Page 46 of Love Undercover
She nodded. For an accountant, he was pretty braggadocious about what he did and for whom. The names were the flex, though, not the job he did. There wasn’t much that was flashy about number-crunching.
“I don’t know exactly how he got in with Zimmerman, but he’s been working for him for a while. Zimmerman has quite the reach in that world, and not just cooking the books. He also extorts from a few upper-level execs for some Fortune 500 companies, uses his influence to sway elections, lobby for legislation that's in his best interests. Greg has access to all of the account information and tracked the cash flow for him. Turns out, Greg was not only skimming Zimmerman’s scores, but he decided he wanted to get in on the game.”
Her lips parted as the picture grew darker. it was impossible to reconcile the buttoned-up, status-obsessed accountant with the criminality Chase described. Even if it was less seedy with him hiding behind the computer screen, that was some serious stuff to be dabbling in. And worse, he’d apparently bitten off more than he could chew with Zimmerman by getting on his bad side.
“He recently took all of the account information and the list of names and took off, leaving no records for Zimmerman to keep getting his scores.” Chase looked down at their clasped hands briefly. “We assume he was planning to set himself up as the new crime boss, but Greg Calloway doesn’t have the reach, influence,or intimidation factor to get a legion of minions under him. I don’t think he anticipated what kind of muscle Zimmerman has in his employ. Or how determined he’d be to keep this stream of income.”
He watched her face for a reaction. “It’s also the evidence I need to bring the whole thing down.”
She shook her head in disbelief. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that he’d gotten involved in something like this. . . But if there was one thing he’d made abundantly clear to her, it was that he had a vision for what he wanted his life to look like, and he apparently had no compunctions about getting it in whatever way possible.
“It’s obvious you knew nothing about any of it,” Chase said, his eyes softening. “But you don’t seem totally shocked.”
She’d never had much of a poker face, but it was still annoying that her expression would betray her thoughts so easily.
She exhaled the mild irritation. “I never thought he would be capable of doing something like this. But Greg has always had higher aspirations than were easily achievable. He would cut timelines and corners where he could.”
The muscles around Chase’s eyes contracted while she spoke, like he was reading something under her words. So she figured she might as well tell him the rest.
“He was kind of obsessed with status, with being seen a certain way, living life at a level his finances didn’t always support.”
Chase clicked his tongue. “Yes, he was in quite a bit of debt. Until suddenly he wasn’t.”
Comprehension dawned, and she sucked in a breath. Debt to pay for the lavish lifestyle he craved. Then he used his access through Zimmerman to pay off his creditors, so he was free and clear. But then he wanted more. It all made sense.
She shook her head, giving a short, mirthless laugh. “He never liked that I was ‘just a kindergarten teacher’ when I could havedone so much more. He hated introducing me to his friends and coworkers because it wasn’t impressive or flashy enough for him.”
Something formed in Chase’s eyes. She realized it was anger.
“Especially when you had such a fancy degree from graduate school,” he said in understanding.
She shot him a sharp look, and he managed to actually look sheepish.
“I did a full search of your place after it had been tossed by Santiago and Travers, remember?”
That made a chill roll over her. If she dwelled too much on the fact that more than one person had gone through every item in her house, she would probably freak out again.
Redirect, she commanded herself even as her pulse throbbed.
“What were you looking for?”
“Greg was going to your place for a reason.” He lifted a brow, waiting for her to piece it together.
She gasped. “The files?”
He tipped his head to the side. “That was my thought. Probably Zim’s too. But I didn’t find them, and neither did Santiago, or he wouldn’t have gone back to your place or come here.”
She shuddered, revulsion a threatening wave. Greg had thrown everyone's attention on her on purpose.
Chase sighed. “If I get those files, I can pass them to the feds, and there’d, hopefully, be enough to nail Zimmerman and his whole operation.”
She felt like there was another piece to what he’d said. And the hopeful part of her thought that maybe Chase would be freed from this role he had to play if Zimmerman went down. And she could see it, though the wistful look in Chase’s eyes was there and gone so quickly she might have imagined it.
Instead of bringing it up, though, she simply nodded. “And because he’d been tracked to my place and seen talking to me. . .”
“They think you know where it is. Or whereheis.”
She tipped her head back with the weight of the revelation, looking toward the ceiling for a moment. “That’s why the FBI talked to me that day.” She looked at him again. “Right before you. . .”
