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  “Grandma, this is Miss Dunmore,” he quietly told her.

  “You are as beautiful as your mother,” the lovely, elderly woman stated. Zoe was taken aback by the statement.

  “You knew my mother?”

  “I knew her a long time ago. Your mother and my daughter-in-law were best friends. My son and your father as well, until my son and his wife were taken from us,” she told Zoe. A tear trickled down her cheeks at the memory of her loss.

  Zoe had always considered Uncle David as her father’s best friend but for the first time she considered there might have been a time before Uncle David when her father had other friends. As the woman spoke, the mystery of the ties between two families began to unravel. From what Aiden’s grandmother told her, David had not been close to her son or Zoe’s father at the time of the accident. It was only after Aiden’s parents and Zoe’s mother had died that David and Steve grew close. The woman told Zoe that Steve had never forgotten his friend or the family left behind, that he was the one to help her fight the insurance company to get the benefits paid out. He’d assisted Aiden with college and gave him a job when he graduated.

  Zoe’s curiosity was put to rest in one respect but it made the idea of Aiden betraying her father like this more absurd. She was beginning to genuinely believe he was just a scapegoat. She left the hospital determined to find answers. She needed to know what was going on.

  She was contemplating her next move when her phone rang. It was Lucas.

  “What do you want, Lucas?”

  “Have you calmed down yet?” he asked.

  “Why?”

  “I want to treat you to dinner,” he told her.

  Though she hadn’t entirely forgiven him yet, she could use the company. Mason was on his way back to New York and her father was not home, and the break from the investigation that was eating away at her ability to focus on anything else. She wondered what Lucas might be up to, but her missed lunch had her stomach angry with her and she really wasn’t ready to head home. She decided to have some fun whether it be taking out her frustration on Lucas or letting him spoil her for a few harmless hours.

  “Where are you now?” she asked. Knowing him, he was somewhere hoping she would drop by. She was right. He was already at Park Place where he had an open reservation. She knew all his favorite places well and was rather fond of that one herself. Zoe told him she’d be there in twenty-five minutes.

  Dinner was a three-course meal of roasted garlic soup to start, an entrée consisting of veal piccata with arugula salad and baby potatoes, while desert was a mouthwatering fresh fruit sorbet. The food was tasty and the atmosphere romantic but there was too much on Zoe’s mind to really enjoy it – which she thought might be a good thing.

  “You seem distracted,” Lucas observed.

  “Just work stuff,” she replied, taking a spoonful of sorbet and letting it melt on her tongue.

  “You want to talk about it?” She had toyed with the idea of telling Lucas all about what they were investigating, but she suddenly felt it wasn’t a good idea. Something told her to hold back but she did tell him if she needed his help she would let him know.

  “Why aren’t you doing something more meaningful with your life, Lucas?”

  “I have something in the works,” he said casually. “It’s an investment that will take off any minute. Don’t worry. I’ll make it big. You’ll see.”

  She nodded. He was up to his usual schemes. So many had fallen apart she’d lost count years ago. When will he stop playing around with his father’s money and do something real? she wondered.

  The man was literally living off his father. He had no direction or plans for the future. He’d asked her to marry him a week ago but clearly hadn’t thought about how on earth he would support a wife. Was his father wealthy enough to support a second family? Uncle David was married to a woman whose sole objective in life appeared to be to shop and party. She drove the most expensive car on the market, dined at the most expensive restaurants, and was a member at the most exclusive country club. Rumor also had it she was playing around on her husband.

  Now Lucas was living large too, driving the latest sports car and wearing the best Italian leather but had no desire to make it on his own. A little voice in the back of her head nagged, telling her he only wanted to marry her for her father’s wealth but she quickly quelled the thought. She’d known him half her life and while he was never very ambitious, he hadn’t proven particularly cruel either.

  As she sat across from him she observed how handsome and fresh he looked, without a care in the world. He wanted to date again and she was strongly inclined to the thought of seeing more of him, but she knew she could never marry a man like him. So she made her answer a vague, “We’ll see.”

  Chapter 5

  “Whoa!” The guy holding the punching bag nearly lost his balance as Aiden’s quick succession of powerful punches almost tore through the leather. “Take it easy, man.”

  “Sorry, I got distracted for a minute there,” Aiden apologized.

  “No worries man. Just try not to hurt yourself, or me,” the man laughed.

  The instructor helped him remove his gloves and gave his shoulder a quick slap, telling him to stretch. For the week since his suspension started, Aiden had not been able to get Zoe and Dunmore Corp. off his mind. He had agreed to her plan to tell the Accounts department that he was taking time to care for his grandmother, which was not a complete lie. He still couldn’t understand why she didn’t call the authorities. He was grateful but it bothered him; he felt like he was living on the edge.

  He’d learned the best way to take out his frustrations was through a good workout. Absentmindedly, he peeled the athletic tank off his torso and pulled the damp garment over his head. As he did so the muscles in his upper body rippled and his skin glistened from the sweat. A few of the women in the gym stopped, stared, and caught their breath at the site. He was beautiful indeed and lusty eyes watched him though he saw nothing, for his mind was focused only on the redhead that could make his life a living hell or bring relief to his weary soul.

