King Maker (King Maker 3)

“And what happens when I don’t complete the audit with financial statements and such?”

Griff looked at me.

“You could finish,” I began.

“I’m a first-year auditor, fresh out of college.”

“You passed the CPA exam.”

“Yes, but—”

“Or we could say that your firm wasn’t prepared to handle the load. It really doesn’t matter,” I said.

“Because we hope to have what we need before anyone starts asking questions,” Griff said.

“You really think whoever is behind this is working for you?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“But we hope to find a weak link we can follow,” Griff finished.

Then he fished out his phone. I just need one thing. She glanced up and he snapped a picture.

“What’s that for?” she snarled.

“That is for the company security file and ID I’m making for you that will give you entrance.”

“Fine.”

She got up from her seat and walked away from the both of us to sit in a set of seats not grouped with ours.

“Man,” Griff whispered. “You fucked up.”

I had and the fact that he’d said fucked and not fecked in jest meant that I’d messed up really badly.

Twenty-Nine

Galway had been an amazing place to spend a few weeks. But Edinburgh was too. It was full of life and people who appeared to love life.

I’d done my best to avoid Kalen on the plane and he’d avoided me since we arrived. I’d been set up in a hotel with a security duo across the hall and hadn’t seen the devil since.

The modest business clothes I’d suggested had been delivered without fanfare.

The very next day I’d walked into Kalen’s company, Brinner Financial, and had worked hard to remember my new fake name, Nancy Drue.

The security guard hadn’t even batted an eye at my name. Then again, he probably wasn’t a lover of teenage girl mystery novels or the TV series.

After meeting with the team, I’d been shown an empty cubicle I could use. The one thing I could say was that the accounting group at Kalen’s company was much friendlier than the one in New York.

As it turned out, only two people had commented on my name. One of them was a woman who headed up the department and the other was an American intern named Brian.

The few days I’d allotted myself flew by with ease. The only question about my presence that came up was why I was focused solely on cash balances. Quick on my feet, I’d surprisingly made up a convincing lie.

“My team got caught up with another audit. I was sent ahead since I’d finished my part.”

Brian nodded, but there was something about him that was worth looking into. He was the one asking most of the questions and he was just an intern.

One positive thing I’d reported to Kalen through email was everyone was responsive in getting any and all information I requested. I did find wires that had supposedly been approved by Kalen with all the documentation. He’d be the one to know if it was fake or not.

“So this is it?” Brian asked.

“For my part, yes.”

I handed him back all the original files.

“I guess I can ask you out then. We can trade notes about being American in Scotland.”

I smiled. He was cute, but I wasn’t interested. Griffin had given me the name Nancy Drue for a reason. And so far, I didn’t think I’d learned enough to help them. Plus, I had this niggling feeling something was off with the guy.

“I know a great place.”

Though I wasn’t a real detective, I heard myself say, “Sure. You have my card. My number’s on it. Call me with the details.”

In the envelope Griffin had given me there had been a smartphone I assumed was untraceable, but certainly monitored.

When a text came through from Brian, I texted Griffin who’d preprogramed his number under Andy Griffin. I’d never heard the name before but knowing Griffin, there had to be a joke behind that. A quick Google search, which had suggested a different spelling to the last name, and I got it. There was a character on a very old TV series with a similar name who was a cop.

Though I wanted to laugh, I wondered how Kalen was going to react when he found out I was technically doing two things: going on a date and putting myself in potential danger while doing so.

The music took a downturn in tempo. It was kind of a dark and mysterious song.

Brian had been quite chatty, so much so I’d begun to have my doubts there was anything sinister about him.

He’d told me he was adopted and had found a half-sibling through one of those DNA sites living in Edinburgh. They’d connected, and with no family ties, he’d traveled to Scotland after he’d gotten the lead on the job with Brinner Financial through him or her.

The music had been loud and I hadn’t heard if it was a woman or man and felt bad to ask him to repeat himself when he was giving me the information I needed.