The CEO (21 page)

I placed my hand on the knob and opened the metal door to start my observation. I wanted this place to have a familiar, but updated look, and that’d better be what I got.

The first floor was completely finished. The entranceway had smooth hardwood floors with several tables where the mock displays would sit. There were four spacious offices filled with plush carpeting, two on each side of the room. I continued my walk down the wooden floor and took the stairs to the second floor. There was going to be an elevator but it wasn’t finished yet.

The second floor looked bigger than the first. There were ladders and buckets of paint lying around on top of tarps, so I didn’t proceed any further. Everything seemed to be coming right along and I couldn’t wait to see the finished project in a few weeks.

I went back down the stairs and raised my umbrella to face the rain I could hear pelting off the roof. As I walked down the wet sidewalk I saw Skylar’s Boutique and Rose Garden. I decided to go in and place an order for the flower arrangements. It was the last thing I had on my to-do list before I handed everything over to Shannon.

“Sheila, what are you doing here?” Liam asked.

“I’ve come to place an order for my release launch.”

“Oh yeah? When and where is it?”

“In a few weeks, and it’ll be held at the old Bernstein place.” He cocked his head to the side and gave me a half smile.

“Wow, well that’s great! Just fill out this form and we’ll handle the rest.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed the clipboard from him and filled out the short questionnaire. “My event coordinator Rosa will be in touch before the event to make sure everything is up to par.”

“Okay. Sheila, what are your plans for tonight?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Maybe we could go and grab some dinner?”

“Sure, pick me up at seven.”

“It’s a date!” he yelled at my back as I walked out the boutique’s front door. I walked a few more blocks and went into a local coffee shop. The cold from outside was starting to settle in my bones and I needed something to warm me up fast.

“Next!” the cashier yelled.

“I’ll have a caramel cinnamon latte please.”

“Coming right up, beautiful,” he replied. He looked like he’d just graduated high school and that job was going to foot the bill for college. He had long golden locks and his brown eyes had a slight innocence behind them.

“Thank you,” I said, pulling out my credit card.

“It’s on the house. What’s your name by the way?”

“Why?”

“I need to write it on your drink.”

“Oh, it’s Sheila. Thanks.”

I stepped to the side, in front of the pickup window, and waited for my order to be completed. The place was packed and several baristas were working simultaneously and in almost perfect sync with each other to get the orders out as fast as they could.

Soon my name was called and I took a seat in the back of the restaurant near a small window. Most of the people there were college kids glued to their laptops and typing away with headphones plugged into their ears.

I took a sip of the hot coffee and immediately felt the warmth consume my body. I watched as people rushed down the busy sidewalk to their destinations.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” a raspy voiced interrupted my window gaze.

“No,” I said, pointing to the empty seat in front of me.

“Thanks,” the young man said.

I wasn’t in the mood for much small talk so I got up and took my latte with me. On my way back into the building, I got a text from Ryan.

Ryan: Sheila, have you checked the company expenses lately?

Me: I’ll be up in a few minutes.

Ryan was waiting for me at the front door of the office and followed me back into mine. “What’s going on, Ryan?”

“Well, I was filing some of the paperwork that you left for me and noticed a bank statement mixed in. There was 2,000 dollars missing from the account.”

“What? Can you bring me the statement?” Ryan quickly bolted across the hall to grab the paper and brought it back to me.

“See? I highlighted it at the bottom.”

Ryan was right. I hadn’t checked the account in a few days because I’d never had money just up and disappear like that before.

“Where the hell could it have gone? I haven’t purchased anything recently.”

“Do you think the company could be a victim of identity theft? Or something?”

“I’m not sure. A few days ago, John mentioned something about being hacked. Maybe the hacker that ruined his app also got our bank info too?”

“It’s possible. Would you like me to go and get him?”

“No, I’ll handle it. Thank you for your keen observation. I don’t like people messing with my money.”

“Hey John… how are things?” I said, walking into his office.

“Good, I guess. What about you?” he nervously replied.

“Well, I was good until I discovered two grand missing from the company account.”

“Whoa, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have any idea what happened to it?”

“I don’t have any leads yet, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Remember how you told me we were hacked a while back?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well, do you think it’s possible that the hacker may have gotten access to our company’s personal information? Such as names and the main bank account?”

“It’s a high possibility, but I doubt it.”

“I see. Then do you have any other ideas how the money mysteriously disappeared out of my account? Because I’m absolutely stumped.” I had a feeling deep down that John knew what was going on, but I thought he was too afraid to tell me for some reason. I had every intention of finding out what had happened to the money and he’d better not have had anything to do with it.

