An Unexpected Christmas Baby (The Daycare Chronicles 2)

“I need your help, Tam,” Howard said, folding his hands on the desk as he faced her. “Money is a vulnerable business. A lucrative one, but vulnerable. If our investors hear there’s money missing, they’ll get nervous. There could be a massive move out...”

She could see that. Was more or less a novice about the ins and outs of what he did, but she knew how companies worked. And the importance of consumer trust.

“I was hoping I’d be able to figure out what’s going on myself, no need to alarm you or bring you home, but I haven’t been able to find the leak. I need you to come in and do what you do. To give us a once-over, presumably to see if you can save us money. In reality, I’m hoping that you can give everything more of a thorough study without raising suspicions the way it would if I was taking a deeper look.”

She nodded, recognizing how hard it was for her father to have to ask for help. Thinking ahead. Focusing on the job.

“People are going to know I’m your daughter. They might be less comfortable speaking with me.”

He shook his head again. “I’ve thought of that. A few will know, of course. Roger. Emily. And Bill. For the rest, it works in our favor that you kept your married name because it was the name you became known under in the business world. People will have no reason to suspect.”

Roger Standish, Emily Porter and Bill Coniff. CFO, VP and Director of Operations, respectively. Her father’s very first employees when he’d first started out. She’d met them all but it wasn’t as if he’d been close friends with his business associates. He was closer to his clients. Many of those she knew better than her own aunts and uncle. Still, none of his top three people would rat her out to the employees. Unless...

“What if the problem rests with one of those three?”

“I guess we’ll find that out,” he said, raising a hand and then running it over his face. Clearly he’d been dealing with the problem for a while. Longer than he should have without saying anything. She was thirty-two, not thirteen.

“Does Mom know?”

“Of course. She wanted me to call you home immediately.”

“You should have.”

“Your happiness and emotional health mean more to me than going bankrupt.”

Feeling her skin go cold again, she stared at him. Was it that bad?

“Your well-being is one of the top factors that affects my emotional health,” she couldn’t help pointing out to him.

With a nod, he conceded that.

He was asking for her help. Nothing else mattered.

“How soon can I start?” she asked.

“That was going to be my question.”

“When you finally got around to telling me you needed something...” The slight dig didn’t escape him.

“I was going to tell you today. I was just having a bit of trouble getting to it. You’ve been through so much and I don’t like putting more on you...”

“I make my living by having companies put more on me. It’s what I do, what I strive for.” She grinned at him. He grinned back.

Her world felt right again.

“So...is now too soon?”

“Now would be great. But...there’s one other thing.”

The knot was back in her stomach. Please, not his health. Had he waited until the stress had taken a physical toll before calling her? “What?”

“I don’t want to prejudice or influence your findings, but there’s one employee in particular who I think could be the one we’re after. Although I wasn’t able to find anything concrete that says it’s him.”

Pulling the tablet she always kept in her bag onto her lap, she turned it on. Opened a new file. “Who is he? And why do you suspect him?”

“His name’s Flint Collins. I took him on eight years ago when he was let go by his firm and no one else would hire him. He’d only been in the business a year, but had good instincts. He was up-front about the issues facing him and looked me straight in the eye as we talked. He was... He kind of reminded me of myself. I liked him.”

Enough to have been blinded by him? “Have I ever met him? Flint Collins?”