Chapter Two

Two days and I was comfortable with my job.

David started me out with the basic and boring spreadsheets, but I zoomed through them. I found discrepancies in several and had them fixed. It was always only a few dollars here and there, but I knew they would add up.

Besides, math was what I was good at. I had an attention to detail that made me a good worker, and an excellent accountant. I didn't let little things slip past me.

By day three, I was put to work on more sensitive material. David instructed me to look over one of the stock reports. It was for a fund that Winthrow Financial was heavily invested in. He just asked that I give it a glance and I thought the reason was so that he could find out how competent I was at reading these kind of things.

Luckily, I had grown up looking over my father's shoulder as he read the stocks in the newspaper every morning. It wasn't just a spreadsheet full of random numbers and letters to me. No, it was like reading a different language, but one that I was surprisingly fluent in.

I grinned as I started it. If work stayed this easy, I'd be running the place in no time. I was starting to feel confident in my new life.

I had officially entered full-fledged adulthood. No more sleeping in, no more late night drinking and dancing binges with my friends. College was over. Those days of carefree irresponsibility were behind me. After weeks of interviews, I'd somehow managed to land this job at Winthrow Financial and there was no way that I was going to risk screwing it up somehow. No way. This was the opportunity I'd been waiting for. A chance to move up in the corporate world. Sure, my current role would likely be nothing more than glorified adding and subtracting, but I didn't care. I knew that there was a real future here if I worked hard enough.

The first hour of running through the ledger was easy. And then my detail-oriented brain noticed something.

“Something about this isn't right, though,” I whispered, leaning in closer to my computer screen.

The number of stocks that Winthrow owned in this particular fund was staggering. Thousands and thousands of shares. The value of them, though, didn't add up. This stock ledger had either been misprinted or was fraudulent. It was showing the value as much less than it should have been, based on the number of shares.

A frown crossed my face as I double-checked my math. I had done it in my head the first time but used a calculator now just to be absolutely certain. Sure enough, the numbers were off. I didn't know why, and I realized that maybe it was an innocent mistake on someone's part, but I had to notify David immediately.

I quickly walked to his office and knocked on the open door. “David? Are you busy?”

“Always, Jane,” he said. “But please, come in.”

“Sorry to bother you, but I was looking over that stock ledger you sent me this morning,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“And...?” he asked, spinning his chair so that he faced my direction.

“Something doesn't add up on there,” I explained, practically giddy in my excitement to show him my find. “There are some major incongruities. The math doesn't add up. There's something missing. The value of these particular stocks is much higher than what they're representing in the report.”

“Really?” he said, shaking his head. He sighed, sounding like a long suffering adult dealing with an annoying child. “That can't be, Jane. Go ahead and email me whatever you've found and I'll look it over later.”

My shoulders sagged in defeat. David didn't believe me. However, I did as he asked. I left his office and returned to my seat, sending him an email that detailed everything I had found incorrect in the ledger. I wasn't wrong about my findings, though, and I knew it. Even if David didn't see it. If there was one thing I was good at, it was math.

The rest of the day passed slowly. I sent David several more emails with other mistakes I found in the ledger, but I never heard back from him.

It seemed my amazing catch wasn't so amazing. It was probably a fake report, I decided. I was the new girl, after all. What better way to see if the new person can catch discrepancies than giving her a report full of them?

I stared at my computer, counting down the minutes until I could go find Maddy and see if she'd gotten this same task when she'd started. I could already imagine her laugh when I told her that I 'd figured it out.

In the reflection of my screen, I noticed the silhouette of a man walking down the aisle between the cubicles. He moved swiftly enough to cause the jacket of his suit to open and catch in the wind. I turned around to see who it was, more out of curiosity than anything else. As soon as I laid eyes on him, my knees became jello. Thank God I was sitting down.

What in the hell is Carter Winthrow doing all the way down here on this floor? I thought.

It was impossible not to stare. The man was gorgeous and walked with a confidence that commanded a room to do what he wanted. He was tall with a muscular frame. Maddy had been right about his eyes, too. They shot across the room, with the kind of intensity that made my heart flutter. I swallowed, as he glanced toward me. We locked eyes, but just for a moment. Then Carter stepped right past me, pushing open the door to David's office.

“David, what's going on with this ledger? I saw you updated some of the numbers. I need you to explain what happened. Now.”

From my cubicle, I could hear everything with perfect clarity. My heart was still pounding in my ears from my near encounter with the CEO. I decided I'd pretend to work, while listening in on the conversation.

“Oh, uh, hi, Mr. Winthrow,” David stuttered, clearly nervous by the sudden visit from the top boss. “Yeah, there was a flaw in the report. I noticed it this morning. Some of the numbers were off. It was an innocent mistake and everything is in order now.”

Wait, what the hell? I thought. Did David just take credit for finding that mistake? The mistake I found? What an asshole.

Carter Winthrow stood in the doorway of David's office, barely within my peripheral vision. It took all my willpower not to look over and check him out. I wanted to so badly, but I also really didn't need to get caught staring. So I kept my gaze locked onto my computer screen.