  The day of their meeting was embossed in his mind. He had been mesmerized from the moment her long, slender legs stepped out of her car to the minute she drove off, her tires screeching. He finished his stretches and headed towards the men’s locker room and shower but his thoughts never wavered from Zoe. Aiden couldn’t help but smile. He was oblivious to the eyes of his gym buddies as he stripped and stepped into the shower. He had no idea they were all wondering what he was smiling about.

  As the hot water ran over his aching muscles, steam rose from his skin. With his eyes closed he pictured the long, red waves of her hair, glistening in the California sun, her pink lips curled at the corners in a mock smile as she smirked at him. That’s when he felt it, like an arrow piercing through his groin and bringing him back to the present.

  His eyes flew open at the unexpected but not unpleasant sensation in his male organs. Quickly he turned to face the wall and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his nerves. He’d never before experienced such an intense reaction to the mere memory of any one woman. It was mildly disconcerting; she would never like him in that way. He was contented to smile about her or think about her amusingly from time to time, but his physical reaction to her was another thing altogether.

  The only solution to his present situation was to turn the tap to “C” and let the bitingly cold water trickle over his heated body. Slowly he returned to normal and vowed not to think about Zoe in that way again – at least, not in public. It will never happen, he thought. No way would she even look at me. “She hates me,” he mumbled as he vigorously dried himself with a towel. “And she thinks I’m a thief!”

  There was no way Aiden could sit still. He felt he owed it to himself, his family, Steve, and Dunmore Corp. to help figure out who had done this. The difficult part would be convincing Zoe to let him assist in her investigation.

  He t
hought he had done pretty well with the books. The original set of books must be somewhere. The questions he had were, why take the original books and leave ones that blatantly showed embezzlement; who had the means to frame him; and why? It made no sense unless someone deliberately wanted to get rid of him.

  When Steve hired him, he asked Aiden to look into the recent accounts. He had found some weird figures but Steve had taken the ledgers and told him to forget what he saw. Naively, Aiden thought the man was testing him to see if he was truly qualified for the job, so he did as instructed and forgot about it. Now, as he recalled subsequent conversations with the man, he thought he understood what Steve had been trying to say. He had told him on one occasion that his daughter would need his help when she took over as president. He had said, “It’s going to be a tough battle son, so you’ve got to be strong.”

  He hadn’t realized how tough the battle would get or how Steve’s words would impact his life. Now the plan was to get the proof he needed to clear his name. Unfortunately, there was no one in the Accounts department he could put his finger on. Mrs. Henry was his supervisor and Mr. Warner was the department manager, not to mention his main boss. There were junior accountants and a secretary but their jobs were mainly report writing and simple bookkeeping. They had no access to the kinds of account information that would allow large transfers to be made.

  With a new determination to clear his name, Aiden called the man who had hired him. After a few tries, Steve finally answered the phone.

  “Steve, it’s Aiden.” Steve had always insisted Aiden address him informally, despite the younger man’s obvious reluctance to do so.

  “Hello, Aiden. What can I do for you? Is your grandmother okay?”

  “She’s coming along, sir. They’re running more tests and keeping a close eye on her.” They now knew his grandmother had collapsed due to a ventricular fibrillation. Since she was getting on in age, they wanted to keep her in the hospital a while longer until she was out of danger.

  “I presume this is not a social call?” Steve commented.

  “Sort of, sir. Can we talk?” It was close to lunchtime and Aiden hoped Steve was on his way to lunch away from the office. He was surprised when the man told him he wasn’t going into office at all that day

  “Have lunch with me. Lizzie is preparing something special since I’m home,” Steve invited.

  Aiden wasn’t sure about visiting Steve at home. What if Zoe saw him there? He knew she disliked him and he didn’t want to make matters worse than they already were.

  “Don’t worry, Zoe isn’t here,” Steve added as if reading his mind.

  “Okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes if that’s okay with you.”

  “See you soon.”

  Aiden hung up the phone and left the locker room. He’d started going more frequently now that he had nothing to do all day. It felt weird to have dedicated so much of his time to Dunmore Corp and now he might lose both his job and his reputation, maybe even his freedom. He needed to fight to redeem himself but he had no idea who his enemy was. It was certainly not the redheaded beauty, but so far she wasn’t a friend either.

  Getting her firmly on his side was a good start but he had no idea how to go about doing that. Maybe Steve could give him some clues to winning her over. It would have been much easier had they met under different circumstances, but as fate would have it…

  It wasn’t quite 12:30 when Aiden arrived but he found Steve seated at a table on the terrace with another young man. The guy had dark hair, hazel eyes, and an even tan. Aiden was wary but he greeted his boss with respect.

  “Hello,” he said with a nod as Richard ushered him to the table.

  “You’re here. Come sit with us,” Steve called. “This is Mason, Zoe’s college friend from New York.”

  Aiden’s heart did a little twist, an unfamiliar sensation. He wasn’t sure what the feeling meant so ignored it. Mason stood and outstretched a hand to Aiden. The shake was firm and sincere. Though he instinctively felt Mason to be of good character, the feeling came alongside a second nagging one as he observed how tall and good-looking the fellow was. The thought popped into his head, so this is Zoe’s type.

