The Billionaire's Will (9 page)

“I
love horses very much,” she sighed. For a moment, she stared at the name etched in large gold letters above the multiple doors. “Nicholas Gladstone Corporation,” she muttered. When she looked for him, Jim was standing just a few feet away. “Didn’t I tell you to stay there?”

“I couldn’t
. What if he kidnapped you?”

She rolled her eyes
and stood up. “In front of all these people?”

“It happens all the time. So, did you find out what you wanted to?”

“Yes, he did not meet any women, he has a deep voice and he enunciates his words clearly.”

“That’s important to you – enunciation? You are one
strange chick.”

Maggie stood up and started back toward
the bookstore. “Chicks are baby chickens, I am a…”

“Babe.”

“Oh, stop, before I tell your wife.”

Jim fell to his knees
, put his hands together and begged, “Please, I’ll do anything.”

Maggie
stopped, turned around and thumped him on the head, “Get up this instant!” She stuck her nose in the air and walked around the corner.

Several people were
staring at him when Jim got up, stuck out his lower lip, and hung his head. “She said no.”

“Don’t give up,
young man,” said an elderly woman.

“No, m
a’am, I won’t,” he said, as he took off around the corner.

He soon caught up
and silently walked beside her to the end of the block. They crossed the street together and headed down another block.

“Does he truly look dangerous to you?” Maggie asked.

“It didn’t look like he was carrying a gun, but he could have a small one strapped to his leg. You
just never know.”

“I should make him take off his clothes so I can
be certain?”

A look of horror crossed
Jim’s face. “I wouldn’t recommend that!”

“What would you recommend?”

“A full body search by
me
, naturally.”

“If he agrees to that,
then I can go to dinner with him?”

“If he agrees
to a search, I will let you sit in a crowded room and talk to him, but that’s all.”

She stopped to stare at
Jim. “I cannot wait to see what you are like when your three daughters are old enough to date.”

“Don’t remind me, I’m already worried sick. Are you going back to the fountain again? If you
are, I’m going with you.”

“No, he’ll catch on if I do.”

“Good, I’ll sleep better if you don’t.”

*

Nicole’s door was closed when Jim and Maggie got back from lunch. Jim quickly stuck his head in Susan’s cubical. “Who’s with Nicole?”

“Roxie,” Susan answered.

“Is she in trouble?” he asked.

“Not that I know of.”

Jim skipped the next cubical and then stuck his head in Maggie’s. “Robot Roxie,” he whispered. By the time Maggie turned around, he was gone.

Roxie the Robot was a stickler for the rules, even though she wasn’t the boss of anyone. If an employee broke a rule, they could expect a look of disapproval
from Roxie. Everyone agreed – if the company had a snitch, it was Roxie. For Roxie to be spending time in Nicole’s office could only mean one of two things; either she was snitching again, or Nicole was offering her the manager position. If it was the latter, they were all doomed.

“Just our luck,” Maggie muttered. She logged into her computer and pulled up the next cancellation order
, but she had a hard time concentrating. It was too bad Bronco8881 had to rush off so soon. She would have liked listening to his deep voice and looking at his fascinating eyes. From this day forward, talking to him online was going to take on a whole new dimension. On the other hand, the temptation to accept his invitation to dinner had also greatly increased. In her opinion, he was indeed divine.

*

It was mid-afternoon when Carl said, “Bingo! Nanny Bertrand pays for her own cable television and lives in the Fireside Retirement Home here in Denver.”

“Excellent
. What’s the address?” Jackie asked.

“I’ll print it out.” He clicked on
print, waited a second or two, reached over and pulled a sheet of paper off the printer.

When Jackie’s personal cellphone rang
and she put it on speaker, Michael and Carl stopped what they were doing to listen.

“Jackie, it’s great
to hear from you,” Grant Cunningham said. “What can I help with?”

“We need a little information,” Jackie answered. “
By the way, you’re on speaker.”

“Anything, just name it.”

“Do you have a frequent visitor in your casino by the name of Mathew Connelly?”

“Connelly? S
ure, I know him.”

“I would rather
you didn’t tell him we’re checking up on him,” Jackie said.

“I understand. What would you like to know?”

“Anything you can tell us.”

“Well, he is a high roller and he can have a free room when he comes, but he would rather pay for one.”

Both Michael and Carl rolled their eyes. “By credit card?” Michael asked.

“Yes, a Visa, I think it is. It’s always good.”

“Does he win or lose most often?” Jackie asked.

“Six of one, half dozen of the other. He favors the blackjack tables…and the dealer, if she is pretty. Last year, Joyce Boyd fell
hard for him.”

“I see,” said Jackie. “Is he seeing her now?”

“I’m not sure. If you’ll hang on a minute, I’ll ask around.”

“
Discreetly?” Jackie asked.

“Of course. Be right back.”

They could hear the sound of slot machines in the background as a door apparently opened and then closed. After a long silence, Grant came back on the line. “No, she dumped him about six months later.”

“Do you know why?”

“I don’t, want me to ask her?”

“No thanks, we can take it from here. How’s Jeffery?”

“He’s doing great, thanks to you. My door is always open and this place is yours, when the three of you are ready for a good time.”

