Page 100 of My One and Only

He hung up the phone and said, “He’s in the middle of a negotiation with a supplier. Said he’d be here as soon as he was done.”

“Okay, good,” Jo said, watching Cam out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t seem flustered or upset. Or angry about all the extra work he had because Don was gone. As she studied him, he took a deep breath. “I’m gonna call the police,” he said.

But before he could dial, there was a knock at his door. “C’mon in,” Cam called.

A young man with dark hair and eyes walked into the room and stopped at Cam’s desk. “You needed to talk to me, Cam?”he asked.

“Yeah, Will, take a seat.” He nodded at Jo. “This is Jo Hatch. She’s doing some work for me.”

Will nodded at Jo, and she nodded back. Then he turned his attention back to Cam. “Sorry I had to make you wait. But Don’s not here, and the supplier needed some answers.”

“Not a problem, Will,” Cam said. “I’m glad you picked up the slack.” He took a deep breath. Blew it out. “Have you heard about what happened yesterday?”

Will tilted his head. “No. Did you buy more land? Are you planning another community?”

Cam shook his head. Snorted. “If only it was that simple.” He cleared his throat and said, “Long story short, Don Kincaid no longer works here. He’s no longer a partner in PK Construction. Right now, he’s in the hospital. When he’s released, he’ll be held at the county jail until he can be tried.”

Will had reared back. “What? What the hell happened, Cam?”

Cam sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the problems we’ve had with sub-par studs, pipes and other equipment.”

Will nodded. “Yeah, of course I did. It was all anyone could talk about for a while.”

Cam’s jaw twitched as if he’d clenched his teeth. “Don was the person behind that scheme. He bought the sup-par supplies, but charged the company the price of the good stuff and he pocketed the difference. He wanted to eliminate me so he could run his scheme without getting caught, but Jo stood between me and Don. The work she’s doing for me? She’s my bodyguard. Don tried to get rid of Jo so he could take me out. Jo stopped him, and he’s in Delnor Hospital right now with two gunshot wounds.”

“What the hell?” Will repeated, slack-jawed.

“Yeah. I’ll have to tell everyone in the company, but right now, I need someone to step in and do Don’s job. Are you interested in that, and do you know all you need to know to do the job?”

Will frowned. “I’m definitely interested, but I didn’t want to get the job like this.”

“Goes without saying, Will. Let me ask again -- do you think you know enough to step in and take over?”

Will swallowed. Stared at his hands. Finally looked up at Cam. “Honestly, Cam? I’ve been doing Don’s job for a while. He was always busy with something else, and he asked me to handle all the routine stuff. Which I’ve been doing.”

Cam nodded slowly. “So you think you’re in a good position to take over?”

Will took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think I am.”

“Good,” Cam said. “I’d like you to do that. Maybe you can spend the day organizing Don’s papers and files. Tomorrow we’ll get together and you can show me what needs to be done. What you’re going to focus on.”

Will nodded. “Absolutely I can do that, Cam.”

Cam stared at his hands for a while, then looked at the younger man. “One final thing, Will. Because Don was stealing from the company, I’ve been advised I need to examine your finances. To make sure there’s no unaccounted-for money in your accounts. Will you allow me to do that?”

“Of course I will,” Will said immediately. “You want me to sign something?”

“Yeah, that would probably be best. I’ll get our lawyer to draft a document, then I’ll have you read and sign it.” He leaned over his desk toward the young man. “You need to know that I don’t suspect you of being involved in Don’s schemes. But for the sake of the company and my piece of mind, I have to check.”

“I get it, Cam.” He shrugged. “You won’t find anything in my accounts besides money from my salary and bonuses and my wife’s salary and bonuses. We have some savings and some investments, but the amounts are what you’d expect for two people not long out of college.”

“Thanks, Will. I’ll give you a small bump in your salary now -- I’ll talk to our accounting department and see how much damage Don did and what we can afford right now. But when the company recovers from Don’s thefts, you’ll get a raise that is more in line with your responsibilities. Does that work for you?”

“Definitely, Cam.” His mouth tightened. “I trust you, and I think most of the other employees do, too. I imagine someone you trusted, like Don, could do a lot of damage to the company.”

“Yeah,” Cam said, his voice flat. “I was too trusting.”

“Thanks, Cam. Do you want me to start going through Don’s paperwork right away?”

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