Page 8 of Mr. Almost

He’s here.

Mason fucking Williamson is here and staring right at me with a smile on his face, like he didn’t break my heart into a million pieces.

MASON

“Come in,” Max says after I knock on his office door.

Opening it, I step inside as he looks up. Surprise fills his eyes as he stands. “What are you doing here?”

I raise a brow as my brother comes around his desk. “I thought you told me it was an emergency and you needed my help.”

He pulls me in for a hug, and I slap him on the back.

“I do, but you told me you couldn’t come right away,” he says as he pulls away.

I shrug as we both move to sit. “I lied. Now tell me what’s going on.”

Max sighs as he rubs his hand down his face. “Last year, we had three people retire and two people who were moving leave. Not a big deal. Melanie and Roger hired new people, and it was supposed to be all normal, only it wasn’t. I don’t know where they found these people, but they’re shit. Never showing up to shifts, and when they do, they won’t work, so we’ve let them go, but while that was happening, employees who have been here longer started acting out and not doing their jobs. That’s not even getting into how we’re constantly understaffed for each shift. We had to ask a temp agency for help, and while the girl is great, she’s only one woman. It’s gotten so bad that we took a waitress from the restaurant and had her work the front desk.”

“Are you serious?”

How did I miss this?

Max cringes. “That’s not even the worst of it.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Just tell me.”

“I’m pretty sure we need a forensic accountant to come in and do an audit. I’m ninety-nine percent sure Roger and Melanie are stealing from us.”

“For fuck’s sake, Max, I thought you had this place under control!” I snap.

“I do!” he hisses. “But I’m only one guy, and I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. I’ve been trying to fix it on my own, but I need help.”

I hold my hand out. “Show me what you have, and while I look it over, I want you to schedule a staff meeting to happen in thirty minutes.”

Wordlessly, Max hands me his tablet, and I start leafing through what he has while he makes the call. The longer I look at all the evidence he’s compiled, the angrier I get.

What the hell has been going on?

Numbers aren’t lining up, and it’s obvious longtime employees aren’t doing their jobs despite multiple warnings.

One thing becomes blatantly clear. This won’t be a quick trip. No, I’m going to be stuck here in Boston trying to clean this up for the foreseeable future.

“Are you ready?” Max asks as he stands.

I look at my watch and see it’s time to head to the meeting.

“Let’s get this over with.” I sigh as I get up.

Max and I head out of his office and down the hall.

“You know, despite the circumstances, I’m glad to have you home. It’s been a while.”

“Miss me?” I tease.

Max scoffs. “Like the plague, maybe. Have you been home yet?”

I shake my head. “No, not yet. I figured I’d come here first.”

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