  “This is the young man I told you about,” Steve was saying to Mason.

  The two scrutinized each other like rivals though neither would admit it. Steve observed the exchange with amusement. A smile played at the corners of his lips and his one regret for the meeting was his failure to invite Lucas. He had spent much of his life suppressing his childish ways and as he grew older and closer to retirement, he decided to live freely. He would have given anything at that moment to see all three together.

  For two and a half weeks, Mason had heard about Aiden and even investigated the guy, but he was not prepared for what he saw. He felt pale in comparison to the angular jawline, firm, strong features, and cobalt blue eyes. Standing around six feet, Aiden towered over him by three or four inches. Now he knew why Zoe was scared. Even he had to admit the guy was gorgeous.

  They decided to have lunch before getting to talking business, in part because Steve was having too much fun. He watched the scrutinizing of both men with glee. He knew Zoe might still be a bit hung up on Lucas and he’d long waited to see whether Aiden would catch her eye; he hadn’t expected Mason and he was still trying to figure out what to make of their obviously close, but apparently platonic, relationship.

  “So Aiden, I hear you’re in a bit of a trouble,” Mason stated. Aiden was caught off guard for he had thought the delicate situation was strictly between him and the company.

  “It’s okay, son,” Steve offered as he saw the puzzled look on Aiden’s face. “He’s helping Zoe sort through the books,”

  “Oh.” Aiden wasn’t sure how to respond. “Sir, believe me, I would never steal from you. I did not defraud the company.” Steve smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

  “I’ve been doing some digging further back and this has happened before — before you joined the company,” Mason emphasized. “The last man in your position quit suddenly and the one before that failed to turn up at work one morning. Steve says there was one who thought he’d caught onto something and hinted something was amiss but before he could have the books checked the guy disappeared. It appears your position has had a lot of…suspicious…turnover in the last decade or so.”

  “Is that why you hired me?” Aiden turned to Steve and asked.

  “Yes. I wanted a man in there who only I could touch,” the older man replied. “Son, you have to bear with Zoe until this gets resolved.”

  “Sir?”

  “Yes?”

  “Does she know about my parents?” Aiden asked quietly.

  “I haven’t…reminded her yet. She blocked a lot about her mother’s death from her memory, but I think seeing you again might trigger something. I’ve been waiting for her to bring up the subject herself,” Steve told Aiden.

  Aiden, seeing Mason’s curious gaze, explained, “My parents and Zoe’s mum died in the same accident fifteen years ago but it seemed pretty clear she didn’t remember. She doesn’t even remember or recognize me.”

  “This is going to be really complicated,” Mason muttered to himself, taking a deep pull from a beer he’d been nursing gently through lunch. “Were you two…close?”

  Aiden nodded. Their parents had often taken them on outings together and he certainly remembered the fiery-haired girl who coerced him to jump in the ice-cold lake on one of their off-season camping trips. He smiled as he recalled her calling him a chicken before jumping in herself as if it was nothing at all. He grinned as he told Mason the story. Seeing Zoe again, realized he was waiting for her remember.

  Aiden was starting to feel comfortable around Mason and made up his mind to trust him. With Mason going through the books, Zoe would soon see the truth. As he got up to leave, his bracelet slid off his wrist. The thing had always been like that but he’d been reluctant to have it fixed. He only s
tarted wearing it a few days earlier when he found it in an old shoebox of mementos in the attic. He didn’t know why he chose to wear it today –– probably because seeing Steve always made him a bit nostalgic and somehow he felt closer to his parents with the gold and diamond bracelet on his wrist.

  Steve heard the clink on the glass table. The bracelet glistened in the afternoon sun and a furrow formed on his forehead. “Where did you get that?” he asked, with urgency in his voice.

  “I think it belonged to my father. I found it on the boat after my parents died.”

  “On the boat? Are you sure?” Steve queried.

  Mason’s attention piqued as he listened to the two men.

  “Yeah. It was the day after the accident. I found it in the saloon. I grabbed it because I wanted to keep something of my dad’s.”

  “But San Francisco is 45 miles away. How did you get there?” San Francisco was where the boat docked and the four parents, sans children, were supposed to sail on that day.

  “The detective took pity on me when I said I wanted to see the boat. He took me but told me to stay off it. I snuck on when he was questioning one of the sailors. I think he was supposed to go down there as part of the investigation anyway.”

  “May I?” Steve held out his hand, requesting the bracelet.

  Hesitating, Aiden handed him the piece of jewelry and observed the man carefully scrutinize the object. There was something strange in Steve’s expression as he turned the bracelet over in his hand, then something caught the older man’s attention and he took one final long look before giving it back to Aiden.

  “Are you okay, Steve?” Aiden asked, concerned. Steve looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Aiden assumed the bracelet must remind him of his friend. He took the piece of jewelry from Steve’s outstretched hand and placed it in his pocket so he wouldn’t lose it.

  “Yes,” Steve answered after a few moments. “But… that bracelet did not belong to your father.”