The Project

CHAPTER35

“What’s the meaning of this?” Harold asked as Devyn was forced to sit there, clenching his jaw tightly shut as he watched Lucas stand up.

“It’s with deep regret that I was forced to call this meeting,” Lucas began only to pause and take a shaky breath before he continued. “After the unfortunate circumstances with the Hillshire Hotels deal, I felt compelled to take a closer look to see how it got that far. I wasn’t sure what I expected when I decided to investigate the matter, but I wasn’t prepared for what I found.”

With a pained look in Devyn’s direction, Lucas picked up the remote and turned on the monitor, his eyes never leaving Devyn’s as the board members took in the figures now displayed on the large flatscreen in front of them.

“Tell me that this is a joke,” Harold demanded.

“How did this happen?” Janet demanded as all eyes turned to Devyn.

“I hired a team of investigators to track the missing funds, but unfortunately at this time, we haven’t been able to find them. We do know that over twenty-five million dollars has been stolen at this point, possibly more. Once we realized what was happening, I was able to secure the remaining funds and stop any more withdrawals from occurring,” Lucas explained as Devyn struggled to stay where he was when all he wanted to do was tear the building apart and look for Andi, but that wasn’t an option.

Not when he knew what Lucas was capable of, and right now, he knew that Lucas had nothing to lose. He couldn’t risk anything happening to Andi. Christ, just the thought of someone hurting her had him on the verge of losing his fucking mind.

“I don’t understand. Why weren’t we informed of this sooner?” came the question that had Lucas clearing his throat as he reached for the folder in front of him.

“Because I was told by our CEO that the matter was being handled,” Lucas said as he handed the file to his godfather.

“Is this true, Devyn?” Harold asked, but Devyn refused to play this fucking game. He glanced down at his phone and-

Nothing.

Shit!

Where the hell was she?

“I left the matter in Mr. MacGregor’s hands and thought the matter was handled when he requested an early audit and began visiting Carta Hotels, but I soon discovered that he was using the opportunity to destroy evidence,” Lucas explained.

“You’re saying that Devyn did this?” Harold demanded, shaking his head in disbelief as Lucas looked at him expectantly while he reached into his pocket and pulled out Andi’s phone, reminding him of what he had to lose.

“Yes,” Devyn said, his eyes never leaving Lucas as he reached for the resignation letter that had been prepared for him.

Ignoring the gasps of outrage and the demand for answers, Devyn picked up the pen and-

Found himself tossing the pen back on the table and shoving his chair back when he heard the four words that brought him back to the first time that she’d saved his ass as the boardroom doors were thrown open and Andi came stumbling into the room, hugging a large stack of files against her chest.

“Please don’t sign anything!”

“What the hell’s going on here?” came the outraged demand that Devyn barely heard as he moved to go pull Andi into his arms, only to sigh heavily as the adorable woman that was driving him fucking crazy rushed past him.

God, he was going to spank her ass, Devyn thought, sighing as he turned around and watched as she placed the stack of files on the table and then with a mumbled, “Excuse me,” she reached for the laptop on the table only to realize that it was out of her reach. With a muttered curse, she climbed onto the table and grabbed it before Lucas, who looked stunned, had a chance to snatch it away.

“Someone call security!” Lucas snapped as he moved to grab the laptop only to go still when Andi absently mumbled, “No worries. I already called the police.”

Devyn watched as Lucas swallowed hard as his gaze shot to him and then back to Andi again as he watched her open a file and type something into the computer. Within seconds, his gaze went from panicked to determined.

“Thank you for saving me the trouble,” Lucas said smoothly as he clicked to the next slide.

“Is someone going to tell us what’s going on?” Harold demanded, looking from his godson to Andi, who was already lost in thought as she altered between tearing through files and working on the computer.

“I’m afraid that Miss Dawson is making a last-ditch effort to help Mr. MacGregor,” Lucas said, moving to direct everyone’s attention back to the monitor.

“He locked me in a file room,” Andi murmured absently as she continued doing whatever it was that she was doing as every set of eyes shot to Lucas.

Clearing his throat, Lucas said, “That’s not true.”

Grumbling to herself, Andi quickly typed something on the computer, clicked on something else, and-

“Oh, come on!”Andi’s voice filled the room as a video feed of the offices that Lucas used for the Hillshire Hotels project took over the monitor.

“Keep her locked in there until after the board meeting,” the image of Lucas said to the large and very familiar-looking man standing in front of the door. With a few more clicks and a muttered curse, the image fast-forwarded to what sounded like Andi singing A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall, drawing her brother’s attention to her location and the asshole guarding the door, which explained how she got out, Devyn thought.

Clearing his throat, Lucas moved to open his mouth and noticed that every board member was staring at him. That was followed by him clearing his throat again, murmuring, “Excuse me,” and heading for the door only to stop when he saw Drew standing in the doorway, looking incredibly pissed.

“Would someone please tell us what’s going on,” Harold said, sounding incredibly pissed as Devyn stood there, his glare locked on Lucas.