“You caught that mistake, David?” Carter asked, his voice deep and authoritative. It send a chill up my spine. “I thought I told you to let the new girl look it over.”

“How did you know?” David said softly. He cleared his voice. “I mean, I did have her look at it, but I double-checked it when she was done. That was when I found the mistake.”

“Is that right?” Carter asked. He looked like he didn't believe the man. “We'll talk later, David. Don't leave your office at quitting time. Stay late tonight. We need to talk.”

That son of a bitch, I thought quietly. David just threw me under the bus, making it sound like I didn't even notice those mistakes. I guess it wasn't just a training exercise.

I could feel my blood pressure rising. I squeezed my hands into fists and forced myself to take a long breath. The fact that I had only been on the job for less than a week meant that I had next to zero leverage. Nobody was going to believe the truth about what had really happened.

The sound of David's office door shutting caused me to jump and I looked over to see Carter standing there facing me. He strolled up, his eyes locked on mine. Good lord were they gorgeous. Bright green and focused entirely on me in a way that made my cramped cubicle disappear.

“Jane?” he said.

My hands trembled. I opened my lips to speak, but could only nod.

How the hell did he know my name?

“You're the new girl?” he asked, his eyes on me, peering into my soul.

I continued to nod, then finally managed to mumble a few words. “Yes, that's me. I'm Jane.”

Carter stepped all the way up to my cubicle. Our toes were practically touching. I brought my gaze up his body, past the front of his slacks and upward along his red tie. Finally, I craned my neck enough so that I was looking in his eyes.

For a moment, I didn't even care that the most gorgeous man I had ever seen was standing so close. I was far more worried about losing my job. David's lie had the potential to ruin everything I had worked so hard for. I became scared for my future. Out of nervous habit, I bit my lower lip. Carter's gaze dropped from my eyes down to my mouth, pausing there for a moment. I untucked my lip and as soon as I did, he looked back up.

“David tells me you didn't notice the mistake on that stock report,” Carter said softly.

“Sir, I-” I began to say, but Carter's smile caused me to stop.

“It's okay,” he said, touching my shoulder reassuringly. “David is full of shit. I saw your email to him. I know you were the one who caught those errors.”

“Really?” I asked. I felt like the world was spinning just a little too fast.

“Every company email account go through a filter. Certain things are always flagged and passed on to someone higher up.” Carter glanced around the room, then leaned in a little closer. “I saw what you sent him.”

He was so close I could feel his breath against my cheeks. The smell of his cologne wafted toward me too, masculine and sexy. I had to focus not to inhale too deeply and distract myself.

“So, I did a good job?” I whispered, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

Carter stood back up. He evaluated me with serious eyes. “Jane, you're the fifth person to look over those accounts. David didn't catch that mistake. No one did. Most people wouldn't have noticed something like that. But you did. You just saved that account.”

“Thank you, sir. I was just doing my job,” I stammered.

“It took a keen eye and the kind of extreme attention to detail that I thought only I possessed. I'm impressed.” He evaluated me again, his eyes looking me over from head to toe. I felt naked under his gaze, but I had nowhere to run. “Tomorrow, when you come into work, I want you to take the elevator to the top floor. You're done working down here.”

I scooted my chair back a bit. My eyes widened and my jaw practically hit the carpet. “What do you mean?”

“I want you working for me directly. You caught an error today that everyone else missed. I've been looking to find someone to double check my numbers and you've just proven yourself,” Carter said, leaning against the wall of the cubicle with his arms crossed. “You'll report to my office tomorrow morning.”

Carter's eyes slowly dropped down my body, then back up. It was an obvious once over, but I welcomed it. I wanted to be seen by him. I parted my lips to respond, but before I could, Carter said, “See you tomorrow.”

He walked off, leaving me sitting there at my desk with my mouth open. The shocked expression probably had me looking like a total fool. I watched Carter walk away, all confidence and assurance as he marched out and down the hallway.

Did I just get promoted? I asked myself, staring after him.

Not five seconds later, Maddy came running up. She grabbed my shoulders and spun me in my chair so that I faced her.

“What in the hell was that all about?” she asked, with an expression on her face that mimicked how I felt. A combination of confusion and excitement.

“I don't really know exactly,” I said, with a shrug. A slow smile started to work its way onto my face. “I guess I'm now working directly for Carter Winthrow.”

“You've been here for two days and you're already promoted?” she asked, pulling me in for a hug. “See, I knew there was something special about you.”

She congratulated me again and made me promise to get her a better office once I was in charge of things. When Maddy walked off, I turned back to face my computer. Still lingering in the air, was the faint scent of Carter's cologne. I breathed it in and closed my eyes. I thought of the way his eyes had looked me over. I began to imagine what it would be like to be one of those skinny model girls that he dated.

Now I know why so many women want Carter, I thought. He's pure masculinity.

Everything about him screamed sex. His smell, his body, his power, his eyes. Everything.

That's the kind of man I want to be with. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine the scenario. It's just too bad that the only thing he probably finds attractive about me is my ability to work with numbers.