Forever After (Montana Brides) (12 page)

Nicky sat in silence, watching the grim set of Sam’s face as he realized the enormity of Patrick’s actions. The last seven days had been hell. She’d known she would need as much proof as possible when she identified the person who had manipulated the company’s tight auditing system.
 

Contacting an old friend who worked for a fraud investigation unit had given her access to financial records that she wouldn’t normally have been able to view. After meeting with Patrick’s previous employers, Nicky had been shocked at the level of deceit he had used to twist his employment record.
 

Scotson Construction wasn’t the only company to suffer from his money making schemes. Two other businesses had questioned him regarding his handling of company funds, but without solid evidence they hadn’t been unable to press criminal charges. He’d resigned from both employers on the pretext of better job offers, and both companies had accepted his resignation with relief.
 

Sam looked back down at her report. “He changed the tender amounts?”

“More than that. He altered one of the kitchen subcontractors tenders, and then invented a fake company, writing another tender for the altered amount plus job overruns that didn’t exist. The overall budget for the development was correct, Patrick just siphoned off some of the money into a fake company for himself.”

“What the hell was he thinking?”

“One hundred and thirty thousand thoughts, I’d guess.”

“What?” Sam dropped the file on his desk.

“That’s how much the contract was worth to the company he invented. He still had another forty-five thousand dollars left to invoice.”

“Shit.”

“Precisely.” Gripping her copy of the report, Nicky sat back in her seat, not quite sure how to tell him the rest of the story. “Patrick wasn’t the only one stealing from you. Annette Davies, an accounts assistant, co-signed the phony invoices he submitted. It looks as though she took a cut of the money in return for her services.”
 

Taking a deep breath, she tried to think of a way to minimize the impact of what she had to say next. “There are two more pieces of information you need to know. It looks as though Patrick has a gambling addiction.”
 

Sam’s head jerked up.
 

“He didn’t tell you the real reason he resigned from his last job. I checked with his previous employer, and he was asked to reconsider his future with their company after he was caught placing internet bets on different sporting events. It wasn’t once, Sam. When they reviewed the sites he’d visited over a six week timeframe, he’d spent hours each day checking results or placing bets.” She paused. She really didn’t want to tell him the rest of the news.

With a steady gaze, Sam said, “You said you had two pieces of information.”

Nicky pulled another folder from her satchel. “I hired a private investigator to follow Patrick for a few days. She took these photos last week.” Placing the file on Sam’s desk, she tried to ignore the sadness pressing down on her.
 

Sam thumbed through the photos, his face turning white as he saw for himself the full extent of his friend’s deceit.

Clearing her throat, Nicky watched Sam’s gaze slowly connect with hers. “I’ll leave you with my report,” she said. “I’ve got another half hour of work to do in my office, and then I’m heading to the gym. If you need anyone to talk to, just come and see me.”

Sam nodded, closing the folder with the photos in it.
 

Nicky picked up her satchel and left the room. Sitting at her desk, her feet nudged the sandals Sam had bought her. She slipped off her high heels and slouched down in her chair.
 

It would take more than a bag of salty french fries and a pair of sandals to help him deal with Patrick’s betrayal. Sam was a man of honor, and Patrick had just ripped their friendship to shreds.

Later that night, Sam leaned his head against the back of his deck chair, watching the sinking sun boil blood red over the mountains.
 

After Nicky left his office, he’d gone over her report, looking for any possible reason for the deliberate lies Patrick had spun. There were no reasons, except the need to cover up a gambling addiction that would cost him his job, his freedom, and quite possibly his marriage.
 

He breathed deeply. The smell of meat sizzling on a barbecue drifted through the still night air. The distant murmur of voices from other apartment owners and the clink of glass against glass told him that he wasn’t the only person sitting outside.
 

