Page 107 of Forget Me

I’d sat through Synergy’s mandatory compliance training once a year since I’d joined the company, so I could recite the policy on conflicts of interest by heart, but the foundation was too small for a training program like that. Could it have been an honest mistake?

“I knew something wasn’t right,” Natalie said. “The foundation never seemed to have as much money as it should. That’s why I agreed to help with the gala. I, ah”—she gripped her champagne flute—“I thought at first it might be you skimming from the foundation, but after I got to know you, I couldn’t square it. I asked Jackson if he thought Larissa might be shady, but she came so highly recommended that I think he’s a little afraid of her.”

A brick weighed in my belly. I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the accounts until last night’s strange withdrawal. Had I been so focused on my career goals that I’d missed something as huge as embezzlement?

“I—I found something. Last night. One of the foundation accounts was emptied. By Larissa.” I opened my clutch and handed her the printout. “Today, there was a strange deposit in my PayMo. I reversed it, but the number matched the balance in the rainy-day fund.”

“Last week, when we were here with the decorator, you said there was a missing deposit. What did Larissa say about it?”

“She said she gave the cash to the decorator.”

Natalie shook her head. “Gail is a friend. She agreed to take her payment after the event. She waived her standard deposit.”

My head spun. This was too irregular. We’d never pass an audit. Something was definitely wrong. But Larissa had won that award last year. I couldn’t believe she’d intentionally defrauded the foundation. Who could do that to the kids?

“We should tell Jackson,” Natalie said. “I know he takes a hands-off approach to the running of the foundation, but he won’t be happy to hear this.”

“I’d rather talk to Larissa first. See what she has to say for herself.”

“Okay, but…” She bit her lip. “There’s more. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, but I think she’s been pocketing the money she’s supposed to be using for rent. Jackson mentioned he’s been paying for office space, but she and I always meet at Starbucks.”

My eyes widened. “Jackson’s been giving her money for office space? The foundation accounts should pay for that. Besides, she’s been working out of her condo.”

Natalie shook her head. “We need to tell Jackson. This”—she shook the papers in her hand—“this is proof.”

She dismounted from her chair and waited, eyebrows raised.

She was right. It was too much to be a mistake. But there went the assistant director job. Jackson Jones would never forgive me for letting this happen on my watch.

I slid off the tall stool. “Okay. Let’s talk to him.”

She scanned the dance floor for her brother, and I looked the other direction, toward the entrance.

My gaze snagged on a pair of strong shoulders and a blond head that towered over the crowd. My breath caught in my chest.

Mateo?

Every thought evaporated from my brain. The foundation, Larissa’s fraud, even my friend standing beside me. A wave of hope washed through me. Hope that he’d forgiven me. That he’d come here to see me. That—I swallowed—he wanted to be part of my life again.

Because I wanted that.

But when he turned his head, I realized it was only Cooper Fallon, standing next to my brother at the ballroom entrance.

When my stomach plummeted, I stopped denying it.

I’d been in love with Mateo all along.

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