Giving It All Page 7

  “Me too. I remember when she was looking for a place to stay after her grandma died. I thought I was doing her a favor by renting her that tiny apartment over the garage. Little did I know I’d need her help so much I should be paying her to stay there.”

  “You’re lucky she was still around.”

  “Don’t I know it. It’s selfish of me, but I’m glad she and her boyfriend broke up. If they hadn’t, she might have gotten married and moved away by now.”

  “She told me that guy wasn’t her boyfriend.”

  “What guy? Oh, Peter? No, he isn’t her boyfriend. He’s gay.”

  “What?” Grant almost missed the turn off because he wasn’t paying attention to the road.

  “It’s not widely known around town, you know how some people are, but Ellie confided in me when I asked her if her boyfriend got jealous of her friendship with Peter.”

  “And did he? Is that why they broke up?”

  “I don’t think so. Ellie just said they weren’t meant for each other but she valued his friendship.”

  “Ouch.” The friendship card was second only to pointing and laughing at a guy’s dick on the list of things to be avoided at all costs. “Who was he?”

  “No one you’d know. I believe she met him in graduate school. His family was from way down near Savannah and he lived in Strasburg. I’d see him sometimes when he’d visit on the weekends. He was nice enough to look at and successful by the looks of the car he drove, but he was nothing to write home about.”

  “That’s because you’re used to looking at me,” he teased.

  “Huh, as if you’re God’s gift to womankind.”

  “Maybe not, but I can guarantee you, when Chastity and I divorced, she as hell didn’t friend zone me.”

  “That’s because you were never friends.”

  “You could be right about that.”

  As they pulled into the driveway, he wondered why that had never bothered him before.

  Chapter Seven

  Ellie sat on her tiny balcony and sipped a much-deserved glass of wine. She had Enya playing on the iPod speaker in her bedroom and the window open so she could hear it. Maybe if she sat like this and let the soothing music wash over her, she wouldn’t feel the need to write a scathing email that would lose her one of her biggest clients. Why was it that people assumed just because she was their accountant, she could change the tax laws? She gave what advice she could, but if they didn’t listen to her, there was nothing she could do come tax time.

  The wind chime on the overhang of the porch clanged merrily, almost mocking her aggravation. Stupid thing, why did she have it anyway?

  “You look fit to kill someone.”

  Her glass of wine nearly went flying as Grant’s voice came from out of nowhere. “Good Lord! Are you trying to frighten me to death? Where did you come from?” she asked as he sat in the cheap plastic chair next to her.

  “I walked up the steps like a normal person. When I heard the music, I came around the side. I didn’t even know this was here until I helped you up the stairs last night.”

  Her face flamed in embarrassment as she remembered her actions. Great. “Your dad had it built after I moved in. He said the place was so tiny this would give me a little more room to breathe. I didn’t need it, but I have to admit, I enjoy sitting out here when it’s not too hot outside. I find it relaxing to watch the sun set behind the trees.”

  “It can’t be that relaxing. You looked fit to be tied when I came up. Does it have anything to do with that phone call you got when we got back from Canton?”

  Ellie grimaced. “Yes. With April fifteenth looming, I’m on call for my clients twenty-four-seven until Uncle Sam gets his last dime. Unfortunately, some people think I have a magic wand that I can wave to make their tax problems go away.”

  “I see, what’s the phrase? Lack of planning on your part doesn’t create an emergency on my part? Or something like that?”

  “Pretty much, but I can’t say that unless I want to lose clients. So instead, I sit out here and hope the view, the music and, last but not least, the wine will keep me from saying what I really want to say.”

  “Funny you should mention losing clients. That’s just what I wanted to talk to you about. How much of Anderson’s Automotive’s financial information do you still have?”

  “Everything up to when your dad had his stroke. After that, Greg stopped using the system. The last entry I have is January fifth. That was part of the reason I went into the shop to check on things. Greg has been working in the store for years. He knows how the system works. He should have been able to keep up with the paperwork if he just inputted the ordering and sales into the system like always. Instead, I found paper receipts from some company in Mexico and orders for parts scribbled on pieces of paper all over the desk. It looked to me like he’d ordered way more inventory than the sales projections your dad and I had figured out at year end.”

  “You said he lost two major accounts?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you find that out?”

  “One of them is Professional Auto Care in Canton. I do their books, so I saw where they cancelled their order and went to another company in Strasburg.”

  “Did you ask them why they made the change?”

  “That really isn’t ethical.”

  “But did you ask?”

  “I may have mentioned I saw the entry change in their books. Dave, the manager, said something about reliability and assholes. I’ll let you fill in the blanks.”

  He grunted in response. “What about the other account?”

  “Anita told me about that one. She filled most of the online orders and mailed them out. There’s a lot of downtime at the store, so your dad put her in charge of the online catalogue to give her something to do. She doesn’t do bored well and he didn’t want to cut her hours. Anyway, she told me after Greg let her go she still had access to the customer-contact email for a few weeks, and one of the clients in Athens wrote a long letter of complaint about the poor quality of the parts and the terrible customer service he got when he called the store.”

