Embezzled Love (21 page)

"Y-yeah, I was just thinking how fast these past two weeks have gone. Hiring Billy to work with the Hispanics was a smart move. He knows enough Spanish to translate for me, and since he speaks enough of their lingo, they like him."

She dropped the last bit of food over the side, turned, and brushed her hands clean. "Your brother seems really content here. He and I shared a cup of coffee a week or so ago, and he told me he's more than happy to pay rent and share expenses. He's such a quiet guy. I hardly know he's around. When he's not working, he's either in his room, watching TV or outside puttering around the garage."

"How does Mom feel about him?" Evan flicked a piece of fish food off the railing.

"She loves him. He's always watering the plants on her private patio, or taking out the trash. No complaints from her."

"How about you?"

"How about me, what?"

"You doing okay?"

She blew out a breath. "Other than drowning in paperwork, I'm fine. I just don't know how long I can manage the business and continue holding down a full-time job."

"If I keep landing contracts like I have, you can quit before long."

But did she want to quit? Leave one full-time job for another? Despite Takeda and the other assholes at work, she still enjoyed a sense of accomplishment for achieving a status no other woman in the company had.

Evan swatted a mosquito. "Let's go inside. I'm getting eaten alive over here."

The newly-finished office hadn't done anything to reduce her workload. Sure, there was much more room, and the new furniture looked great, but the added expense had put them back in the red. She sat at her desk and prepared to do battle with another stack of papers.

The phone rang and Evan disappeared. He reappeared and kissed her cheek. "Gotta go. I might have a new customer for us."

Jobs would remedy the financial problem, but not the stress. Now she had two businesses to manage. The expenses for Star Strung were starting to mount, too. She stared at the empty workspace next to Evan's…the one Bud would eventually occupy, and her head ached. Turning her attention back to the mail, she slice through each envelope and removed the contents. Thank goodness new contracts were hidden among the paperwork and she did a mental calculation of expenses versus income. She had just began to make progress on her dual spreadsheets when her mother stepped in. "Cassie dear, you have a delivery at the door. What in the world did you order?"

"I didn't order anything, but God only knows what Evan did." She went to the foyer.

Eight large boxes lay on the front porch. The deliveryman handed her a clipboard. "Sign on line twenty, please."

Cassie put pen to paper. "What exactly am I signing for?

"I have no idea. I'm just the delivery guy." He took his paperwork and left Cassie to carry the mystery purchases inside.

The boxes were an awkward size, big enough that her arms didn't fit around them. Where were Billy and Evan when a body needed them? She managed to carry each carton inside, one at a time, then huffing and puffing, sagged onto the floor next to the stack.

"Hey, anyone home?"

"In here," She stifled a panting wheeze.

His timing impeccable, Evan, looking spotless and perfectly starched, entered what was supposed to have become her exercise room. His claim that he worked hard every day surprised her since he usually came home without a smudge on him.

His face brightened when he saw the boxes. "They came, Great!" He grabbed a carton and started tearing into it.

Cassie raised her hands in a puzzled gesture. "What came, and why are there so many?"

"They're guitars. We need inventory to get the ball rolling."

"You're kidding. These are all guitars?" Had her eyes rolled back into her head yet? "How? When…?"

"I ordered them off the Internet about a week ago. A couple are really rare, but I got a really good deal."

"I hate to ask, but how did you pay for them?" She held her breath.

Evan displayed a prideful smile. "With the new company credit card I got us."

Cassie balled her fists. "We have another new credit card? Evan, you've got to stop opening so many accounts. I can't keep track of them as it is."

Evan slid the box back into the stack and gathered her into what she'd come to know as his 'don't be mad at me' hug. She stiffened and stared at the ceiling.

"Don't be mad at me, baby girl." She mentally mouthed his exact words before drawing back and giving him a stern glare.

When he realized his cuddly tactic wasn't working, he released her and walked back to the unopened boxes. His eyes resembled a puppy dog when he glanced back at her. "We needed a card for Star Strung. You don't want me putting charges on the landscaping accounts, do you? I thought I was doing a good thing."

As usual, his reasoning seemed logical and his little-boy charm tugged at her heart. "Okay, you're right. Having separate cards will be easier for tracking purposes, but no more."

He snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, Sir, no more, Sir."

She furrowed her brow. "Oh, stop it. Now, where are we going to put all these?"

"What's wrong with in here? Since we aren't using it for office space, we can use it as a stockroom."

"What about my exercise equipment?"

"We can leave that stuff in the garage."

The headache that had earlier dissipated now returned.

"Fine!" In resignation, she went back to the mountain on her desk. If she had to trek all the way to the garage to work out, chances were good, she wouldn't.

"Oh, Cass," Evan called after her. "I forgot to tell you Bud is flyin' in this weekend. He's going to stay for a week or so to get things rollin'."

Cassie grabbed a handful of hair on each side of her head and yanked. "Great! What next?" She mumbled so Evan couldn't hear her. "Oh, Lord, what was I thinking when I agreed to become an entrepreneur?"

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Bud looked exactly as Evan had described. Physically, he appeared much older than Evan, with gray hair and a matching beard. Tall and nicely dressed, he sported the middle-age spread Evan had escaped. When Bud had insisted there was no need for Cassie to pick him up at the airport, she never expected him to show up in a taxi, especially when he didn't have the cash to pay the driver.

Evan shelled out the money. "We'll just bill it to the business." He pounded Bud on the back before giving him a quick hug.

