The phone she was holding was suddenly heavy in her hands. Allyson’s heart sank like a stone.

“Someone in my division is embezzling money?” she finally gasped out.

“I don’t know,” Dane replied. “Possibly… Probably.”

“How could anyone do this?” Bile rose in her throat. The thought of a subordinate stealing from Prescott made her sick to her stomach. Anyone stealing from the company was horrible. Her division, the revamped women’s line, had already shown success in the markets. The people working with her seemed like good, solid thinkers. The worst thing anyone from the women’s division had done was gossip. But this, millions of dollars stolen, was on a level she couldn’t comprehend. Someone they knew and trusted was stealing out of employee funds. She swallowed. “What do we do now? Do we inform the staff that their pensions and benefits are disappearing? It’s a lot of money, Dane. It’s not something that can stay hidden for long.”

He ran his hand through his hair, frustration etched on his face. “If we go public with this, it will cause a company-wide panic. Stocks would crash again. Prescott has only just gotten back on track after that mess with the Handels.”

“Our employees have the right to know their benefits are in jeopardy,” she repeated. “I’d want to know.” She’d paid into the fund before Dane and she had gotten married. Shoot, she still could be paying into the fund. Not that it mattered. But it did matter. So did the company’s liability.  What were they going to do?

“If stocks crash again, it’ll be more than pensions and benefits being in jeopardy,” he said. “I don’t think we can weather another storm like this. Not six months after the last one. If Prescott gets into trouble now, I can see massive layoffs. And that’s without the police and the FBI getting involved.”

“So, what do we do?” she asked. “If we don’t stop whoever is doing this, they’ll keep stealing.”

“We have to find the culprit before the media gets wind of this,” he said. “If we find out who it is, we can control the narrative. We can hand over the evidence to the police, then keep the press from going into a frenzy. Let’s try to handle this as smoothly as possible.”

Her nerves were frayed. Worry gnawed at her. “I knew something like this was going to happen.”

Dane paused. Focusing his gaze on her he narrowed his eyes. “How could you have known?” he asked, barely able to mask the suspicion in his voice.

“You don’t actually think I had something to do with this, do you?” It was impossible to keep the accusation out of her tone. Especially since the guilt weighing down on her was only getting heavier. Earlier, while she had waited for Dane in the car, she had momentarily wondered if he had known about the embezzlement. Wondered if what he was hiding had to do with the theft his father had just uncovered. Now, it sounded like Dane had suspicions of his own.

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” he said firmly. “I’m just starting to realize how something like this might look.”

“How does it look?” she asked shrilly.

His jaw clenched. Like he was fighting to keep the words in. “It looks bad.”

“Oh, really? Does it? How do you particularly see this situation?”

“Come on, Allyson,” he said, looking as frustrated as she felt. “The embezzlement started about six months ago. Around the same time you stepped in and revamped the women’s division. And now I’ve just figured out that the money is being funneled through this very same division. Not to mention, you’re the division head. Which means you’re one of the forty people who has access to the company accounts.”

A lump formed in her throat. “You really think I’m capable of something like this?”

“Hell no,” he said. “But a lot of people might think you are. A lot of people want to see you stumble. They’ve been rooting for you to fail ever since we got married.”

She slumped back in her seat, completely miserable. The first six months of their marriage had been wonderful. They had worked side by side at Prescott Global. Taken romantic excursions to Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. And even though things weren’t perfect with her side of the family, Dane had been bonding with her brother James. Meanwhile, she had been working on her relationship with Dane’s parents. The few things that seemed to be an issue had been her friends, the new house, and now this new awful mess at Prescott.

“What people?” she breathed. “I’ve made friends. I’ve been networking with all these business people. Doors have been opening for me. Who would want to see me fail?”

“Your friends,” he replied.

“That’s not true.”

“I know the upper class better than you do,” he said. “They’re all throwing themselves at you now, while they secretly resent your success. If news about this embezzlement gets out before we figure out who the actual thief is, don’t be surprised if your so-called friends blame you.”

“I don’t believe that they’d do something like that,” she said.

“If it’s not your friends, then the rest of the upper class will be happy to see this scandal take you down,” he said. “Resentment over new people coming into high society runs deep.”

She paused. While it was true that Dane understood the upper class far better than she did, she had been learning. Especially from his mother. “If the upper class is as bad as you say it is, then we need allies. Right now it’s us against a thief we can’t see. And it’s not even us; it’s just you.”

“I’m not dragging you into this,” he said firmly.

“Last time you didn’t want me getting involved in our problems, I eventually ended up helping you,” she reminded him.

“That was different. Everything the Handels did was legal. They were underhanded, but they played by certain rules. Whoever is doing this has no qualms about stealing millions. Which means they’re either extremely powerful or extremely desperate. Besides, you should focus on moving into the new house.”

