Arriving later in the morning since last night’s overtime, Alexandra didn’t see Mr. Buff in his office. She thought she’d miss him since he usually had meetings this time of the morning. Might as well get to work.

She sat behind her desk and pulled out the tax forms from the past few years and brought up the accounting software. When reconciling last quarter’s payroll and tax filings, her totals weren’t adding up.

Late yesterday afternoon, she went to the accounting department to request copies of state and federal tax forms. The manager was out, but the ladies in the office were glad to help. She understood why Nina enjoyed working at this company.

A lot of times, office politics ruled businesses and ruined any comradery that would be possible. That was why Alex did only temp work and short-term projects.

She’d put up with enough crap in her life and saved up enough money so she could work when she wanted. Surprisingly, her temp agency kept her quite busy so she didn’t sit at home alone throwing pity parties for her lack of love life.

Opening the spreadsheet she created yesterday, she ran through the rows and columns again to make sure she hadn’t entered incorrect numbers. Her ten-key data entry speed was among the fastest and most accurate—just from repeated use for over ten-plus years.

Everything added up until she calculated in the independent contractor amounts. The tax forms submitted to the IRS were one hundred thousand dollars fewer than what the system showed.

Painstakingly going through each contractor, she added quarterly totals to compare the system to amounts paid in. She had a few more accounts to go through. If she didn’t find the difference here, she would be at a loss as to where to look next.

As her luck would have it, the second to last vendor held the discrepancy, down to the penny. Skimming the vendor file, she found it setup incorrectly, sending totals to the wrong chart of accounts number. Digging farther, she discovered this had been happening for years. That totaled to almost a half million dollars a year. Someone was getting a huge tax break.

This error would cost thousands in penalties and interest. Good god, thank goodness this wasn’t her fault. If it were, she’d be puking for screwing up so big time.

After printing several screen shots and gathering the forms, she headed to the company’s president’s office. This was too important to go to accounting and let someone set it aside. Or worse yet, shredded the evidence to cover it up.

She knocked on the top executive’s door, waiting for permission to enter. She heard a voice but wasn’t sure what it said. Assuming it was her cue to come in, she opened the door. At the desk sat the head of accounting talking with the president.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Alex said as she pulled the door to her.

“Alexandra,” the big man behind the desk called, “please, come in.” She peeked around the door and saw the wide, relaxed smile of Mr. Sholes. She didn’t remember the accounting manager’s name. He didn’t come across as the welcoming type when she was introduced on her first day there. She avoided him for the most part.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, walking in and taking the other seat in front of the desk.

“What can I do for you?” the president asked. He sat back in his chair, arms open and accepting. His round, happy face gave him the look of the Marshmallow Dough Boy. Her anxiety lessened.

“Mr. Sholes, when I was reconciling taxes and payroll, I came across a discrepancy that is alarmingly big.”

The man glanced at the accounting manager. “You know anything about this, Robert?”

“No, sir. I don’t.” Robert glared at her. “Let’s see your proof.” Alexandra laid out the sheets and pointed out the conflicting numbers.

“My god,” Mr. Sholes said. “That’s a million dollars every two years. This is serious enough to get prison time. This needs to stay between us. If the culprit gets wind and runs, I’ll kill them. May do that anyway. A million dollars!”

Robert’s face was red, and he sputtered. “I-I don’t know how this could be. When we run reports, everything balances.”

“Robert,” Mr. Sholes said as he gathered the papers to himself, “I want to look at this on my own over the weekend. Don’t change or do anything until I tell you to. Understand?” Sholes frowned heavily, making her uneasy again.

“Yes, sir.” The accounting manager’s narrowed eyes rolled to her without moving his head. Shit, was he the perpetrator? Did she just bust a fraud scam he had going?

“Robert, would you give Alexandra and myself a moment?”

The manager jumped up from his chair. “Yes, sir,” was all he said on his way out. When he took hold of the door, he looked over his shoulder at her. Chills ran down her back from his hate-filled eyes. Damn, he was not happy. The door closed quickly.

The president leaned forward and laid his glasses on the desk. “Thank you very much, Alexandra, for coming directly to me,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Robert is correct about the reports balancing. I look at them every quarter and annually.”

From her past experience, she had an explanation. “Sir, it’s possible that after reports are run and everything is filed, the numbers are changed and finagled after the fact.”

Mr. Sholes sat quietly, staring at the papers on the desk in front of him. Should she leave now? Should she say something?

“Sir,” she mumbled, “should I go?”

“No, no. Please stay a moment.” He looked up and smiled. “How do you like it here, Alexandra?”

“I enjoy it, sir. The people are friendly and the view is great.” Her cheeks warmed a bit at the admission. She prayed he didn’t ask what she meant.

“Good. I’ve heard good things from others about you and your work. Nina told me you do temp work only. Would you consider working full-time here?”

That surprised her. She wasn’t expecting to be offered a job after outing the company. She smiled. “I’ll think about it, sir. But I’ll let you know it’s promising.”

“Wonderful. That’s what I like to hear about my business,” he continued. “My wife and I have sacrificed a lot over the years to get where we are today. A lot of time and heartache, too. I will do whatever necessary to make sure no one brings this company down.” He nodded toward the papers. “I can’t thank you enough, Alexandra.”

She was starting to feel a bit embarrassed at the praise laid on her. After all, she was only doing her job. “Thank you, sir,” she said. “I should be getting back. Payroll is due today.”

“Yes, yes,” Mr. Sholes said. “Good work.”

Alexandra hurried down the hall and into her office, so happy that Robert in Accounting wasn’t walking around. He was the logical choice for the crime. She read somewhere that it’s the long-term employees most likely to commit fraud with an employer. They’d been there long enough to know how everything worked and how to get around things, too. Robert fit that description.

He had access to the system, was smart enough, and had the opportunity. A tiny voice in her head said just because he looked guilty, don’t count out others.