Cassie's mouth gaped. Now the company paid cab fares? She'd have to confer with Evan later and see what other expenses to expect. She smiled and extended her hand to welcome their guest. "Nice to meet you, Bud. Evan has told me so much about you."

She got a good taste of his strength from the way he pumped her arm until it ached.

Finally, he released her hand and stood on the front walkway, surveying the house and surrounding grounds. "Nice place you have here." He hitched up his pants.

A quick glimpse of him reminded her of Santa, and that Christmas was only a few months away. She still hadn't forgiven Frank and Alaine for conspiring against Evan. Of course, they hadn't pardoned her for not believing them, either. Would this feud last forever?

She shook her head and swallowed a growing lump in her throat. Throughout these months, she hadn't allowed herself to dwell on their absence from her life, but she missed Alaine terribly. They had always been close, sharing clothes, shoes and makeup, and even a few boyfriends. She loved Gloria, too, but she was older and lived too far away. Alaine might as well. The ten miles separating them was nothing compared to the barrier of hurt and anger dividing them. Trying to be inconspicuous, Cassie swiped a tear from her cheek before the men noticed.

"Well, show me to my office," Bud requested. "I need to get to work so we can get rich." Evidently, besides being the same age, the two shared the same hunger for that elusive dollar. If the worn garment bag hanging on his shoulder indicated his financial status, he needed to get busy.

Evan put his arm around his friend's shoulder and nudged him toward the back of the house. "C'mon. You're gonna love your space. We bought you a brand new desk and computer. The machine hasn't even been turned on yet, and I've already got our inventory started. You gotta check out Lucille. I got her for a steal."

Cassie lifted her brow. Lucille? She hurried to catch up. "Hey, who's the woman you got for a steal?" She tried to keep the jealousy from her voice.

Evan and Bud stopped, looked at Cassie, and laughed. Evan, his face red from guffawing, fought to remain solemn. "Lucille," he explained, "is the name of jazz musician, B.B. King's guitar." Evan patted her shoulder. "You don't have to worry, baby girl. I'm not straying." The two men left her standing in the driveway, feeling like a fool.

How was she supposed to know people named their guitars? Was there no end to the things Evan was teaching her? Could there be that much more to learn?

She stood for a few moments, enjoying the melodic twittering of birds in a nearby tree. When passing traffic drowned out their song, Cassie followed the driveway around back to the office to continue her elusive quest of catching up on paperwork.

Bud hunched over his computer while Evan hovered over him. Cassie sat at her own desk and struggled to block out their continuous banter. Despite overhearing words that piqued her interest, she focused on her bookkeeping, opening envelope after envelope, and reading individual charges on the myriad of statements.

"My, God, look at all these things," she murmured. She shifted through fees for rental equipments, building supplies, carpeting, cement, delivery, plants, rocks, fountains, web hosting, pool cleaning, and airline tickets.

Her task to match expenditures with job number proved impossible. Evan's recordkeeping was abysmal. He left little or no paperwork for tracking purposes, and his handwriting was illegible most of the time. How in the world could she possibly make sense of anything? She focused on the last two mysterious entries.

"Evan." She interrupted his conversation with Bud.

"Yeah?" He flashed a quick glance in her direction, but turned his attention back to the computer monitor.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I'm going crazy over here. What are these charges for pool cleaning and airline tickets?"

"Oh, those." His nonchalance showed in his tone. "I had Marlene's pool cleaned while I was in Texas. The tickets are Bud's…and speaking of tickets, he'll be charging some for musical events plus hotel reservations for a trip to Vegas. B.B. King is playing there, and we want his signature on the Lucille. A couple other stars are headlining there, too, so maybe we can get a few more guitars signed while we're there."

Cassie's hands shook as her anger raged. How could he continually spend money when he didn't even have a clue about the status of their accounts? She wanted to scream, but not in front of Bud. Before she caused a scene, she took some long, slow breaths and willed herself to compose.

 First things first, before totally panicking, she'd add up the deposited profits and pay as many bills as she could. If the coffers were dry afterwards, Evan would be forced to curtail his spending. She still questioned the lack of forethought given to opening a second business before the first was well established. She adored Evan's eagerness, but his spending was driving them to the poorhouse.

After several hours of writing checks and producing an adding machine tape that draped the length of the desk and tumbled to the floor, Cassie was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Deposits Evan had made from down payments on contracted jobs covered the majority of the bills. Incoming payments should take care of the few remaining.

The only thing disturbing her now was the discovery of several more trips to surrounding Indian casinos. She couldn't match those expenses to any particular job, but she decided not to mention them…yet. As long as his 'wining and dining' paid off, she wouldn't question his tactics. She glanced over at Bud's desk. He and Evan had left. She wondered when. She'd been so engrossed, but she vaguely remembered Evan kissing her cheek and mumbling something about burgers.

Her back ached. She pushed away from the desk, stood, and stretched her hands over her head. The desktop was clean…well, almost. She stuffed a few unimportant pieces in a drawer and put a rubber band around the outgoing mail. For once, the stack consisted of envelopes filled with payments from the businesses. She sighed. What an accomplishment. Finished just in time to go back to work tomorrow.

Would all this effort really allow her to eventually quit her day job? She gnashed her teeth and puzzled over whether or not she wanted to. Still, she didn't think she could juggle all the paperwork alone for much longer.

She walked into the kitchen, glanced at the clock on the wall, and patted her empty stomach. If she'd heard about burgers, she felt certain one wasn't being brought back for her. Cass decided to visit Mom and see what was cooking in her part of the house.

Cassie rapped on the door to announce her presence. "Hi, what's up," she said, walking inside.