Unlike the people below him, he couldn’t relax and enjoy the incredible view spread out like a rich oil painting in front of him. There had been nothing enjoyable about the telephone conversation he’d just had with the company’s lawyer. By midday tomorrow, the board of directors would be briefed with a full report of what had happened, and Patrick and Annette would be fired and charged with fraud.

Finding out who had stolen the money was always going to be difficult. Finding out one of the people involved was his best friend was impossible to understand. A friend who had a wife and family to support. A friend he trusted with his life.
 

His doorbell rang. Frowning at the night sky, he glanced over his shoulder. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and he sure as hell didn’t want company. Maybe if he ignored the bell, they’d go away, and leave him to work out how he was going to handle tomorrow.
 

The doorbell rang again, followed by a loud knock. He stalked across the apartment, yanking the door open, prepared to do battle for a night of peace and quiet.
 

“Nicky?”
 

She gazed up at him. “I’m not staying long. I just want to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m doing a whole lot better than Patrick and Annette will be tomorrow.”
 

She nodded, her teeth gently biting her bottom lip as she hesitated in his doorway. “Well I’m glad you’re feeling alright. Have you spoken with granddad yet?”

“Not yet. I’ve called a board of directors meeting for half past nine tomorrow morning. Do you want to come in for a coffee?” Where the hell had that invitation come from? Nicky had made it more than obvious she didn’t want anything to do with him, and here he was offering her coffee in his apartment.
 

Her gaze jerked toward him. “Umm, no. No thanks.. I just thought I’d see how you are, that’s all. I’ll see you tomorrow in the office.”
 

Spinning on her heels, she walked back toward her apartment.
 

“I don’t understand any of it, Nicky.”

Stopping midstride, she turned to face him.

“What do you mean?”

Raking his hands through his hair, he tried to work out what the hell he was doing. Having a heart-to-heart conversation with a woman who refused to acknowledge his existence wasn’t sane behavior. But that didn’t stop his mouth running away from his brain. “I don’t understand how the hell he managed to hide what was going on. He never gave a hint there was more to his life than what I saw.”

Nicky shrugged her shoulders. “I guess that’s the problem with addictions. You don’t know what’s going through someone’s mind until it’s almost too late.”

“How long have you suspected it was Patrick?”

Lowering her lashes over her blue eyes, Nicky took a few minutes to answer. “Come and have dinner with me. We can discuss this over food. I’ve just been to the gym and I’m going to keel over if I don’t get some food into me soon.”

He searched his brain for some excuse why that wouldn’t be a good idea, but he couldn’t think of a single reason. Except maybe the quickening of his breath at the tight pink t-shirt and black lycra leggings she had on. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Her mouth tilted into a slow smile.
 

And that, he supposed, was that. He was going to have dinner with the woman who’d enjoyed a rumble in the sack with him, and then did her best to ignore him for the next three weeks. It just about topped finding out his best friend was a gambling addict, liar and thief.

“Make yourself at home, Sam. I’ll have the food organized in a couple of minutes.” Nicky walked back toward the kitchen, ready to do battle with a size fourteen chicken.
 

“What flavor are we having?”

She jumped. Sam had followed her into the kitchen, filling up what little space was left with his six foot plus frame. “Flavor?”

“Soup. I couldn’t smell any toast or barbecued meat cooking, so I guessed you must have a can of soup heating up.”

Lifting a knife out of a drawer, she turned and smiled at Sam.

He took a hasty step backward, colliding with the edge of the counter. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing.”

“I’m armed and dangerous,” she smiled at the frown on his face. “Don’t worry. You’re safe for now.” Opening the fridge, she picked up a cooked chicken and left it on the counter. “This little critter, however, is on the chopping block for dinner tonight.”

Sam looked between the knife and the chicken, then back at her. “Do you want me to carve?”

“Nope. If I can wrestle with the can opener and win, I can handle a rotisserie chicken.”
 

He didn’t look convinced.
 

Neither was she. “If you want to do something, you can put all the salady things in some bowls.”

