Chapter 25
Three weeks later
November 14th
The thing you need to know about Becky Johnson was that she trusted nobody. At sixty-three, Becky had worked at the office of Sinclair Stables, LLC for the past thirty years. She’d seen all types of characters come and go from the facility. From workers to visitors; trainers and entertainers; suppliers and service providers, Becky had dealt with all aspects of humanity in the job she had as office manager of the ranch and the Belle.
She paid the bills, processed payroll, hired office help, planned events and answered to the Sinclairs. They had always been fair people, good to the help, which was why she’d stayed on so long. But at this point, Becky was looking forward to retiring after the first of the year. The winter staff was slim. In the spring she hired seasonal office help, but the last of them had left the first of October.
So when Avery Sinclair had approached her to see if there was anything in the office she might need help with, she hadn’t hesitated to accept the offer. What she hadn’t counted on was the fact that it wasn’t Avery that was to be her part-time help; but rather, the pregnant girl who’d landed on Bryce Slater’s doorstep.
Now why would Avery want to help this Mandy girl? Becky knew she and Bryce had a thing going on, and quite honestly, she thought they made a great couple.
From Becky’s perspective, Bryce had finally pulled his head out of his ass and become a productive and valued employee. Avery had loosened up and appeared to be enjoying life as a nineteen year old in love should. And then Mandy had shown up throwing a wrench into their relationship.
“I don’t get it,” Becky had said to Avery, “Does the girl have any office experience?”
“Well, no,” Avery had admitted, “But isn’t there something she could take off your hands that won’t require a lot of training? She said she’s a whiz on computers.”
Becky had thought for a moment. She was trying to prepare for the independent audit coming up at the end of the year. The auditor, Dawn Childers, had already met with her at the end of third quarter outlining what she’d need do in preparation for it. The business was audited every three years, and it was brutal. But this Childers woman was pickier than those who’d audited in the past. She wanted records from five years back.
“Yeah, okay,” Becky had said. “She can do the Christmas card mailing, and the invitations for the New Year’s Eve gala. I’m backed up on filing and data entry. I can keep her busy for a few weeks no problem.”
“Thank you, Becky,” Avery had said. “And let me know if there’s a problem with her. I don’t want her to be a distraction for you with the audit coming up.”
“So Mandy,” Becky said coming into the cubicle she’d given her on the second floor of the main building over at the Belle. She’d set her up with a spare laptop and printer. “How are you doing with the invitations for the New Year’s Eve party?”
“Just about finished, Mrs. Johnson,” she replied in that overly polite tone she used which Becky found fake. “And you want the envelopes addressed by hand, is that right?”
“Correct. Neatly handwritten,” Becky reminded her.
“I’ll have them done this afternoon, I promise. And then tomorrow I’ll get on the filing you have on my list, will that work?”
“Fine. You’re making good progress.”
Becky couldn’t deny the girl seemed to have a good work ethic. She’d been working in the office for over two weeks, and seemed to stay on task.
“Now let me know when they’re ready to be mailed. I’ll get the money for postage out of petty cash. Just come down to my office when you’re finished.”
“Sure thing, Mrs. Johnson.”
“You can call me Becky, remember?”
“Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting. My mother always pressed us to address our elders as Mr. or Mrs. Hard habit to shake I guess.”
Becky rolled her eyes as she left the cubicle. This girl was a piece of work, no doubt. In the time Becky had been working with her, Mandy Reynolds never let down her guard.
She put on a prim and proper facade, didn’t converse unless spoken to, and it was quite obvious she didn’t intend to share any of her personal information with Becky. There was no reference to the baby; and in fact, when Becky had questioned her on her due date, names picked out, or any baby-related topic, Mandy was quick to change the subject.
Strange.
Very strange.
The only thing Mandy had done which struck Becky as odd was to ask questions about the sale of horses. Becky had asked Mandy to take the photographer from Warm Bloods Gazette over to the barn to photograph Baron for the upcoming bid notice for the December 1st edition. When Mandy returned to the office, she was full of questions about the sale of horses. She wanted to know what kind of money they brought in, and which breeds were worth the most. Becky told her she didn’t know much about that part of the business, and she needed to ask somebody like Avery.
She’d stopped her questioning once Avery’s name had been mentioned. Becky was glad. She had enough to worry about with the upcoming audit. She didn’t have time to be answering questions that didn’t really concern Mandy or the tasks she’d been given to complete.
Becky was just putting away the records and locking up the filing cabinets when the door to her office opened. She half-expected it to be Mandy, but the masculine voice behind her belonged to Carter Sims.
“Hey Becky, I’ve got the material quoted for the next three cottage renovations, along with the addition Mr. Sinclair wants on the press box over at the track. Here’s the requisition I filled out.”
Becky took the form from him and perused it. The expenditure came to fifteen grand. It surpassed her requisition approval level. “I’ll have to have Mr. Sinclair sign off on this. It might take a day.”
“No problem. Just let me know when it’s ready and I’ll call it in.”
“I’ll have Mandy call you when the purchase order is processed so you can pick it up here.”
“Sounds good,” he said as he was leaving her office. “She’s a nice addition to the staff. Seems competent.”
Becky wondered how well Carter Sims knew Mandy now that they were neighbors.