Page 40 of Silent Menace
“Yeah, that was me.” Remorse pressed in on him again. “I messed up big-time, as you’ve apparently heard.”
She reached a hand toward him. “No, I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I did hear about what happened that night, but no one ever spoke ill of you. They knew it wasn’t your fault.”
“But it was. At least to some extent.” He shook his head when she started to protest again. “We can get into that another time if we must. The only reason I brought it up is that I want you to know that I’m not operating at full capacity. I no longer know if I can trust my instincts, and sometimes I have panic attacks. But for what it’s worth, I want to offer you my services as a bodyguard.” He paused to catch his breath and gauge her reaction.
“Thank you for telling me about your struggles and for your offer, but I can’t afford to hire a bodyguard.”
He shook his head, maybe a little too emphatically. “I don’t want to be hired. It would be unofficial. I neither expect nor want payment—you’d be getting a secondhand version of a bodyguard anyway. I only want to help keep you safe until we’re certain this is over.”
Her eyes softened. “You are anything but secondhand, and I mean that with all my heart. Please don’t think of yourself like that.” She glanced down. “And I appreciate the offer more than you know, but I can’t expect you to do something like this for free. You have a life too.”
“Thanks to my concussion, I have some complimentary timeoff work. And I’ve accrued enough vacation time to extend that if necessary.”
“You should be resting, not taking on extra work.”
He held her gaze, willing her to see his sincerity. “I want to help you, Hailey. Please let me do that.”
“I don’t know...” She pressed a hand to her head and rose to her feet.
He let her pace as she seemed to work things through in her mind. He’d argue his point if necessary, but he didn’t want to push too hard and trigger her stubborn gene. When she turned back to him, her arms were crossed. He couldn’t read her expression.
“I probably do need help. I can’t deny that. And I truly appreciate your willingness to give it, but I also can’t expect you to put your life on hold, especially when the threat to me may be past.” She held up a finger when he started to interrupt. “How about a compromise for now? I don’t think we’re in danger here at my parents’ house since it’s outside Kincaid and there haven’t been any incidents since I arrived, but Eric recommended I take an escort when I go into the office tomorrow. If you really want to, you could drop me off and pick me up.”
“Gladly. And what about after that?”
She studied him, then sighed. “Can we take it day by day?”
“I can work with that.”
21
Hailey pacedpast the alcove where her boss sat as they awaited the arrival of Eukaria’s CFO. There was more than enough room for both of them on the cushioned bench, but she couldn’t bear to sit still. She checked her watch. Their meeting was supposed to begin five minutes ago, but Alessandro Luque had yet to show up.
Gleason popped a breath mint. “Relax, Hailey.”
She tried to tamp down her nerves. She wasn’t an anxious sort of person, but there was a lot riding on this meeting. She needed to make a good first impression. As Gleason said yesterday, if they were unable to mollify Eukaria’s CFO, the company could “fire” her, demanding a more experienced CPA. If things went really bad, they could pull their accounts altogether. Or worse, they could attempt to sue Pendleton Accounting for negligence. Such a suit might not go anywhere, but the bad publicity could ruin the business.
She thought through what she knew of Alessandro Luque. She’d never met Eukaria’s chief financial officer before, but she’d caught a glimpse of him once when he stopped by to meet with Frank Pierce. The man appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. He looked like a model and carried himself as if he knew it. Or perhaps his blatant confidence had more to do with hisposition in such a prestigious company. And the fact he was related to the CEO.
The decorative mirror opposite the alcove beckoned her to stop and check her makeup yet again. She resisted the urge. It had been fine when she’d looked three minutes ago, and three minutes before that. At least, it had been as good as it could be in her current stage of healing. While the swelling around her eye had finally started to go down, the bruising had only deepened since yesterday. She’d done her best, but no amount of concealer or foundation could completely disguise the aftereffects of Monday’s struggle.
“Sit before you make me nervous,” Gleason growled.
Hailey dropped onto the other end of the bench. She didn’t like that she couldn’t see the elevator doors from here. “He’s late. Think everything’s okay?” She tried to keep her tone light but wasn’t able to completely disguise her unease.
Gleason gave her a tight smile and offered her a mint. “Hundred to one it’s a power play. He’ll show up soon.”
The reassurance didn’t make her feel better. The man had already demanded they meet two hours before official office hours. If he was already making another show of dominance, he wasn’t likely to play nice during the meeting.
“Why does Eukaria use our services, anyway?” Though she was thankful for the financial benefits and job security associated with having such a major client, she still couldn’t figure out why they didn’t use a larger accounting firm with a branch near their headquarters in Maryland—or just hire their own in-house CPAs. She was certain they could afford them.
“Simple answer, I don’t know. I did ask when the firm first approached us. They said we’d been highly recommended and they preferred working with small, ethical companies whenever possible. The CEO seemed eccentric, and I assumed it was one of his quirks.”
“The CEO chose us? Not the CFO?” she clarified.
“Yep. That was before Alessandro Luque was promoted to chief financial officer. Eukaria was well respected even then, but its profits have skyrocketed in the last several years.”
She’d chew on that information later, though she supposed it didn’t really matter. The important thing was that they’d been a client of Pendleton Accounting for over five years now, and she didn’t want to be the reason they left.