Opening the fridge door, Sam stared at the assortment of containers sitting on the shelf. “You don’t believe in doing anything from scratch, do you?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Nicky watched him pull out the goodies. “I wouldn’t know how. If I can eat it raw, then I’m fine. If not, the supermarket deli’s my favorite place to visit. They’ve got some amazing food. I grabbed a little bit of everything.”

“Stuffed mediterranean olives?”

Poking the knife into the rotisserie bag, Nicky planned out her chicken chomping strategy. “I’ve never tried olives before and I’ve always wanted to visit the Mediterranean, so I thought I’d give them a go.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sam shake his head. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tried something new because it reminded you of something else?” she asked.

“I like sushi, but I don’t think about China when I see a pack of seaweed. Does that make me unimaginative?”

Dropping a chicken leg onto a plate, she laughed. “No. It probably makes you normal.”

“Tell me about Patrick.”

Her smile disappeared. “I’ve known for a couple of weeks the fraud originated from someone on The Oasis development, I just didn’t know who was involved. When Patrick showed me around, I saw for myself what a massive project it is. He’s a real charmer, and if you didn’t know what he was up to, you’d swear he does a great job as project manager.”
 

Putting the knife on the side of the plate, she turned to Sam. “He knows what he’s doing, and he has a great relationship with the subbies. He was really interested in how my efficiency study was going, and that didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. But later on, when I started asking about the tendering process in a project as big as The Oasis, he looked a bit uncomfortable.”

Picking up the knife, Sam started carving the chicken. “Patrick reviews all tender documents before they’re scanned into the computer. He changed the documents and added his paperwork before anyone else saw them.”

Nodding her head, Nicky watched his hands moving backward and forward across the meat until the chicken was sliced and stacked on a plate beside the bones.

 
“How did Annette get involved?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but my guess would be she realized the fake company wasn’t one of the preferred subcontractors you normally deal with. She may have gone to Patrick and worked out a deal for her silence. Otherwise she could have been in on the fraud from the beginning.” Nicky moved outside with a couple of salads. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to eat on the balcony. It’s too nice a night to stay cooped up inside.”

Sam stood in the kitchen, staring into space.

Walking back inside, Nicky took another couple of bowls off the counter, leaving him to his thoughts.

When the table was ready she headed back inside. All she needed was the man standing in her kitchen. “You know, it could have been a lot worse.”

He looked up, blinking hard at her. “I can’t see how.”

Moving toward him, she placed a hand on his arm. “He could have gotten away with it, and taken a lot more money. At least this way he can get help.”

“Six months ago he could have gotten help. I’ve got a feeling prison’s the only option for him for the next few years.”

Nicky’s gaze wandered over his tired face. “Come and have some fresh from the supermarket dinner.” With a small smile she added, “You can tell me how much better your home cooked edition would taste.” Tucking her hand under his elbow, she led Sam outside. He looked exhausted. And from past experience she knew it could only get worse from here on in.

CHAPTER SIX

“I heard the boss wanted to see me?”

Sam looked up from the papers he was studying. Patrick stood in the doorway with a grin on his face. Cold hard stone settled in Sam’s stomach. How the bastard could stand there looking as cocky as a rooster at dawn was beyond him. He’d stolen thousands of dollars and planned on stealing a whole lot more before he wiped his hands clean of them.
 

He didn’t deserve the offer he was about to be presented with, but the board of directors had overridden Sam’s recommendations. They were willing to give Patrick and Annette the opportunity to pay back the money they had stolen before going to the police, which was a whole lot more than what he would have done with them.

The grin slipped from Patrick’s face. “Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with the last payment from the developers. They assured me everything would be settled before the official handover.”

Sam clenched his jaw. Trust Patrick to hit on the one issue that was close to both their hearts. He knew down to the last cent how much of the last progress payment would have ended up in Patrick’s bank account if Nicky hadn’t uncovered his theft. He’d be sweating too if there was any hint that the last forty-five thousand dollars wouldn’t be showing up on time.