Page 40 of Reconciling the Consequences

Kevin shook Stephanie’s hand and smiled. “Always nice to meet Kara’s friends.”

“And meeting one of Kara’s boyfriends is not something I do often,” Stephanie said, giving Kara a pointed look.

Kara laughed and shook her head. “So anyway...” she drawled. “What did you find?”

Stephanie immediately turned serious and got down to business. She pulled out a flash drive and handed it to Kara. “It’s so much worse than what you were thinking. Case Holdings has pocketedmillionsover the years from every single client your dad has ever touched along with several other senior partners at the firm.”

“Ken Laraway?” Kara asked, pocketing the drive quickly in her jean shorts.

“Ken Laraway.” Stephanie nodded. “Jim Briggs. Reid James. Janet Walter. Just to name a few.”

Kara’s heart plummeted into her belly. “The entire senior partner staff?”

Stephanie shrugged. “It’s hard to know if they even knew what they were doing, you know? Case Holdings is listed as a research firm. There were tons of miscellaneous charges forresearch. It’s possible that they didn’t know, not really,” Stephanie suggested.

Kara was doubtful. She wouldn’t hold her breath on a couple of those names. Ken Laraway definitely knew. Jim Briggs was another of her father’s old friends. Reid James and Janet Walter, she honestly couldn’t say one way or the other. They weren’t close with her father, but they had good professional relationships with him.

“There’s a folder on the drive with my breakdowns and thoughts on my findings. I detail what I found and what it COULD mean, without my knowing the truth from these people.” Stephanie sighed.

Kara nodded thoughtfully. She knew her friend was thorough, hence why she hired her in the first place. “Why didn’t you call me?” Kara asked after a beat of silence.

Stephanie looked around the bar. “I, uh, didn’t know if you were being watched… you know? With a lot of those implicated being your father’s employees, I wasn’t sure if your phone was safe.”

Kara nodded slowly. “I had the same thought on the way over here. I’m going to reach out to someone I trust to make sure my devices are safe,” she admitted.

“Good idea—you can never be too careful. You should also look into a private security firm for the time being. I suggest not going anywhere alone,” Stephanie said, looking sheepish. “Not that your man can’t protect you, just you can never be too cautious.”

Kara nodded slowly and eyed her friend for a moment. Something was definitely off about her. She wasn’t quite… herself. Kara couldn’t put her finger on just what the issue was.

When Stephanie looked around the bar again, Kara followed her gaze to a large man in the opposite corner dressed in a pressed suit. He was large and intimidating, hints of tattoos on his neck peeking out above the collar. He made a show of watching the TV hanging over the bar. The game was on, but his eyes barely moved, like he was watching them out of the corner of his eye.

“Who’s the thug?” Kevin said, having seen him too.

Stephanie whipped around and looked at Kevin with a startled expression.

“Steph, are you OK?” Kara asked, feeling uneasy.

Stephanie forced a smile to her face and nodded, almosttoo quickly. “Yeah, yeah. Great,” she stammered.

Kara shot her a look.I don’t buy your shit.

Stephanie sighed. “The thug is with me. He is private security.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Stephanie, what’s going on?”

Stephanie shook her head. “It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s just my job, you know? I’m hired to dig. I dig into all sorts of unsavory people hiding money. It can be dangerous at times.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It has nothing to do with your case. I’ve had a couple run-ins the last several months.”

Kara was dumbfounded. “Stephanie.” She sighed.

Stephanie plastered a bright grin on her face. “Don’t worry about it, babe. I’ve got it under control. Just want you to make sure you stay safe too.” Stephanie nodded at her cast.

Kara bit her lip and nodded. “I’ve got things under control too.” She sighed and leaned sideways into Kevin.

Stephanie smiled genuinely and nodded. “After all this blows over, let’s do a real girls’ night. Get some of the old gang back together?”

Kara relaxed and grinned. “Absolutely.”

Stephanie also relaxed and nodded. “We’re gonna be OK.”

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