Love the Boss (Managing the Bosses 4)

Alex stood up. "Only one way to find out. Jamie, come with me. I need someone in the room as a witness."

"Then Paul should go. He's not dating you, and you know that if something is said in there that needs to be repeated in court or something, he would be the better choice." Jamie turned to him. "You need to go."

"We can both go." Paul stood up and walked to the door. "I'm a fly on the wall. Don't drag me into this conversation. I'm a finance guy for a reason. I don't do people drama."

Alex chuckled and walked out. "That's a joke, right? Where there are people, there will always be drama."

Jamie gave Mark a look and walked to the door. "How did you get so damn lucky?"

"I don't know, but I'll take it," he chuckled, and Jamie walked out, moving into Alex's office as she heard him tell Gina to cancel the rest of his appointments and meet him in his office.

She questioned him, but he didn't seem to respond.

Jamie moved to stand at the window that overlooked the city, and tried to work through the horrible feelings pumping through her. The connection between Gina and Nicholas left everything in disarray and not making much sense, but it wasn't about their relationship.

The conversation was about her creating a false ID and stealing from the company. Those were the facts, and all of the evidence would back that up and support it.

"I can't imagine what's so important that you would cancel your whole afternoon and back yourself up again, Alex. You always tell me not to let you do this." She walked in and kept talking, though her volume dampened. "Did you want me in here, or are you in the middle of something?"

Jamie turned and pressed her back to the glass, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Have a seat." Alex nodded at Gina, and she took the seat next to Paul.

"Okay. What's going on?" She glanced over at Jamie, who stood in silence, not saying anything or giving anything away. Her façade was in place, and this was Alex's dance to dance. They were there as viable witnesses and would talk if he wanted them to. Otherwise, she was going to be quiet and still. A fly on the wall.

"Paul, Mark, and Jamie have been going through the various reconciliations to prepare for the audits that Nicholas asked us to engage a year early. I was pissed about his timing, but it would almost seem that he knew something I didn't." Alex dropped the file on the table in front of her. "See that ID that's highlighted ten times on the page?"

She glanced down and back up as she stood. "Alex, I can explain."

"Good. I'd like to hear why the employee I trust most in my company is stealing from me. Did you think I wouldn't find out that you were standing behind me as I mulled through everything we do and not notice that your hands were out, catching coins as they fell from me? Do you think I'm stupid?" His voice was even, and deep. It was almost more terrifying than if he had yelled.

"Of course not. It wasn't me, though. Nicholas put me up to it. He's been trying so hard to pull your company from you, and I was never a part of that..." she dropped her head and pressed her hands to her face, "…until recently."

"Why? Why would you help him do anything that would hurt me? What did you need that I didn't supply?" He moved back as anger filled his face.

"Alex." Jamie forced him to look her way by simply saying his name.

He nodded and turned back to Gina, taking a sharp breath. "You're fired. I'll be filing a lawsuit, and we'll be look

ing into Nicholas' part in all of this."

"What?" Gina shot up. "No. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It was maybe a total of five hundred dollars."

"Seven thousand," Paul added in a monotone. “And counting. We don’t have this month’s financials.”

"No. It couldn't be. It was only a couple of times, and it was more to prove the point that you were too busy to see something happening right under your nose. Nicholas figured if he could prove that, then you would be forced to slow down. He's just worried about you." She stood and reached for Alex as he moved back.

"Have a nice day, and I hope you enjoy your new job with Nick. He should treat you just about as well as he treats everyone else once they've overstayed their welcome." Alex nodded toward the door. "Grab your purse and don't touch anything else. It's part of an upcoming investigation."

Tears streamed down Gina's cheeks as she turned around and looked at Jamie. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I have kids at home. I need this job."

"I know. I kept trying to figure out how to not make the evidence point straight to you, but it does."

Jamie's eyes filled with tears, too.

Alex walked to the door and opened it. "I'll be in touch, Gina. Time for you to go; I'll see you out."

She nodded and walked to the door, pausing and looking Alex in the face. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake, and I'm willing to pay for it. I'm so sorry."