  “Yet Greg told me he was going to take the store places. Looks like the only place he’s taking it is down the shitter, pardon my language.”

  “I’ve heard the word shitter before, honest. I may have even used it or a derivative of it myself.”

  “Fine, just don’t tell my momma”

  “My lips are sealed.” She mimed turning a key in a lock over her lips.

  “I wanted to talk to you when we got back, but you got that phone call and tore out like—” He cut himself off.

  “Like my ass was on fire? Grant, I’m not some sheltered Southern belle. I don’t get offended if you swear around me. You don’t have to censor your every word.”

  “I’ll take that under consideration. I wanted to ask you to go over the accounts with me and help me get a feel for the business. I know car parts, but I don’t know anything about inventory or taxes or any of that. I tried to look at some of the papers my dad had in his office and I realized I was in way over my head.”

  “I would think most of what he has at home would be copies of his applications and permits, everything else should be at the store. Your dad insisted on keeping a paper copy of everything even though I had it all on the computer.”

  “Sounds like Dad. So if I were able to get you into the store, you’d be able to figure out what was important and gather the intel?”

  “Absolutely.” Ellie didn’t know that anything she’d ever done in her life could be classified as gathering intel, but it sounded cool.

  “Great. Can we take your car? I don’t want my mom knowing about this, and if her car goes missing in the middle of the night she might panic.”

  She almost spewed the wine she’d just sipped. “Wait, what? Middle of the night? Wher
e are we going in the middle of the night and why?”

  “We’re going to the store and getting everything we can without Greg knowing about it so he can’t destroy evidence.”

  “Evidence?”

  “You were dead on in your estimation that Greg is up to something. He was not happy I was back in the picture.”

  “I thought he was just being a lazy ass. I didn’t think he was up to anything illegal.”

  “Maybe he’s not, but whatever he’s doing, it’s not on the up-and-up and I want to know what it is before it bites me in the ass.”

  “I see.”

  “Are you in or out? I can get in and download everything, but it’ll take me a lot longer without a partner, and I might not get the important stuff.”

  Ellie had to think about this a second. Grant had gone from asking her to explain inventory management to breaking and entering in the same conversation. But was it really breaking and entering if he was an owner also? Didn’t he have every right to check out his business interests?

  “Do you have keys to the store?”

  “Yup, Mom gave them to me today and I never gave them back.”

  “Okay, I’m in. When do you want to do this?”

  “Meet me at your car at zero one hundred.”

  “Great. I’m parked around back, under the balcony.”

  “Wear dark clothes. Something like you had on this morning should do.”

  “Oh, so I’ll blend in. I get it.”

  “That and those pants you wore today were hot. See you tonight.” Grant flashed her a grin that shot her blood pressure so high she felt lightheaded. She’d been with her ex-boyfriend, Josh, for two years and he hadn’t ever made her feel that worked up, even when they were having sex.

  Ellie drained her wine glass and took two deep breaths, hoping to calm her heart rate before it beat clear out of her chest. The grin Grant had just tossed her was the same one he’d give Chastity when they were in high school. The kind of smile that said he liked what he saw and wanted to see more of it.

  Never in her wildest fantasies did she think he’d give her that look. And to say she looked hot in her yoga pants, well, hell.

  Breathe, Elyana. He probably gives that look to every female he sees.

  He didn’t mean anything by it. It was just habit. Grant had been a charmer his entire life. No female was immune to his attention. He flirted with the ladies of the Garden Club and the toddlers in Sunday school.

  Dear Lord, if he was back in town for good, the ambulance service was going to be busy rushing the female population of Dale to the emergency room for possible heart attacks. Ellie snickered to herself as she got up from her chair. If she was going to meet Grant at one o’clock in the morning, she’d better get busy now. She had a ton of work to do and probably wouldn’t be in any shape to do it tomorrow.

  Grant heard Ellie creep down the stairs. She was quiet, but not silent. If this were a real op, she’d have already blown their cover. Of course, if this were a real op, he wouldn’t be trusting his six to a civilian accountant.

  Real or not, getting ready gave him a kick of adrenaline he hadn’t had in a long time.

  “Grant?” Ellie whispered loud enough to be heard twenty feet away.

  “Here.” He stepped out of the shadows. He checked her outfit and had to smile at what she considered appropriate for clandestine operations. She wore another pair of those tight, stretchy pants, a long-sleeved black shirt and black flats. Her outfit was more appropriate for a day in New York City than breaking and entering, but at least it was all black.

  “Geez, I didn’t even see you. You about scared the life out of me.”

  “You’re not supposed to see me. C’mon, I want to be back before Mom wakes up.”

  “Yes, sir.” She headed to the driver’s side door.

  “Don’t start it, just put it in neutral. I’ll push it out of the driveway and you can start it when we hit the street.”

