Chapter 5—Travis

I’d spent all weekend replaying that kiss in my mind, wondering what would’ve happened if Jessica hadn’t stopped me. I would’ve fucked her, and she would’ve liked it. I know she would’ve because I’d felt the way she responded to my kiss. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her, and her cool professional demeanor wasn’t going to fool me any longer.

On Saturday, I’d wandered back to her bungalow, but she wasn’t there. I’d assumed she was working, but I’d been wrong. I’d tried to casually run into her again on Sunday but was met with the same frustrating results. But now that it was Monday, she couldn’t avoid me. I walked into the office. “Hi, Amy,” I said. “Is Miss Wallace in her office?”

“She’s still in a meeting,” Amy said.

Still in a meeting? It was barely eight a.m. What time had this meeting started? I leaned up against Amy’s desk and smiled. She blushed. “How was your weekend?”

“Uneventful,” she said.

“I didn’t see you at the employee party Friday night,” I said. “I thought it was mandatory for all full-time staff.”

She laughed. “That’s what Miss Wallace tells all new employees.”

I raised a brow. “Really?”

Amy nodded.

What else had Jessica lied to me about? “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy of the employee handbook would you?”

“You should’ve received one with your new hire paperwork.”

I shrugged. “It must’ve gotten lost.” I wasn’t about to tell her I didn’t get the standard new-hire paperwork because I wasn’t technically an employee, not like her or anyone else, anyway. No one needed to know that until it was time to reveal my true purpose here.

“You can request another one from HR.”

“Or maybe you could just answer my questions,” I said with a grin. She blushed again, and I knew that meant yes. “I’m just curious what the policy is on fraternizing with the guests?”

Amy chewed on the tip of her pen for a moment. “I don’t believe there’s anything in the handbook about that. As long as our guests are happy, it doesn’t really matter I guess.”

“And what about fraternizing with other employees?”

“That’s not in the handbook either,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s very strongly discouraged and frowned upon, but there’s no official policy about it one way or the other.” Amy gave me a conspiratorial smile and then said, “It happens all the time, Mr. Hale. More than Miss Wallace would like to admit.”

“Does it now?” I smiled again. Looked as though Jessica was fair game, and I wouldn’t have to risk her job.

My job, however, my real job, was a different story. If the director found out I was sleeping with a suspect, a potential criminal…My ass would be hung up to dry without question. I’d be removed from the FBI, and I really would have to become the official accountant for my father’s resort. There was one thing working in my favor, though. Paradise Falls was officially closed for the next few months and there was only a handful of staff left. It was a perfect time to make my move on Jessica.

“Thanks, Amy.” I winked. I felt slightly guilty about flirting with her. It hadn’t been my intention to give her the impression I’d wanted that information because I was interested in her. But I also knew if I didn’t turn on the charm, I’d never get the answers I needed. “Do you mind if I wait in Miss Wallace’s office?”

“Go ahead.”

I walked into Jessica’s office. Her desk was perfectly organized just like it had been every other time I’d been in here. She was a neat freak. I ran my finger along the length of her desk and around the corner, stopping once I sat in her chair. She had an amazing view of the resort. I was envious. My office kind of sucked.

Amy didn’t say how long Jessica would be gone, and I hadn’t asked. I had to work fast. I started with her computer, searching her files to see if anything popped out at me. My father was convinced Jessica was the one stealing money from the resort. But if he’d bothered to spend any amount of time here, he’d have seen that this job was Jessica’s life, and people like that didn’t generally do things to jeopardize something they loved so much.

Her computer didn’t show anything. I moved on to her filing cabinet. Nothing. Her daily planner. Nothing. Who was I kidding? If she was stealing, she was too smart to leave a paper trail.

I froze. Jessica’s voice filtered into the office from the hallway. She laughed, and my heart raced. I sat back in the chair again and spun around so I was facing the door. A moment later, she walked in. “Good morning, Miss Wallace,” I said giving her a big smile.

“Mr. Hale,” she said coolly. “What’re you doing in my office?”

“Waiting for you.” I stood. “I know your secret.”

Her face paled, and her eyes widened. “And what secret would that be exactly?”

Her reaction gave me pause. This was the first time she’d shown any emotion whatsoever to anything I’d said that could be about the theft. Did she even know there was money missing? Maybe she was clueless about the whole situation. That would be a conversation for later, when I had some concrete evidence on my side. I tucked my hands in my pockets. “How many secrets do you have?”

“I’ve got a lot of work to do.” She crossed the room and sat on the edge of her desk. “Now, if you don’t mind.”

I straddled her legs and put my hands on the desk behind her. She stiffened. “How often have you thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

“That kiss,” I said, positioning my lips above hers.

Her breathing became rapid, and the pulse in her neck speed up. “That was a mistake,” she muttered.

