Chapter 71
glanced at the files in his arms and asked, “Aren’t you going to work in their office?”
“Not here,” he replied. “I ordered food to be delivered to our room. You can rest after you eat.”
His thoughtfulness caught me off guard, but I nodded in acknowledgment.
We had booked our rooms earlier, and the bellboy led us to the suite. He mentioned that our meal had already been delivered and that we could call the front desk if we needed anything else. Although we had separate rooms, for convenience, the lunch was sent to Nick’s room. We thanked the bellboy before entering.
After the early flight and immediately diving into work, I was both exhausted and hungry. I ate my portion quickly, ready to retreat and give Nick some space. As I stood up to leave, he glanced at me and said, “You can rest here. I’ll leave after a while.”
He was still eating, so I nodded and entered the bedroom. The suite was spacious, with the living area and bedroom separated. I turned on the air conditioner, flopped onto the bed, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
When I jolted awake, I noticed a blanket covering me. The soft sound of papers rustling filled the room as Nick sat in the living area, working through his files. He was absorbed in his work, glancing at his laptop occasionally.
Stunned, I sat up on the bed. It was unhealthy to sleep right after a meal, so I spent some time sitting there, feeling the heaviness in my stomach before I exited the bedroom. Nick was still focused, leaning over a document on the table. He hadn’t noticed I had woken up.
I poured him a glass of water and approached him. “Why don’t you take a break?”
He looked up, slightly dazed, before taking the water. “You’re awake!”
I nodded and sat down next to him. Glancing at the report on his screen, I had to admit, he was both bold and efficient with his work.
After finishing the report, he closed his laptop and leaned back on the sofa, massaging his temples with a sigh. “Mr. Wrangler called earlier. He wants to buy you dinner tonight,” he said tiredly.
“Okay,” I replied, but added, “Why don’t you take a nap in the room?”
He glanced at his watch, then shook his head. “It’s alright,” he said, pausing before continuing, “The financial report for the branch office isn’t right. I wouldn’t have caught it if I hadn’t looked closely. I think a manager embezzled funds and created a fake project to cover it up. A few million are gone. Take a look.”
I opened the accounts and scanned through them. The branch office followed the same operating model as Fuller Corporation. As the branch was doing well in A City, Ashton had given the president a lot of autonomy and rarely interfered with business decisions. But this report stood out. One construction project looked odd—minor accidents wouldn’t typically result in millions in costs. Someone had clearly manipulated the numbers.
“I think we need Howard to handle this,” I said, glancing at Nick. But when I looked up, I realized he had already fallen asleep on the sofa.
I quietly stood up, retrieved a blanket from the bedroom, and covered him. There were still two hours left before our next appointment, and he needed rest after the late night we had.
After settling him, I received a call from Macy. I answered, hearing the background noise of a bustling area. “Scarlett, I’m in A City. Send your location! I’ll be there soon!”
I was shocked. “You’re in A City too?”
“Yeah! I saw your post and immediately booked a ticket. Send me your address.”
I quickly sent her my details and then noticed a few unread messages, one from Stacey with some work updates and several from Jared. I hadn’t heard from him in a while, so I decided to call him back.
His phone picked up almost immediately. “Where are you?” Jared’s voice was deep, but there was a lot of noise in the background.
“You’re in A City too?” I asked, amazed at the coincidence.
“I just got here. Was about to call you, but you beat me to it. Which hotel are you at?” His voice was low, but I could tell he was in a busy place.