  “That’s like fifty yards away. How are you going to push a car that far on this driveway?”

  “It’s a two-door Sentra. I could do this in my sleep. Go.” Or he used to be able to do it no problem. His team had pushed many a stolen vehicle much farther than fifty yards. “Turn off the interior light and don’t close the door all the way.”

  Ellie shook her head but did as he directed. Good, he didn’t want her to see him struggle. The gravel driveway would work against him, offering poor footing and too much friction to keep the car rolling. He was stronger now than he’d ever been, but it was mostly upper-body strength, and for this he needed to use his legs.

  As soon as he heard Ellie put the car in neutral, he began to push. For agonizing seconds, nothing happened. He would not panic, he could do this. Digging in with his good leg, he got the car rocking a bit and then it began to roll. The gravel crunched underfoot as he pushed forward, but it wasn’t stopping him. Effort is the difference between victory and defeat. In the back of his mind, he could hear his BUD/S instructor barking at him as he took every step.

  Just keep going, put out or drop out.

  He was surprised when the car hit the pavement and began rolling quickly and easily. Without wasting time congratulating himself, he ran for the passenger door and hopped in while the car was still moving.

  Ellie’s eyes were enormous as she looked at him settle in next to her. “I can’t believe you just did that and barely broke a sweat.”

  “I told you, no problem. Wait until we get to the corner and then start the engine.”

  Damn, it felt good to be in control again.

  “You used to do stuff like this all the time?” she asked as she followed his directions.

  “When you’re in enemy territory, you don’t always have the luxury of reliable transportation, so sometimes you have to liberate it. If you’re going to steal a truck, it isn’t smart to start it in front of the owner.”

  “But this was gravel.”

  “Easier than sand. Pushing a truck through sand sucks. Snow and mud are just as bad.”

  “I can’t even imagine.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  Ellie went quiet as she drove through the night. It was black as tar, clouds covering the stars and there wasn’t a streetlight for miles. This was Grant’s third trip into Canton today and he felt like he had every curve memorized. As they drove on, he went over the op in his head, running through different scenarios and possible outcomes. It should be an easy sneak and peek, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t have a plan in place. It didn’t take much to go from easy to a soup sandwich.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” she asked as they turned onto Canton’s main street.

  “Anything that seems out of the ordinary. You know what’s ordinary, I don’t, which is why you’re so vital to the success of this op.”

  “That sounds so cool. I’ve never heard of an accountant being part of an op.”

  “There are whole divisions of accountants who dig out intel that’s vital to the safety of our country.”

  “I know. I was recruited by the F.B.I. when I was in college, but I’d have had to move to at least Atlanta, or more likely Washington. With my grandma’s health, I couldn’t be that far away.”

  “Nothing’s stopping you now.” Grant didn’t know why he was encouraging her, but a part of him hated that she’d given up a well-paying career to stay in Dale.

  “Are you kidding me? Everything is stopping me now. I can’t leave your mom in the lurch after she helped me out when I needed it. I have clients who depend on me. It’s not easy to get an accountant from Canton to come out to Dale. A lot of my clients are elderly and don’t want to or can’t make the hour-long drive. I have responsibilities here. I can’t just abandon them to flit off because it sounds cool.”

  “Are you saying that’s what I did?” He could feel his te
mper creep up again, something that had rarely happened before he was injured. Now it happened all the damn time.

  “No, you followed your dream and worked darn hard for it. Your parents were young and in great health when you left. You had nothing holding you here.”

  “How do you know how much effort I put in?”

  “I had a part-time job at the gym after school and know how much time you clocked in the pool and weight room your senior year.”

  “You worked at the gym? I don’t remember seeing you there. What did you do?”

  “I stocked towels, cleaned the machines, checked the chemicals in the pool, stuff like that. Trust me, I was around. I had to wait for you to finish your laps so I could shock the pool.”

  “I have a pretty good memory and I don’t remember that.”

  “Grant, you never saw me. I tutored Jenny at your kitchen table and you’d walk right by me.”

  He really didn’t remember seeing her at all. There were some holes in his memory due to his injury, but that had more to do with things that happened right after he’d been blown up than things that had happened when he was a teenager.

  “I’m sorry,” he finally said.

  “Don’t be. Trust me, you weren’t the only one who looked right past me. I tended to blend in with my surroundings, and I actively cultivated that. I was clumsy and awkward, and if you had stopped to talk to me, I probably would have tripped over my tongue and made a fool of myself. You were a senior and had the world in the palm of your hand. I was a shy, geeky sophomore. There was no reason for you to notice me.”

  “You were my neighbor. I could have at least said hi to you at school.”

  “Let it go. That was over a decade ago, and I turned out just fine without your attention. Where should I park?”

  “Pull around to the back. No sense announcing our presence, even if I have every right to be here.”

  Ellie squeezed her car between a Dumpster and a portable storage container. “That’s new. I wonder if Greg rented it so he wouldn’t have to go to the warehouse so often.”