Unable to hide her irritation, she took a deep breath. “Let me see if I have this right…this embezzlement could literally ruin me, but instead of helping you fix the problem you want me to act like a good little wife and spend my time buying furniture for the new house that you clearly don’t like.”

He held up his hands. “That’s not what I meant.”

“You don’t think I can handle this.”

“I don’t want my wife to get hurt,” he murmured. “Is that so wrong?”

Except something was wrong. A lot of things seemed suddenly wrong. “Why don’t you like the house, Dane?”

His eyebrows rose. Her husband shrugged. “Am I required to like the house?”

“Yes,” she said sharply. “You’re required to like the house that you’re going to be living in. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

“It’s not the house that’s the problem.” He sighed.

That made her heart start racing again. Sweat formed on her brow. If the problem wasn’t the house, then it was likely that the problem was their marriage. Or worse. Her. Swallowing hard, she asked, “Is it me? Am I the problem?”

“Of course not.” Concern flashed in his eyes. “You’re not a problem. How could you think that? Have I made you think that?”

“You won’t tell me what’s wrong,” she said softly. “I can feel this wall between us, and I know you’re keeping something from me. I can sense it.”

He got to his feet, walked over to her, and held out his hand. Anticipation over what he might say made her chest tighten painfully. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and let him help her to her feet. She let him lead her out of the living room and over to the balcony. As always, the view of New York City took her breath away. There was a slight chill in the air. The type of chill that was always invigorating. “My contract renewal is coming up,” he began. “But working at Prescott just doesn’t have the same spark that it once did.”

She blinked in surprise. That was the last thing she had been expecting. “You want to quit? Stop working?” Working without her husband made her feel hollow. Like her insides had been carved out and all that was left was an empty shell. Allyson knew it was crazy to feel something so extreme, but part of the joy of working at Prescott was working with the man she loved.

“I don’t want to stop working,” he said. “It’s just that, for the past six months, Prescott hasn’t been much of a challenge.”

“That’s because you’ve managed everything so well,” she pointed out.

“I guess I’m a victim of my own success.” He flashed a wry smile.

She bit her lip. “Do you know what you’re going to do?”

“I have no idea,” he said. “For the first time in my life I have no clue what I want to do with the rest of it.”

Sadness made her shoulders slump. He must have noticed how crestfallen she looked, because he wrapped his arm around her and drew her to him. His strong embrace warmed her. Steadied her as she went over his words in her mind.

For six months she had been so happy and fulfilled in her work with the women’s division, and the whole time Dane hadn’t been nearly as happy about his own work. How had she missed it? How had she not seen her husband’s unease until yesterday, during the tour of the house?

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed. “You were miserable this whole time and I didn’t even notice.”

He chuckled. “I wasn’t miserable. Not with you. I’ve been having a hell of a time with you.” He planted a warm kiss on her forehead. The tender gesture shot to her heart. “It’s just that moving into this new house because it’s near Prescott means that—”

“It means you’ll be making a big decision based on a job you don’t love the way you used to,” she finished for him.

“That’s right.” He nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we be able to tell each other everything?”

“Of course,” he said. “But you were so proud and happy to be working at Prescott. And I’m proud of you. I knew you would do well after getting the promotion.”

“You shouldn’t be so concerned about my happiness that you keep things to yourself,” she said.

“I probably should have told you,” he conceded. “But what’s done is done. Now you know.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“If I’m going to catch this thief and deal with the fallout, I’ll probably have to renew my contract,” he said.

“That means you’ll be at Prescott for at least another six months.” She lowered her eyes. The guilt was back again. “Six months of more unhappiness. Dane, don’t renew the contract.”

“I have to protect you,” he said. “That’s my priority. Always will be.”

She pulled away from him and turned to look back through the floor-to-ceiling window of their apartment. Everything inside was so luxurious. So masculine. Like him. This was his world. And now, she was dragging him out of it. Making him live in a house he didn’t really want. “If you’re going to hunt down the thief, there’s no way I can expect you move into the house now. Not if you have to renew a contract you don’t want to renew. You’ll be trapped because of me.” 

“Allyson, if I renew my contract, moving into this new house will actually be convenient,” he said. “Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to moving into a new place with you. Besides, I’ve paid for the house. It’s ours now.”

“We can always sell it—”

“Not another word,” he interrupted. “This is the house of your dreams. I want us to really start our lives together. We’re moving in. It’s going to be my dream, too.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m more than sure.”

Her brows pressed together again. “What are we going to do about the embezzlement?”

He raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“You’re staying at a job you don’t love to help me,” she said. “So, yes, this is something we both have to do. I’m not backing down from this.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything,” he said. “But it sounds like you have one of your famous plans.”

She nodded. “I do. The best way to handle this is to call the police. Now.”

 

~~*~~

 

The next morning, instead of heading to work like he usually did, Dane escorted his wife into the police station. His father and the Prescott Family lawyer were trailing behind.

Ordinarily, he would never have allowed Allyson to talk him into something like this, but the longer they took to catch the thief the more money they were liable to lose. They’d considered contacting the board last night, and then decided that speaking to the police would be the best step. The less people knew until they had something solid, the better.

A police officer led them to a detective’s office and motioned for them to sit on the bench outside. “Detective Rossi will be with you in a minute, so you folks can have a seat.” With that, the officer walked off.

After about fifteen minutes Detective Paul Rossi appeared, introduced himself, and ushered them in to a dingy lecture room. There was a podium up front, a white board taking up an entire side wall, and chairs lined up across the room.

Dane had never met the detective, but the family lawyer knew him well enough and had recommended they see him. The only reason Dane was even bothering to trust a police officer was because their lawyer had vouched for him.

Dane took a seat beside his wife while Rossi sat down facing them, a notebook and pencil in hand. The detective was middle-aged, stocky, his dark hair graying at the temples. Rossi regarded them sternly, an air of skepticism radiating off him. “So, folks, what’s the trouble?”

Their lawyer cleared his throat and nodded to Dane. Quickly, he rattled off the facts he had managed to gather about the embezzlement, while his father helped fill in some other information.

“And you have the files to prove that the money has gone missing?” Rossi asked.

He nodded. “I’ve got confidential files in my father’s car. I’m not exactly authorized to take them out of Prescott, but I’m willing to risk it and hand them over if needed.”

“I can look at them,” Rossi said. “But we’re going to need a lot more evidence if we’re going to catch this guy.”

“How do we go about doing that?” Allyson asked.

“We need to narrow it down,” Rossi said. “We need to focus on everyone with access and everyone with a motive. Motive plus access is the most important criterion.”

“So, someone desperate for money, who has access to the accounts,” she said.

“Right. Do you know of anyone who’s been having financial difficulty?” Rossi asked. “That’s the first route. But it might not be someone desperate for money. Could be someone with a vendetta against you. Or someone who’s been doing this for year and only getting caught now. There’re a million scenarios. We just need to narrow them down. Let’s start with the financial issue first.”

“I can’t imagine the senior executives or the department heads having financial trouble,” Dane said.

Rossi shrugged. “You never know with people. They live beyond their means. Get into debt.”

“That still leaves a lot of suspects,” Allyson said with a frown. “We thought of about forty people who could have pulled off something like this.”

“Well, then, we need to start eliminating suspects,” Rossi said. “We might have to tap some phones.”

Allyson’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Look, we need to draw people out,” Rossi said. “Get a feel for what they’re saying and thinking. The thief is never going to open up to any of you, so the best chance we have is to tap the phones.”

“Is that the only way?” Dane asked.

“You said you wanted to keep things discreet,” Rossi murmured.

Dane nodded. “We do. Prescott has had one too many bad headlines this year, and we’ve only just gotten back on sound footing.”

“That’s why this is the best way,” Rossi said. “We’ll have to get the feds involved, but tapping the phones keeps things discreet. We can come in. Look like repair guys. Tap the phones. And nobody at Prescott will know. If we go in all guns blazing, we’ll scare whoever is doing this into hiding or getting rid of the evidence. This way we figure out who the thief or thieves are.”

“It hadn’t occurred to me that it could be more than one person,” his wife said softly.

Rossi gave her a hard look. “It’s probably fewer than three people. More than that and you’d have people revealing the secret. Whoever is doing this is smart. Smart enough to keep this hidden for six months. When did you start this women’s division again, Mrs. Prescott?”

“What the hell are you implying?” Dane demanded.

“Whoa.” Rossi leaned back. “I’m just doing my job, Mr. Prescott. It sounds to me like a lot of money is flowing through a division that’s been getting an awful lot of funding lately. And your wife is in charge of this division. I have to ask questions.”

Dane rose to his feet, staring the detective down. He balled up his fists. Felt a volcanic anger rising in him. Getting in a cop’s face probably wasn’t a good idea, but he wasn’t going to let anyone get away with insulting Allyson. He had anticipated that people would suspect her, but it still rankled. Nobody was going to get away with disrespecting his wife. “Do whatever you have to do, but leave my wife out of this.”

“We have to do a thorough investigation,” Rossi shot back. “You don’t have to like it, but there’s going to be a list of suspects. And, based on everything I’ve heard here today, you and Mrs. Prescott are my prime suspects.”