Billionaire by Design (A BWWM Romance) (3 page)

“Any new messages?” Zane asked Sheryl as he paused in front of his office door. He’d been repeatedly asking his secretary this for the last four days, but none of the messages were the one he was hoping for. Jenna still hadn’t called to schedule a meeting with him, and he was beginning to think she never would.

“Ali from accounting wants to speak to you about some account discrepancies, and that’s it,” Sheryl replied apologetically. She clearly knew he was waiting for an important call, and could tell by the sunken look on his face that this wasn’t it.

“Okay, thanks,” he responded politely with a forced smile as he headed into his office, shutting his door behind him. With an exasperated sigh, he plopped down into the high-back leather office chair that was seated behind his large, solid oak desk.

His fingers tapped its wooden surface impatiently as he stared down his work phone and debated calling
Family Burger
. Days had passed, yet he still couldn’t shake the image of her big, brown eyes and amazing smile. She looked beautiful, even in her outdated
Family Burger
uniform, and he desperately wanted to see her again. He’d felt an undeniable chemistry with her and was sure the connection was reciprocated. Now, days later, he wasn’t as certain of that anymore. His intuition usually never failed him, but it appeared that this time it had. If she hadn’t called by now, it probably wasn’t going to happen.

The sudden ringing of the same work phone he was staring at startled him so greatly that he almost jumped out of his chair. His adrenaline surged and his heart raced as he mumbled “Jesus Christ” under his breath. Running one hand through his hair while straightening his tie with the other in an attempt to recompose himself, he inhaled deeply before answering the ringing phone.

“What’s up?” he asked informally, knowing it would be his secretary since no calls made it to his desk without passing by her first.

“Mr. Talbot, you have a call from a Jenna Parker on line one. Are you available to take it?” Sheryl questioned. She sat only fifteen feet away from him just outside his office door, but the two agreed that calling worked better than knocking.

“Yes, Sheryl, thank you,” Zane answered, trying to contain his excitement.

He left Jenna on hold for a moment so as not to appear too eager, and to wrap his mind around the odds of her calling at the same time he’d been thinking of calling her. Seconds earlier, he’d been staring at his phone in deliberation, and by some extraordinary coincidence, perhaps even intervention from above, she was now on the line. The chances of that happening were astronomical, yet it had happened. Perhaps they had a connection after all, he couldn’t help but think as he collected himself for the second time. With his calm, confident demeanor back in place, he picked up the phone and pressed the blinking button signaling line one.

“Jenna, I’m glad you called!” he greeted exuberantly.

“Should I call you Zane, or should I call you Mr. Talbot?” Jenna joked nervously.

“Zane, of course,” he chuckled as he leaned forward to rest his arm on his desk. “I’m honestly kind of sick of people calling me Mr. Talbot. Makes me feel old.”

“Well, that’s because you are,” Jenna teased, following it with a giggle that made that both laugh.

“Fair enough. Old man Talbot. Soon they’ll be putting me in a home.”

“Oh, shush. How old are you? Thirty-five? You still have a few good years left in you,” Jenna fired back.

“That was either a very good guess, or you’ve done your homework,” Zane replied with a smile.

“You got me,” Jenna replied. “I did a little snooping online to see if I’d be wasting my time on that logo.”

“I take it you liked what you saw, then?” Zane asked as he twirled the phone’s cord around his finger. He wasn’t aware of it, but he had a tendency to do this when he was excited.

“Pretty impressive, I have to admit.”

“Why, thank you,” Zane responded, genuinely appreciative of the compliment. “So, speaking of the logo… did you get a chance to work on anything yet? I know you’re busy with school and work, so if you haven‘t had time yet, I totally understand.”

“I actually have them all done and was wondering when a good time to meet with you was. I know you’re busy, too.”

“Wait, you have them
all
done? What do you mean by
all
?” Zane asked in slight confusion.

“I made a few different versions so you can choose the one you like the best. I mean… if you even like any of them…” Jenna explained guardedly, unsure if she’d made a mistake or not. Zane was quick to assure he that she hadn’t.

“Oh, wow, that’s awesome! Totally above and beyond. I’m excited to see what you came up with!”

She had the mindset of a true professional, and that fact wasn’t lost on Zane. It was routine for him to have his art department offer a client several versions of a logo or advertisement so they could select the one they felt best represented their business. Not only had Jenna done this without instruction, she’d also done it quickly. He’d given her a week to come up with one logo, yet she’d produced several in only four days.

“When can you squeeze me in?” Jenna asked.

“I’ll work around your schedule since mine’s probably a bit more flexible,” Zane replied understandingly. “When are you free?”

“Amazingly, I have the entire day off Saturday and Sunday, but I figure you’re probably out of the office on weekends. After that, my next free time will be… um… let me see,” Jenna paused to check her schedule. “Tuesday anytime after 3:00 pm.”

“There’s no way I can wait until Tuesday,” Zane said as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m too impatient. I’m also somewhat of a workaholic and will be here on Saturday,” he continued as he flipped through his planner.

“Oh? What time can we meet?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out right now,” he answered slowly as he mapped out his day. “How’s 4:00 pm sound?”

“That’s actually perfect,” Jenna replied with a hint of relief in her voice. “It gives me some time to sleep in for once!” she laughed.

“Good. Rest those pretty eyes of yours,” Zane dared to say in his first attempt at mild flirtation. Before she could respond, he added, “Oh, and do me a favor and bring in some of your other artwork. I’d love to see as much of it as I can.”

“Most of it’s digital…” Jenna trailed off, hoping Zane would take it from there. He didn’t let her down.

