Amanda Berry - L A Cinderella

Robert wasn’t here today. She stood and stretched her stiff muscles. Maybe she could just root through the files and figure it out. She stared at the large filing cabinets that stored this year’s bills. Four long drawers filled with paperwork sorted by vendor.

Maybe if she knew the rules on picking up cash and how it was given to the extras… She heaved a sigh. Walking around her desk, she stared down the hallway to the only light left on in the office. Her heart thudded against her chest. He would know how the process worked. Besides, she’d have to tell someone sometime. Someone above Mr. Morrison.

Wondering if she was making a huge mistake, she headed to Chase’s office. Even with the little trill of anticipation to see him again, she walked slowly down the hall. Not only was she going to accuse the CFO, who had been here a lot longer than herself, of embezzling, but she had to make sure she didn’t make a fool out of herself over Chase and her little attraction.

Every time she was near him, her body responded as if she were a cat in heat, and her brain went on vacation. She hadn’t figured out how to control it yet.

Natalie paused outside the slightly open door.

His low voice reached her ears, freezing her hand in mid-knock. “Alexis, I don’t think so… No… I know how important this is to you, but I just… Yes… Have you tried Robert?… No, I’m not saying… If you would just… Sure, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

The phone click, as it was returned to the cradle, barely penetrated the fog in her brain. What did it mean? Were they back together? She rolled back on her heels and tried to slip back before he noticed her.

One step. She stopped at a rustling in the office, followed by footsteps. She squeezed her eyes shut. Oh, yeah, like that really hid her. She opened her eyes. A blue shirt filled her view. Oops.

Tentatively she raised her eyes to his bemused expression. As always, heat flushed through her and her heart slammed against her chest.

“Eavesdropping?”

“No, of course not. I was coming to ask you a question. Just a question. I didn’t mean to overhear… Not that I heard anything… I mean…” Oh, God, someone stop her.

His grin seemed to increase the further she dug herself into the ground. Seriously, someone needed to make an emergency escape hatch one could fall into after one embarrassed oneself sufficiently.

“It’s okay, Natalie. Come on in.” He stepped back into his office.

He gestured to the leather guest chair before sitting behind the desk. She slid into the chair, and her eyes darted around the room. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands in her lap.

She’d never been in here before. The tiled floor from the hallway flowed into the nice-size office, not huge but bigger than Mr. Morrison’s. Beige paint and framed movie posters covered the walls.

Finally her eyes rested on the man behind the desk. Somehow he seemed closer than when he’d walked her to her car. Maybe it was his uninterrupted attention on her. A low thrum of energy sizzled through her body, and she involuntarily shivered.

“What was your question?”

Question? Oh, yeah, question. She’d had one. Things seemed to flit out of her brain when he was around. What had she been doing?

“Yes, umm…”

His mouth turned into a soft smile. “Take your time.”

“Well…” She chewed on her bottom lip. Mr. Morrison. “When extras are paid in cash where does the cash come from?”

The smile faded from Chase’s face, and he came to attention behind his desk. “We don’t typically pay extras in cash.”

Her hands tightened. “These are for expenses. You know, expense reports turned in and instead of a check they request cash?”

“Where are these expense reports?” Suspicion lurked in Chase’s eyes.

She recrossed her legs and swallowed. “On my desk. I just noticed it today. Isn’t that the way it’s typically done?”

Chase stood and ran a hand through his hair. “Get the reports and meet me in the conference room. We need to figure this out.”

“We?” she squeaked out.

He walked around the desk and gripped her elbow, helping her out of the chair and steering her toward the door. “Yes, we. Now, go get the documents, and I’ll order us some Chinese.”

“But I should go home soon.” The conference room wasn’t very big, so he’d be close, which made that little piece in her trill again. But if she were alone with him, she was sure to make a fool of herself. His hand on her elbow burned through the silk of her blouse. Why had she taken off her jacket? She’d definitely make a fool out of herself if left alone with this man for any length of time. But she did want to get to the bottom of this.

“Hot date?” Chase’s voice sounded slightly gruff.

