll get the door,” Roberto said.
She didn’t say anything as she was caught up in what she was reading on the internet. The company name did not have a website that she could find, and in this day and age of technology, that threw up a red flag for her. And then she typed in the phone number from the invoice. It said it belonged to a woman by a totally different name.
Roberto closed the door and set the food on the nightstand next to his bed since they had the table covered with their computers and papers. “I thought you were hungry.”
“I, uh...” She typed in the physical address listed on the invoice.
Roberto moved to her side. “You what? Did you find something?”
“I don’t know.” Using online global mapping, she tracked the address down to an empty lot. “This invoice, it’s not making sense.”
He crouched down next to her. “You mean the amount isn’t matching up?”
She shook her head. “It matches. But I decided to go a step further with each invoice and check out the company. This particular company, I don’t think it’s legit.”
“Do you mind?” He gestured to the computer.
“Look for yourself. Maybe I’m more tired than I thought.”
He swung the laptop around and started moving through the various reports that were all open on the screen. He repeated all her steps, from doing an internet search for the company name to the phone number and the physical address. All were the same results.
Then he asked to borrow her phone.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m calling the number.” His finger moved over the screen.
“But it’s late.”
“And this is too important to wait around.” He pressed a button and put the phone on Speaker.
It rang a few times, and just about the time that Stasia thought no one was going to answer, a female voice came on the line. Roberto asked if this was the company name on the invoice. The woman said it wasn’t. He asked if she’d ever heard of the company. She said she hadn’t and asked who he was and what he wanted. The woman was very nice, but she was no help as far as finding the company.
After Roberto disconnected the phone call, he dialed again. This time turning off the speakerphone.
“Who are you calling now?”
He held up a finger as he pressed the phone to his ear this time. “Grandfather, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
Roberto asked him if he had ever heard of the company. They continued to speak for a few minutes, after which Roberto told him he wasn’t prepared to report anything on his findings just yet.
After Roberto disconnected the call, she looked at him. “Well...”
“My grandfather said there used to be a company by that name, but they’d gone out of business a number of years ago.”
“Which explains why they don’t have an internet presence. So then why is your grandfather’s business still paying them?”
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
“But first food.” She got to her feet and led him to the food. “Eat,” she said in a firm tone.
Roberto’s brows lifted. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re bossy?”
“If you’re trying to charm me—”
“You think being called bossy is charming?”
She thought about it for a minute. “Sure. I like being taken seriously.”
“Oh, I take you seriously. Especially when you uncover what is surely a case of embezzlement.” He stepped closer to her. “This is it. My grandfather will at last take me seriously and offer me the CEO position.”
“It’s your birthright. Of course he will.”
Roberto shook his head. “You don’t know my grandfather. It’s his way or no way. But this revelation changes things. This is exactly what I needed. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”
“Stop.” She couldn’t have him flirting with her. It was too painful. He had his answer. Her job was finished. “I have to go.”
She turned and headed for the door.
“Stasia. Wait.”
She kept going. If she were to stop now—if she were to look into his eyes—her bravado would crumble. And she refused to make a fool of herself in front of him by letting him know that she’d fallen for her pretend fiancé.