Chapter 1 - The Extra Zero
Claire turned back.
Raymond was staring at her as if a lamp had just spoken.
Adrian was not.
He was watching her with the calm focus of a man who had survived by noticing when rooms changed.
Claire set the tray down.
“I said the number is wrong.”
Raymond laughed once. “You wait tables.”
“Yes.”
“Then wait tables.”
Claire looked at Adrian. “The freight revenue line is three hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred twenty. The next column uses three million eight hundred sixty-four thousand two hundred as the base for at least four expense ratios.”
Raymond’s smile vanished.
Adrian lowered his eyes to the ledger.
“You saw that while pouring water?”
“Yes.”
He slid the book toward her.
“Show me.”
Raymond moved first. “Adrian, this is ridiculous.”
Adrian did not look at him.
“Show me.”
Claire stepped closer.
Her finger stopped above the page, not touching it.
“This insurance charge is calculated at 6.4 percent. This storage reserve is 2.1. This contingency is 3.6. All three were calculated from the inflated figure.”
Raymond snapped, “You don’t know what those categories represent.”
“I don’t need to. Percentages don’t change because the room is expensive.”
A waiter across the floor nearly dropped a wineglass.
Adrian looked up.
“What do you do when you’re not carrying trays?”
Claire almost lied.
Then she remembered the extra zero.
“I used to be a forensic accountant.”
Raymond went pale.
Adrian noticed.
So did Claire.
“Used to?” Adrian asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“Everything interesting is.”
He closed the ledger.
“Finish your shift.”
Claire exhaled.
Then Adrian added, “Afterward, come upstairs.”
Raymond stood.
“That’s unnecessary.”
Adrian’s gaze finally moved to him.
“Sit down.”
Raymond sat.
Claire picked up the tray.
Her hands were steady until she reached the service station.
At 11:12, the restaurant closed.
At 11:18, the last guest left.
At 11:27, Claire climbed the narrow staircase to Adrian Vale’s office.
He was standing beside the window when she entered.
Raymond was gone.
On the desk lay the ledger, a laptop, and a black folder.
Adrian closed the door behind her.
Then he turned the lock.
Claire stared at it.
Adrian said, “If you’re right, someone has been stealing from me for six months.”
He walked back to the desk.
“If you’re wrong, you embarrassed one of my oldest people in front of half the city.”
Claire folded her arms.
“And if I’m right?”
Adrian opened the black folder.
“Then Raymond is not the person you should be afraid of.”
He slid a photograph toward her.
Claire looked down.
Her blood went cold.
The man in the photograph was Victor Sloan.
Her former supervisor at Halden Mercer Consulting.
May you like
The man who had destroyed her career.
Adrian said quietly, “Tell me why my missing money keeps leading back to him.”