A fresh wave of heat swallowed her face. “No, but-”

His green eyes settled on hers. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

By the time they were settled into the conference room, only two chairs weren’t covered in papers. However, the chairs were right next to each other. If Natalie moved that stack…

Before she could move anything, Chase spoke up.

“Sit down and we’ll discuss what you’ve found while we eat.” His tone was all business. Maybe she’d read too much into their earlier conversations.

She could be businesslike, too. Relieved, she breathed deep and slid into the chair. When he sat down his denim-clad leg brushed against her cotton skirt. She sucked in a breath, but covered it by opening one of the takeout bags. She crossed her legs away from his.

“I wasn’t sure what to get, so I got a couple of different things. We can share,” he said.

She picked up the containers and opened them. The rich sauce filled the air with the aroma of ginger and garlic. Settling on beef with broccoli, she found one of the rice boxes.

“What have you found so far?” Chase said. His leg brushed against hers again. Her body tensed. She wondered if he did it on purpose. His warmth radiated to her side. The woodsy smell of his cologne wafted over her.

“The…uh.” She cleared her throat. “Um, well, I was going through the expense reports and I noticed the handwriting was similar on a few of them and…” Should she tell him that she suspected Mr. Morrison wrote them? She closed her mouth. She didn’t want to accuse an innocent man. She only knew that the numbers told her that someone might be taking money.

“And?” he prodded. His gaze bore into hers, but it suddenly softened.

What had they been talking about? Was there a woman alive who could resist him? He didn’t even have to put forth any effort to be irresistible. That kiss-her eyes dropped to his lips. That kiss at the end of If Only. She could feel her lips separate. The red-hot wave flowed over her face. She dipped her head as her food suddenly was way too interesting. After all, there was white, brown and green.

Way better to look at that than the slight scruff along Chase’s chin. She was definitely going to make a fool out of herself.

When she dropped her gaze to her food, Chase leaned back in his chair. Trying to draw out this timid woman was like digging for diamonds. It took forever, but he just knew something special was hiding in there.

He’d already begun to suspect his chief financial officer wasn’t on the up-and-up. Every time Chase approached him, Martin shook and started prattling on about this and that.

Chase also suspected the reason Martin had hired Natalie was because of her timidity and lack of experience. What Martin hadn’t figured on was the intelligence lingering in the depths of her gorgeous brown eyes.

Setting down the box of noodles, Chase studied the woman next to him. She drew him with her quiet strength and a warmth he’d never experienced before. She wasn’t what Hollywood considered beautiful-few people were-but the delicate tilt of her chin, the gentle upsweep at the tip of her nose, her wide, innocent brown eyes and her lips, all drew his eyes and he found himself captivated by her.

He loved watching her lips curve into a smile, tighten when she was upset or part slightly on a breath. Real, that’s what she was. He shifted in his chair. She jerked her head up again. Every nerve in his body longed for more contact than his knee against hers.

Women like her should stay as far away as possible from men like him. Even as he lost himself in her eyes, he could see her pushing him away. She might trust him in the beginning, but when some reporter speculated he was cheating, or when he was gone for months on a shoot, he’d lose her. Distance rarely made the heart grow fonder.

Her gaze fluttered down again, breaking the connection. He couldn’t resist trying to have her. Just for a little while, not forever. Just enough to get her out of his system.

“Show me the expense reports you found.” He cleared his throat.

Her shoulders relaxed beneath her cream blouse. He made her nervous, but he figured everyone did. She reminded him of a small bird ready to take flight at the least provocation, except when she was talking work.

She put aside the barely touched food and pulled forward some papers. She handed him the first two reports.

Her gaze never left his face while he looked over the reports. It was intense, but not sexual in nature. It was the stare of someone waiting for a connection to be made.

The handwriting was similar on both reports, just enough difference to prevent someone from questioning them if they went through on the same day. He noticed the signature authorizing cash payments. Martin Morrison.

“Let’s separate all the ones authorized for cash payment first.” When she started to pull more papers her way, he stopped her. “After we eat.”

She nodded and went back to playing with the box of food. Her tongue swept over her lower lip. How soft would her lips be? He took a deep breath; it was going to be a long night.