“We
might just take you up on that,” Jackie said. “Thanks, Grant.”

“Anytime…anytime at all, you know that
, Jackie. I owe you my soul.”

Michael waited until Jackie hung up before he said, “Another happy customer.”

“Atlantic City sounds pretty good to me,” said Carl.

“Is your curiosity satisfied, gentlemen? We now know Connelly is unfaithful
and that he truly is a gambler. What more do we need to know about him?”

“I wonder why Joyce dumped him,” Michael muttered.

Jackie frowned. “Have you hacked into the boarding school yet?”

“I’m hacking, I’m hacking. All I need is a password and the computer is still searching for one.”

*

“I’ve been over the spreadsheets twice and the answer is the same,” Maggie whispered.
Instead of going to the break room, they walked down the sidewalk in front of the GSTS building until they were almost to the corner of the block.

Jim shook his head. “A hundred thousand dollars short?”

“That’s what I keep coming up with.”

“There are a lot of dishonest people in the world and I’m convinced they all work here. Are you going to tell Nicole
what you found?”

“I have to;
it’s so obvious, anybody could find it and she knows I’m not that stupid.”

Jim
stopped and nervously ran his fingers through his red hair. “This is not good, not good at all.” When he glanced back, Nicole was standing outside smoking and watching them.

“At least they can’t accuse us of stealing it. We don’t have acces
s to any of the company’s funds,” said Maggie.

He intentionally turned his back to Nicole.
“Don’t count on that. They’ll have to blame someone. I wonder why I never noticed.”

“Maybe they have two sets of books.”

“Maybe the books she gave you are for the sex phone business.”

Maggie
thought about that for a moment. “I don’t think so. It could be, I guess, but they don’t require deposits for that business, do they?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” Jim paused to think for a minute too. “I
see everything coming in and going out, and I’ve never spotted a problem.”

“What about the deposits?”

“Well, I record them, and then send the money to a separate bank account. That’s the last I see of them.”

“So you wouldn’t know if someone got into that account?”

“True, I wouldn’t. That must be it.”

Maggie was worried.
“Can they really blame the shortage on you?”

“Probably.”
He closed his eyes and once more ran his fingers through his hair. “I may have to take up drinking.”

“Don’t be silly, you can’t afford it.”

“That’s true.” He started them walking back toward the building they worked in. “If Nicole asks what we were talking about, tell her we’re having an affair and needed some time alone.”

Maggie giggled. “Should I say I’m pregnant, and I want to know what you’re going to do about it?”

“Why not, that would explain our
dismal mood lately. I hate this job.”

“So do I,
” Maggie moaned.

Neither looked at Nicole as they walked past, climbed the steps
, and went inside.

*

Maggie spent half the night tossing and turning in her ridiculous excuse for a bed. She finally sat up and turned on the light. It was almost one a.m. and morning was bound to come way too early, but her mind kept racing and wouldn’t let her sleep. It was just as well she got up; she forgot to hide her laptop. On a whim, she opened the chat room.

Sissy3211:
Bronco, are you still up?

Bronco8881:
I’m here, why are you still awake?

Sissy3211:
I can’t sleep.

Bronco8881:
Is something wrong?

Sissy3211:
Maybe. Remember those spreadsheets I told you my boss wanted me to go over?

Bronco8881:
I remember.

Sissy3211: A hundred thousand
dollars are missing.

Aus
tin set the legal papers he was working on aside, and stared at the words on the screen.

Bronco8881:
Are you sure?

Sissy3211: I checked everything twice.

Bronco8881: That’s a lot of money. Did you tell your boss?

Sissy3211: I was afraid not to, but now I wish I hadn’t. I should have let her think I
was too stupid to find it.

Bronco8881:
She probably thought if you couldn’t find it, the auditors wouldn’t be able to find it either. It’s the price you pay for being smart.

Sissy3211: I don’t feel very smart right now.

Bronco8881: You need to find a new job.

Sissy3211: I know, it’s just not a good time for me to do that.

Bronco8881: I can’t think of a better time. Let me help you. I know people and I can recommend you.

Sissy3211:
I might take you up on that one of these days.

Bronco8881:
Please do. Have you tried eating something? Maybe you can’t sleep because you’re hungry.

Sissy3211:
I’ll get some crackers, be right back.

Austin
rubbed his temples with both hands and waited. If he wasn’t worried before, he was now. If only she would let him help her, but she was afraid of him. He guessed he didn’t blame her for that, but how do you convince someone you’re not dangerous?

Sissy3211: I’m back.
Why are you still up?

Bronco8881:
A little more work to do.

Sissy3211:
Tell me a bedtime story.

Bronco8881:
Once upon a time.

Sissy3211:
I’ve heard that one. Tell me about your childhood

Bronco8881:
You want to hear about my two ugly stepsisters?

Sissy3211:
You’re kidding, right?

Bronco8881:
Wrong. My father passed away and my mom remarried.

Sissy3211:
Did you like her new husband?

Bronco8881:
I did. Still do, but his daughters…ouch.

Sissy3211:
Ugly?

Bronco8881:
Don’t tell them I said that, okay?