Page 51 of Badass Alien Boss

“How did it go? What happened? How did he react? What did he say?” Michaela fired off a fusillade of questions. She’d been on pins and needles.

He beckoned for her to follow him into his private office. She grabbed her tech tab; she had news, too, but it could wait until after his update.

The door closed. “My brother is not involved,” Ruyn said.

“He’s not?” Her eyebrows arched, and she tilted her head. “How can you be sure?”

“He told me, and I believe him.”

Just like that?She wished she could have gone with him to hear firsthand.

Ruyn settled into a chair in front of his desk, and she took the one next to it. “I know what you’re going to say,” he said.

“What am I going to say?”

“I shouldn’t be so quick to take his word for it.”

Her lips twitched. “Whyareyou taking his word for it?”

“When we stand eyeball to eyeball, I can read him, and he wouldn’t lie to me. He appeared genuinely shocked by what I told him, not to mention offended, and hurt that I would accuse him of money laundering.”

“But he believed you when you said something funky was occurring with the company finances?”

“Yes. He’s going to hire an outside forensic auditor to go over everything—and he wants our help.”

“Going over the books?”

He shook his head. “No, he asked me to conduct secret visits to other SIH hotels and other subsidiary sites.”

“That’s reassuring,” she said, feeling better. “But if he’s not involved, who is? The Starlight GM is a likely suspect, but therehas to be someone at the holding company level for the scheme to work.”

“That’s the question. It’s one reason why I suggested he hire an outside auditor rather than use the in-house accountant, who is in the perfect position to cook the books. He agreed and intends to have the staff vetted as well.”

“That’s the kind of work I do now—and what I’ll be doing when I open my own agency.”

“I suggested you for the job.”

“You did? That’s so sweet! You’re my first referral!”

“But he wants you to accompany me to the other sites.”

She thought Korsan was remiss not to have her investigate the staff. She was here, and he was already paying for her services.Another poor financial decision.But if that was the way he wanted it, fine. She’d rather accompany Ruyn, anyway. “When do we go?”

“Right after you see the doctor,” he said.

“Soon, then! They’re squeezing me in this afternoon.”

“Good.”

“I have something to show you. Nsia sent me a hologram of the intruder.”

“That was fast.”

“He seems very conscientious—and competent.”Not like the men who investigated the attack on you.She connected her tech tab to Ruyn’s hologram platform. “Nsia acquired holograms from multiple street cams and edited them together to track the intruder’s progress down the street.” She started the holo-vid. “Here, he leaves our building.”

A man in gray and black exited their apartment complex, and, with his hands in his jacket pockets, hurried down the street.

“His head is still down. We can’t see his face.”