She glanced at the calendar. Two days. Two more days until she’d paid off her debt to the clinic.
In a way it felt good. She was free.
In a way, it made her sad. She’d liked the last four weeks here. She’d liked the stability of having a regular job, whether she was getting paid well or not.
The clinic staff were warm and welcoming. It was a nice place to work.
Then, there were the obvious perks. None of them plastic surgery related.
All of them were around six foot four with dark hair and blue eyes. Julian McMahon, eat your heart out.
She picked up the folder sitting on her desk. It was time to stop putting this off and ignore her jangling nerves.
She knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Helen Ridgeway looked up and let out an audible sigh. “What is it, Selena?”
Her resolve started to crumble. Why was she even bothering? The woman couldn’t stand her. And telling her what she’d found wasn’t going to win her any popularity contests.
“I’ll be finishing in a few days, and I thought I should bring this to your attention. I’ve red flagged some anomalies in the accounts.” She pushed the manila folder across the desk.
“You’ve what?”
Selena tried to stop herself from squirming. She’d checked and double-checked. She was sure about this. Absolutely sure. MBA sure.
She held her ground and looked Helen in the eye. “I’ve been doing part of the accounts. Sorting the salaries and expenses. There are some anomalies in the accounting system. A few things that I can’t explain. I red-flagged them for you so you could look at them yourself.”
Helen’s gaze didn’t move. She hadn’t even glanced at the paperwork Selena had prepared. “And what makes you think you’re qualified to look at the accounts?”
Heat flooded her cheeks. Helen was intimidating. This was like being a five-year-old, but she couldn’t ignore what she’d found. It was too important.
Colt was passionate about the work he did at Helen’s House. The only way that could continue was if the clinic remained a profitable business. Bookings had already slumped. Who knew what would happen with the lawsuit?
She pulled back her shoulders. At the end of the day it really didn’t matter whether Helen Ridgeway liked her or not. Her life wasn’t going to change because of it.
What did matter were the actions she took. She had to be true to herself.
“I’m qualified to look at the accounts because my MBA specialized in accounting. I’ve not been here long enough to understand the complexities of your accounting system, but I do understand payments leaving a business account I can’t track or find a reason for.” She pointed at the folder again. “It’s not huge amounts of money, but it’s been happening for a long time. At first I thought they were going to Helen’s House, but I can see now that they’re not. I thought it best to bring it to your attention.”
She wrinkled her nose at Selena. “And how can I put any stock in what you bring me to review? You’re giving me advice on my finances when you can’t even manage your own. For all I know, you’ve tampered with the accounts yourself.”
“What?” She couldn’t help the rise in her voice. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “I know you don’t like me Helen, but that’s a step too far.”
“Why is it a step too far? You’ve had access to the accounts; if you specialize in accounting, you could have made changes to them. Changes that would get us to start looking elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere from what?” She shook her head, it felt as if she were having an entirely different conversation than the woman in front of her.
“From the publicity. The leaks.” The words hung in the air, the accusation apparent.
Selena felt herself jerk. “You think I had something to do with the leaks?” She walked around the desk and pointed to the paperwork. “I wasn’t even here when your leak started. You think I was the person who took a picture of Magdalena and sold it to the press?”
Helen folded her arms across her chest. “Maybe you thought you could jump on the bandwagon here and supplement your income. After all, somebody else has already done it. How hard would it be? And Magdalena was the perfect candidate. An international superstar who the press would pay top dollar to get a story on. You clearly didn’t like the woman.”
“Neither do you!” She was shouting now, but she couldn’t help it. “I don’t even have access to the operating rooms, nor would I want to!”
Helen shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea where Dr. Travers has let you have access to.”
Enough was enough. She put her hands on her hips. “So this is about Colt? You don’t like the fact he’s seeing me. That’s what this comes down to?”
“No.” Helen’s voice was ice cold. Her favorite temperature. She stood up. “This comes down to a woman so flaky she has to work off her bill for seven stitches in our clinic for a month thinking she can come and give me advice about my business.”
This was Selena’s cue to be shame-faced and embarrassed, but Helen’s words lit a flame under her like a firecracker. “Well, you do need advice about your business, Helen. Everyone can see that but you. This place is going to fall apart at the seams and all the good work at Helen’s House is going to be ruined. Wake up and smell the coffee.”
“Selena!” Colt’s voice stopped her rant instantly.
She pivoted on her heel.
He was in scrubs and had obviously just come from the OR. His hair was rumpled and his paper hat was in his hands. His brow was furrowed and his teeth clenched. She’d never seen him so angry. His face was scarlet, and she could practically see the steam venting from his ears. How much had he heard?
But no matter how angry he was, his voice was low and controlled. “What is going on here? Why are you speaking to Helen like that? And, Helen, what business is it of yours who I see?”
There was silence.
Colt moved across the room, obviously determined to get some answers. “Okay, so what the hell’s going on with the accounts?”
Helen sagged back down in her chair. As if all the energy had left her body. She looked up at Colt. “This has gone on long enough. How much longer until she’s paid off her bill?”
Selena bristled indignantly. “She is standing right here. Are you really so rude that you talk about me as if I’m not here? The answer to the question is two days. In fact, less than that now.”
Helen waved her hand. “Then consider it paid.” She still hadn’t looked at Selena. “It’s time for her to go. I told you this would happen. Mr. Hardy gave me some advice this morning about Lara. We have to take her back on a temporary basis. We have grounds for dismissal, but you didn’t follow the proper procedures. She’s going to sue us, too—and she’ll probably win. But the settlement shouldn’t be too onerous due to her actions.” S
he ran her fingers through her hair. “I need to get a handle on what’s going on around here. We need to get on top of things, with no visible distractions.” It would have made more sense if she’d just lit up a big red arrow and pointed it at Selena. “I need to be surrounded by people I trust. And only people I trust.”
Now, she turned and looked at Selena. There was a slight tremble to her voice. “Thank you for your services, Ms. Harris. But they will no longer be required. Consider your debt to Seacliffe paid in full.” She patted the folder in front of her, still unopened. “I’ll take your recommendations under advisement.”
For the first time since she’d met her, Helen Ridgeway looked old. Her gray hair wasn’t serenely swept up in an elegant bun, it was disheveled. The lines and dark circles under her eyes were prominent, revealing the transparency and fragility of her skin and pale blue veins underneath.
Selena should be gutted. She’d just been sacked, dismissed from the one thing that had built up her confidence and given her a little stability and pleasure.
But her brain couldn’t get past the part about Colt.
He knew.
He’d known all along Helen planned to bring the other secretary back and he hadn’t said a word. Not when he’d been mixing her cocktails. Or flirting with her. Or buying her dinner. Or keeping her awake at night.
Not when he’d been whispering in her ear and telling her exactly what he wanted to be doing with her.
But more than any of that he hadn’t leapt to her defense when Helen had spoken. He’d barely looked her in the eye. She’s always known they’d been a million miles apart, but for the last few days she’d almost fooled herself into believing they might just have a future together. All of sudden the gap between them felt like the Marianas Trench. She could never be with someone who thought she could do something like this.
His eyes widened in horror and he moved quickly toward her. “Selena, I—”
“Don’t.” She held her hand up, mimicking the gesture he’d made to Alexander Hardy.