“Hell, most of what we do is digital. Throw it all on a flash drive if you’d be so kind, and you can show it to me here.”

“I can definitely do that, but don’t expect anything great. I’m sure I’m nowhere near as good as your art department,” Jenna muttered.

“Remember the last thing I said to you when I saw you the other day? Confidence is the key to success. I want you to come in here with your head held high. I have faith in you. Have a little faith in yourself,” Zane’s commanding voice coached her. “If you’re going to make it as an artist, you can’t be afraid to show your work.”

“Yes, sir,” Jenna playfully replied.

“Oh, and give me your number if you’d be so kind. That way if anything changes, I can give you a ring.”

She happily agreed, and he eagerly jotted her digits down in his planner.

“Okay, great! Got it.”

“I’ll see you Saturday at 4:00 pm, then?” Jenna reconfirmed.

“I’ll be here!” Zane replied enthusiastically. “You take care now.”

“You too. Bye for now.”

“Bye for now,” Zane repeated back with a smile as he hung up the phone. He turned his chair to admire the mountainous view out of the large series of windows his office boasted. Parker. He now knew her last name, and he’d be seeing her again in two short days. The mere sound of her voice had made his heart melt, and he couldn’t remember ever feeling this way about a woman… especially one he’d barely spoken to.

He sensed she had a depth that most beautiful women lacked, and he hoped for the opportunity to explore it. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing yet again. He quickly swiveled his chair to answer it, excitedly thinking it may be Jenna calling him back.

“Is it Jenna again?” he asked Sheryl, immediately regretting how desperate he sounded.

“What? No,” his confused secretary replied. His question had obviously caught her off guard. “It’s Ali Chadwick from accounting again. She’s out here and says she really needs to speak with you… now.”

“Okay, send her in,” Zane sighed as he rose from his chair to greet her. He’d hired Ali eight years earlier to manage the books, and she’d never asked to meet with him so urgently. He could only assume she needed time off for an emergency of some sort.

His door opened and he straightened his jacket as Sheryl motioned Ali into the room. He crossed his large office to meet her with a smile and guided her into one of the two chairs seated in front of his desk.

“What can I do for you, Ali? Everything okay?” he asked as he returned to his comfortable leather chair.

“Well, that’s just the thing,” Ali began. She opened the manila folder she’d been carrying and flipped through a few printouts that appeared to be spreadsheets and financial statements. “I’ve gone over everything a million times and… it just doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?” a concerned Zane asked as he rolled his chair closer to his desk and cleared his throat. Ali, a stout, timid girl by nature who was notable for her thick, horned-rimmed glasses, looked especially distraught today. Whatever news she was about to give him was going to be bad, and he knew it.

“I think… I mean… It looks like… I…” Ali stammered.

“Just say it,” Zane stopped her. His hands gripped the arm rests of his chair tightly as he braced himself for the news.

“We’re missing some money,” Ali blurted. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean we’re ‘missing some money?’” Zane asked in frustration while trying not to raise his voice. He prided himself in always remaining calm and collected regardless of the situation.

“Eighty thousand dollars, to be exact,” Ali sniffled as she readjusted her glasses. “I don’t know how it could have happened. I reviewed our client list again, and… I just don’t know where it went!”

“First of all, calm down,” Zane spoke gently in an effort to divert Ali’s meltdown. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were red, and he could see her hands shaking. “Just relax,” he comforted. “Take a deep breath.”

His soothing tone seemed to work. Ali relaxed slightly and fumbled with the paperwork she’d been holding.

“Once a year, I sort through our client list and compare how much we budgeted their account with how much we ended up using for their campaign, just like you told me to,” Ali began.

“Uh-huh,” Zane nodded his understanding.

“Sometimes we have to go over the budgeted amount, and sometimes we go under. As you know, everything’s documented. When we go over, we note how much we went over by. When we go under, that’s also noted and the money’s placed back into the marketing account,” Ali went on.

“Right,” Zane nodded again, gesturing for her to continue.

“We also have the collections account. When a client pays us for our services, that money winds up there. That‘s the same account we use for payroll.”

“Yes, I know all this,” Zane said in irritation.

“
All
expenses are documented. Everything. Every cent we spend on a client is accounted for. We keep every receipt, even for a box of staples.”

“I know, so how are we missing money?” Zane asked as he placed his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his hands. He listened attentively as Ali spoke.

“I opened up every client file we have. I’ve found two clients that…” she paused to find the right printouts and handed them to Zane. “…don’t seem to have any real documentation at all,” she finished.

Zane scanned the printouts, reading pieces under his breath as his eyes trailed down them.

“Kroger… forty thousand… Tanque Verde Ranch… forty thousand…”

“See what I mean?” Ali rose from her chair to walk to Zane’s side of the desk and read over his shoulder, pointing out bizarre discrepancies in both printouts. “Says we took a total of eighty thousand dollars out of our marketing account to fund their promotional material, but—”

“No expenses documented,” Zane finished her sentence as he nodded his head.

“Exactly. These clients are from eight months ago. It’s marked that we completed all of their promotional needs, but there’s no expense report and no record of them having ever paid us. The whole thing’s just… weird,” Ali said as she adjusted her horned-rimmed glasses again. She was standing so close that Zane could hear her breathing heavily.

“Let me see their contracts,” Zane insisted. Ali rushed back to her manila folder, retrieved them for him, and scurried back to his side.

“I knew you’d want to see them, so I brought them with me,” she said with a small smile, clearly pleased at her forethought.

Zane reviewed the two standard-issue contracts, both of them signed, dated, and seemingly in order.