Considering he still had no clue what his grandfather suspected was wrong, he was willing to look at just about anything. He got up and moved to her side of the table. “Let me see.”
“It’s this.” She pointed to a number on the screen. “I can’t tell if it’s just a transposed number.”
She had two screens open at once. One was the consolidated file and the other was the backup information. The consolidated file was supposed to draw from the detailed files, but perhaps his grandfather didn’t have the links automated. It seemed a bit odd to him because everything at Roberto’s office was monitored with oversight controls.
He checked the next number. It tied to the original file. As did the next one. Maybe it was, after all, just a typo.
“Can you make a notation of the number, where you found it and the information from the source document?”
“So it’s something?” There was a hopeful note in her voice.
“It’s definitely wrong. But the numbers surrounding it appear to be correct. So I’m not sure yet. But it’s worth noting.”
“Would your grandfather really pick up on a nine-dollar difference?”
He didn’t think so. That would be something for the accountants to hash out. But he didn’t think they’d escalate nine dollars to his grandfather’s attention. There had to be more.
“I think we’re still missing something.” A big something.
“I’ll keep combing through the numbers,” Stasia said.
He appreciated how dedicated she was to helping him. She was easy to work with and she didn’t ask too many questions. In fact, he was thinking of asking her to come work with him.
Then Stasia would always be close. He wouldn’t have to miss her after this cruise ended. Because he was quite certain he would. She was so easy to be around. She didn’t make him uptight because she wanted something from him that he wasn’t willing to give. And she listened to him with avid interest.
He wondered what Xander would think about the working arrangement. He knew how worried Xander was about his sister. Maybe this would give his friend some peace of mind because Roberto would be able to keep an eye on Stasia and make sure no one took advantage of her while she sorted through the aftermath of her husband’s death.
The more he thought about this idea, the more he liked it. And if he was able to think of Stasia as a colleague, it would rid him of these other thoughts—the ones about wanting to pull her into his arms and smother her lips with kisses before tumbling into bed.
Yes, this plan to offer her a job was much better.
“Oh, no.” Stasia’s voice filled with worry.
“What’s the matter? Did you find another mistake?”
She shook her head. “It’s not that. It’s the time. If I’m going to be ready for us to meet up with your cousin and her fiancé for dinner, I have to start now. And I haven’t finished reviewing the report you gave me. There were just so many numbers and the trail back to the source documents can be quite lengthy.”
He was having the exact same problem. There was nothing fast about this analysis. And he had a feeling his grandfather knew it.
“I think what you discovered will be enough for today,” Roberto said.
“You do?”
He nodded. “My grandfather is a very wise man. He knows it’ll take more than an afternoon to uncover whatever it is he thinks is amiss in these reports. That’s why he gave me until the end of the cruise.”
“Which isn’t that far off.”
Her concern touched him. “Don’t worry. It’ll all work out.”
“If he asks about it, what will you tell him? Will you mention the typo?”
“I’ll tell him enough to let him know we’re on track.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t mention me. He didn’t ask us both. He wanted you to work on this. Alone.”
Perhaps she was right. He didn’t like taking credit for someone else’s work, but if she accepted his business proposal, he knew this would never happen again.
And so he sent her off to get ready for the dinner. He wouldn’t take nearly as long to prepare. It was only after she’d gathered her things and headed for the door to the interior of the ship that he realized he hadn’t asked her to be his official assistant.