Chapter Two

Almost three years to the day since she’d first walked into Alexander Limited, Trixie Benning had just about reached her limit.

She was home for lunch on a Monday from the job she loved – and feared she would lose before too much longer.

I’ve made a lot of rookie mistakes the last several months. It’s a wonder Marjorie still has any patience with me at all.

After all, as the accounting manager, her company depended on her to get her job done accurately. But lately, it seemed it was all she could do to arrive on time, much less present solid data.

She rolled her shoulders to try to dissipate some of the tension as she nibbled at the sandwich she didn’t want.

Granted, she’d had a lot of distractions come her way since January, when her dad’s health had begun to plummet. He’d been ill for some time with heart issues and diabetes, but it had quickly spiraled out of control. The dementia diagnosis had come not long after, and that news had ratcheted up the worry and stress to a brand-new level.

Then, suddenly, he was gone. While she’d expected it on some level, it still had blindsided her. But she hadn’t been able to grieve yet. As the executor, she still had way too much to do.

Is it still called being an ‘executor’ when there’s no money, just bills? Trixie pondered. It’s stressful, I know that much.

And, of course, Grant just had to choose the same point in time to start acting strangely.

He has always been a bit eccentric, so that part wasn’t new. It was the working all hours suddenly. I’m not stupid. I knew what was going on. What worries me is, after over three years together, I no longer care.

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” she announced to her beagle, Joshua, who was sitting beside her on the couch giving her the look that meant he was hoping for a bite of sandwich for himself.

Trixie tried to give him a stern look, but staring back into those big brown eyes, she just couldn’t manage it.

“Fine, Josh,” she chuckled. “Here.”

The remnants of her lunch disappeared in mere moments. She patted his head, then scratched under his chin.

“I’ve got to get back, Joshie. I’ll be home soon though, okay?”

A wagging tail was his reply as he hopped down to the floor and went in search of his favorite squeaky toy.

She carried her plate to the kitchen, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door to make the ten-minute drive back to her office.

***

Trixie was dumbfounded as she ran the reports again, then cross checked them – again – against her general ledger balances showing.

She took off her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes.

Surely this is a glitch somewhere in one of the systems, either my accounting software, or the bank’s reporting software.

She logged out of both, logged back in, checked her date selection, and ran all her reports again. Then she picked up her desk phone and called her contact at the bank.

And began to shake as she asked her question and was told the answer that she feared she would hear.

It wasn’t a glitch.

Someone had initiated a transaction that lightened the company’s bank account by five and a half million dollars sometime over the last seventy-two hours.

She verified the date and time stamp her contact showed for the transaction, then ended the call. Frowning, Trixie drilled down into the user maintenance log, cross-referencing the user ID tags involved in the group of general ledger entries whose total matched the missing dollar amount.

And she gasped when she found it.

WJones.

William Jones. The CFO. Her boss’s boss.

“What the hell?” she muttered, trying to process what she’d just found. And she realized there was only one way she could possibly proceed.

She took screenshots and printed out everything that she’d need to show to Mr. Alexander, the President and CEO – including the email confirmation from her bank contact with the details their system showed. Then she dialed his secretary’s extension and asked if Mr. Alexander had any timeslots available on the day’s calendar.

“Only the next half-hour, I’m afraid. Beyond that he’s booked until Friday,” came the response.

“I’m on my way up,” Trixie said.

***

She took a few deep, calming breaths to try to settle her nerves, then went to the elevator and pressed the button. Mr. Alexander’s office was on the top floor.

It’s a shame I get to finally meet him, and it’s about his top finance guy stealing from him, she bemoaned.

In a company of over ten thousand people, and with her starting as a contract-to-hire staff accountant and working her way up, she’d been much too far down in the hive to have any interaction with top management.

But she’d busted her ass the last three years; Trixie had been hired on permanently after eight months, was promoted to lead staff accountant right around her two-year work anniversary and had ascended to the accounting manager role just last November.

And now, on top of all the personal stress she carried, she was about to have to tell Mr. Alexander, in person, that someone close to him had stolen from him.

She had concerns he wouldn’t believe her; after all, they’d never even met, and he’d been friends with William Jones since high school, according to the corporation’s history section of the employee handbook.

Still, Trixie knew she had to bring this to his attention.

And if he blows it off, well, I’ll cross that bridge when and if I get to it.

The soft ping of the elevator as it arrived at its destination reminded her that judgement was possibly at hand. She swallowed hard, then stepped out of the car into the plush outer office, where Andrea, the CEO’s assistant, sat behind a gleaming steel and glass console.

“Miss Benning?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’ll tell Mr. Alexander you’re here. One moment, please.”

Andrea rose and walked down the corridor.

Trixie thought about having a seat in one of the plush visitor’s chairs, then decided she was too nervous to sit still. She wandered over to the window instead to take in the view.

Andrea reappeared in mere moments and stated, “Right this way, please.”

Trixie followed her down the hallway that terminated in a single door, behind which sat one of the most powerful men in Texas. Andrea opened the door and stood aside for Trixie to enter, then closed it softly and returned to her workstation.

He was standing with his back to her, looking out over the city as he wrapped up the call he was on; she could see the Bluetooth earpiece blinking.

Trixie remained silent so she wouldn’t disturb him and used the opportunity to take in her surroundings. Soft lush carpet of whisper gray ran the length and breadth of the room, all the way to the glass walls that afforded a spectacular view on three sides. The room was tastefully furnished in minimalistic style; a steel and glass desk, more plush visitor’s chairs, a conference table, and an impressive big screen hanging at an optimal angle to be seen easily from just about anywhere in the space.

He turned toward her as he thanked the person he was speaking with and disconnected the call, and Trixie could feel his intense gaze from across the room. He slowly walked her direction, six feet three inches of chiseled muscle draped in a very well-fitting suit, with coal black hair that went just past his collar and the greenest eyes she’d ever encountered….

Oh, my dear sweet Lord, Trixie’s mind stuttered as she fought to keep herself from gasping. It’s Super- Hot Drew from the grocery store!