I stormed out of his office without speaking another word to him. I felt the urge to pull up more bank statements and check them in front of his face, because there was something fishy definitely going on.

Liam showed up at my door looking as handsome as ever. He was wearing a tailored all black tux and had styled his unruly hair into a controlled mess. He almost looked more like his old self. “Can I come in Sheila?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, breaking my gaze. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes, have a seat.”

I’d just finished applying my makeup and curling my hair before he arrived, but I was still sporting my pink bathrobe. I walked into my bedroom closet and pulled out my favorite suede knee-high boots and grabbed my black and blue sweater dress that stopped mid thigh.

I sprayed myself with Japanese blossom perfume and met Liam in the living room. “Sheila, you look—just—”

“Just what, Liam?”

“Exquisite. Beautiful. I don’t think there are enough words in the English dictionary to describe how gorgeous you look at this very moment.”

“Thank you,” I smiled, flattered that I rendered him almost speechless. “So where are we going tonight?”

“To Porterhouse Steak and Rib Eyes.”

It was one of the top steak houses in the entire state. I’d only been there one other time and if I remembered correctly, it was very expensive. “Liam, you know you don’t have to try and impress me with expensive dinners, right?”

“I know, but if
you
remember correctly, that was where we had our first
official
date.”

He was right. It was the first place we went after he received his first check from the investment company. Memories flashed back in my mind like it had happened yesterday.

He’d had on his father’s cheap three-piece suit, trying to impress me, but it looked terrible on him. The suit was three sizes too big and a hideous shade of turquoise. It was the suit his dad had worn when he took his mom on for their first date, so it meant a lot to him.

We arrived at the upscale restaurant and there was a line flowing out of the door and down the stairs. “Don’t worry,” he reassured me. “I made reservations.”

We walked through the crowd of people through the door and right to the hostess station. “Castle, party of two.”

The hostess ran her finger down the list and stopped right over his name. “Let me double check and make sure there’s a free table.” She disappeared behind a black curtain and promptly returned with two menus in her hands. “Right this way Mr. and Mrs. Castle.”

“It’s Quinn!” I firmly corrected her.

“My apologies, right this way,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

We were seated in a booth not too far from the kitchen. The smell of grilled steak wafted through the air, causing my stomach to grumble. There was a gold antique chandelier dangling above the table. The table itself was a dark cherry wood and the marble floor underneath it hardly had any signs of wear and tear on it.

Mr. and Mrs. Castle
kept replaying in my head every time I laid my eyes on him. No matter how much he seemed to change, I still couldn’t imagine being married to him. In fact I felt quite queasy just thinking about it.

The waitress came over to greet us and took our drink and meal order upon arrival. Her name was Trish and she was a polite young girl.

Dinner with Liam became awkward. Neither of us really said much, which was completely the opposite of our first time there. “Liam, what’s the real reason you chose here? Of all places?”

His gaze became intense as he nervously ran his palms over the edge of the table. “To be honest, I thought coming here would bring back those lost memories, you know? That spark we once had. I still feel something for you, I never stopped. But being here, now? I’m realizing this was a
huge
mistake.”

“I wouldn’t call it a ‘mistake’ per se, we’re still getting a nice meal out of it. That’s a plus, right?”

“Right,” he laughed.

Sheila, bring it up, right now. You need to find out the truth about that night.
“Liam, I need to know something.”

“Sure, shoot. I’ll be totally honest.”

“What were you doing in the garage that night? The night I was attacked?” His facial expression changed from happy to spooked in a matter of seconds.

“I-I…” He paused. “I was coming from an event nearby and had parked my car there so I could get free parking. I had no idea you would even be there that night. I heard a loud scream and saw that asshole hurting you and I fucking lost it. You passed out before I could free his grasp from around your neck, but I want you to know I unleashed holy hell on his ass. I thought I was going to get arrested too, after the cops and paramedics arrived.”

“So what
did
happen when they showed up?”

“They took him off to jail after stitching and bandaging his face. I gave them my statement, telling them everything I saw. I didn’t tell them I knew you or anything. Sheila, I won’t lie to you, I thought he killed you and that ate me up inside.”

I could feel the genuine concern he had for me. “Why didn’t you leave a name or a note for me?”

“I left the flowers and knew you’d figured it out and talk to me about it whenever you were ready. I didn’t want to push it.”

“I see. Well I appreciate it,” I said, reaching my hand over the table, rubbing the top of his hand.

The waitress briefly interrupted with our meals. Liam had a sizzling steak fajita melt with cheese and I’d ordered a surf and turf: sirloin steak served with buttered lobster tails.