“Was it?” I searched her eyes before slicing a glance at her mouth. She nodded and licked her lips. “We both know it wasn’t a mistake, Jessica.”

“Please, Mr. Hale, we can’t do this.”

“What if we could?”

“But we can’t,” she insisted.

I should just tell her that I knew the truth, but this was so much more fun. Besides, I liked being so close to her. And no matter what she said, I knew she liked it, too.

She put her hands on my chest and stopped before she actually pushed me away. “Mr. Hale,” she said in that strict tone of voice that was a pure challenge.

“Yes?” I raised a brow.

“Get out of my office.”

I grinned. That was the third time she’d told me to get out of her office. I pushed away from her. I’d leave her be for now, but tonight, when neither of us was on the clock, well, that was a different story. “Have a good day, Miss Wallace.”

* * *

“Damn it.” I slammed my fist on the table. I’d been through the books four different times. and I still hadn’t found the missing money. I glanced across the table at my father, who was staring at me with boredom. He hadn’t been pleased when I told him he needed to come to the island and meet with me. I could’ve tried to explain things on the phone, but it was much easier to just show him the books.

“What?” Franklin asked.

“Are you sure there is money missing?” I asked.

“According to the audit we had done there is a little over two hundred thousand dollars missing,” he said.

“And when was the last audit you had done? Before this most recent one?” I stood and poured another glass of iced tea.

Franklin shrugged. “I don’t know. Six months ago.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is your resort, Dad. You should know this stuff. And how the hell does two hundred thousand dollars disappear in six months and no one notices it?”

“How the hell do I know?” he shouted. “That’s what I’m paying you to figure out.”

“I’ll go through the books again, department by department, and see what I can find.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “How often do you see the books? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly?” Maybe if I followed the paper trail from the resort to my father, I’d find my answers. Hell, for all I knew, someone outside of the resort was stealing.

“Miss Wallace would send them to me monthly via a personal courier. They always arrive in a sealed box that I have to sign for.”

I nodded. “And the box was never tampered with? Nothing was ever missing?”

“Other than my money? No.”

I rolled my eyes. That really wasn’t helpful, but my father could be an ornery prick when he wanted to be. “And who, other than you, has access to the books once you receive them?”

“Just me and my assistant.” Franklin stood and stretched, then he adjusted his tie. “Really, I don’t see what any of that has to do with what’s going on here. Someone is stealing. It’s your job to figure out who.”

I gritted my teeth. “You really should upgrade to an electronic bookkeeping system. It would make it nearly impossible for anyone to tamper with the books, and if they tried, I’d be able to find them easier. Seriously, Dad. All these paper books?” I shook my head.

“Paper doesn’t crash, and no one can hack a locked, metal filing cabinet.” He gave a firm nod as if that justified his position.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “Well, I have to tell ya, I don’t think Miss Wallace has anything to do with this.”

Franklin snorted. “And why’s that?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and I don’t think—”

“God damn it, Travis! Are you sleeping with her?”

“No.” Not yet anyway.

“Good, because I’m not paying you to fuck the resort manager,” he snapped.

“Calm down, Dad.”

“Just find out who is stealing money from me,” Franklin said. “Then you can go back to the mainland and do whatever it is you do. In the meantime,” he opened the front door, “keep it in your pants.”

I cringed at the sound of the door slamming closed. Now I remembered why I hated working for my father. I’d find out who was stealing from him, but I wasn’t too sure I’d leave the island. This job definitely had its perks, and I think I wanted to stick around for a while. I put all the books away, locked up, and headed to the bar. “Hey, Connor,” I said straddling a bar stool.

“What’s up, Travis?” he said with a nod.

“Not much.” I attempted to look around for Jessica without being obvious. Apparently, I sucked at it.

“She’s still in her office,” Connor said.

“Who?”

He laughed. “Nice try.”

I grinned. “What’s your sister’s deal anyway?”

“Bad break-up,” he said. “She’s devoted her life to this island and her job. I’m always telling her to loosen up and have some fun.”

“How long ago was the break-up?”

“Two years.” Connor set a bottle of beer in front of me. “Guy did a real number on her.”

I took a long drink. Two years and she was still getting over it? Things must’ve been pretty serious between her and that guy. “What’d he do to her?”

“I’ve told you enough already,” he said. “Sorry, man, but Jess will kill me if I tell you anymore.”

“Fair enough.” I chuckled. “They must’ve been pretty serious, huh?”

“They were talking marriage.”

I nodded and finished my beer. “Yup. That’s serious.” So, Jessica Wallace had almost gotten married. That explained why she was so work focused and why she was so cold toward me most of the time. She hadn’t been cold when I’d kissed her, though. She’d been hot. Really hot, and I was determined to make that happen again.