Billionaires Dollar Series

“Internal politics, you know the drill. We might end up keeping the structure. Possibly incorporating it.”

There’s silence on the other line, just like from Bryan. Sam’s, at least, is just shocked-there’s no dismay in his pause. “All righty. I’ll let my crew know.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Running as a current beneath my skin is the need to tell Skye. She’s the one who’s been duped-by who, I don’t know. There’s no doubt in my mind where their profit has disappeared, though. That accountant of theirs has made a killing.

I grab my laptop and phone, striding for the elevator. It’s late. She hates me. And yet, there’s nowhere else I can be right now and nothing else I can do. I have to set this right. Having given Charles the night off, not to mention downed two whiskeys, I’m left with no other option than to hail a cab. I dial Skye’s number when I’m nearly at her apartment.

There’s fierce purpose in my voice when she picks up. “Skye, it’s Cole. We need to talk. I’m coming over.”

Her silence is absolute. And then, quiet and surprised. “What?”

“There’s something I need to show you.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. It’s about the bookstore. You guys did it. You were profitable, Skye. The numbers are wrong.”

Her breath is shaky, and I don’t know if it’s with relief or pain. “We were?”

“Yes. Let me prove it to you.”

“When do you get here?”

“I’m parking outside right now,” I say, pulling onto her street.

“Good,” she says, fire in her own voice. “I’ll leave the door open for you.”

My patience is stretched too thin to wait for change, and the cab drivers grins at the obscenely large tip. I take the steps to her apartment in two. She’s waiting by her front door. At first, the shock of seeing her after nearly two weeks apart drives all thoughts of embezzlement from my mind. Her thick brown hair is in a braid down her back, an oversized sweater loose on her frame. There’s not a stitch of makeup on her skin. She’s painfully beautiful.

“If you’re joking about this,” she warns, “Cole, I swear I’ll-”

“I’m not.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Maybe she sees it in my eyes, or maybe she’s shocked that I walk straight past her into her apartment, but for some reason Skye doesn’t protest. She just locks the door behind me instead. “But the numbers didn’t add up,” she says. “We were told the store wasn’t profitable. How…?”

“Your accountant lied.” I open my laptop and pull up Between the Pages’ documents, sitting down at her kitchen table. She takes a seat next to me. The scent of her shampoo, as floral as ever, washes over me.

“Look.” I point at my screen, at the error, at the numbers that don’t add up. “She didn’t try to hide it particularly well.” My voice grows hard. “I’m guessing she gambled that neither you or Karli would figure it out, and what’s more, that Porter Development would let it slide.”

Skye’s voice is shaky. “Could it be a mistake? It’s not… it can’t be deliberate.”

“It’s a hundred percent deliberate.” I’m harsh, but this is too important, and I’m too angry on Skye’s behalf. “She must have funneled your profit into her own accounts.”

“But… I’ve known her since college!”

“Yes, but that means nothing, really,” I say, thinking of Ben. “I’m sorry.”

Her hazel eyes are blazing. “So we’re profitable?”

“The numbers sure seem so, yes. But I’ll make sure my accountants run a thorough check on it.” And give me the correct information this time, I think.

Skye gets out of her chair, energy running through her body, and starts to pace in front of me. In her pajama shorts and slippers, she’s a glorious sight.

“I can’t believe this. I was the one who recommended her!”

“You had no way of knowing.”

“But I should’ve. We should’ve double-checked the numbers.” She wraps her arms around herself. “Damn it, if only I knew how bookkeeping works.”

I close my laptop. “You know now.”

“If we’re profitable…” she says, eyes boring into mine. There’s hope there, and confusion, and anger. All rolled into one.

“I’ve called off the demolition.”

Her eyes widen. “You have?”

“Of course. You made a deal with me, Skye, and I’m going to honor it.”

“We did it,” she whispers faintly. Her voice is dreamy. “We actually turned it around. The store is saved.”

“You did it.”

“I knew it! We had so many more customers. Our sale was working. Damn Chloe.” She sits down next to me again, her hand landing atop mine gently. “Karli and I need to take legal action against her, don’t we?”

I nod, wondering if I could grasp her hand in mine, or if that would be pushing it. “Yes. What she did was illegal.”

Skye gazes off into the distance, her face set in a mask of determination I recognize well. “I’m going to make sure the store gets every cent back.”

“I have no doubt about that.”

“Thank you, Cole,” she says, her hand tightening around mine. “You didn’t have to bring this to me. I appreciate that, you know.”

“I was already considering halting the demolition.” The admission spills out of me of its own accord, her nearness and warmth like a blanket of comfort.

Skye’s mouth drops open in surprise. “Why?”

“Because I couldn’t stand the idea of you hating me,” I say. My gaze travels across her face, noting the surprise in her eyes, the tendrils of hair escaping her loose braid. “But that’s a discussion for a different day. What are you going to do now?”

“I need to call Karli,” she says. “And I have to see Chloe. Our accountant,” she adds, seeing the confusion on my face.

“You want to confront her?”

“Yes. I have to know, to hear her say it.”

“It might make things harder for you, and not easier,” I caution. Confronting Ben hadn’t helped me in the least, especially not hearing him admit to what he’d done.