LITMIR.BIZ

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dropped open, but he moved back and opened the door wider. “Yes, of course.” She stepped in and immediately to the left of the door, flat against the wall, as if she didn’t want anyone to see her. He closed the door. “Want me to call the police?”

      “Someone set my house on fire tonight. The police already know but have nothing to go on yet.”

      Jeff raked his hand through his hair. So many questions came to mind. He started with the most obvious. “Your house was on fire?” Jeff blinked. “Are you okay?” He examined her once more. Her face appeared paler than normal, and her bright blue eyes were red from crying...or smoke? His first aid training kicked in gear. Victoria could be in shock, which would explain her bizarre decision to come to his house. “I can drive you to the hospital now.”

      “No, I’m fine. The paramedics checked me out.” She crossed her arms, and her teeth chattered. “Sorry. I just can’t seem to get warm.”

      Jeff turned to the basket by his couch. “I think I have a blanket here somewhere.”

      She eagerly accepted the red fleece and swung it around herself like a robe. She flipped her long hair out from under the blanket. It looked wet; no wonder she couldn’t get warm.

      “My neighbor let me borrow her clothes and take a shower, but I didn’t think of a jacket. Everything of mine is—” her voice caught “—gone.”

      “That’s horrible. How can I help?”

      Victoria’s face crumpled. “I’m sorry to barge in on you in the middle of the night. I had to talk to you, and I remembered where you lived from the department Christmas party.”

      She shifted her gaze to the ceiling, then the living room walls. She looked everywhere, it seemed, but at him. “Jeff, I need you to come with me to work. It can’t wait.”

      Jeff’s arms fell to his side. Did she realize most people considered four in the morning to be the middle of the night? “I better start a cup of coffee while you explain.”

      “No. There’s no time. I need you to go with me to the office. Now.”

      Jeff turned toward the sudden slamming noise in the living room. The mammoth dog flopped down on the rug at his back door. The baseball bat-sized tail pounded a couple more times on the glass. “Make yourself at home,” he muttered. How was it possible that Victoria—beautiful, sweet, off-limits Victoria—could be in his home, like this? And why did she need him? He wasn’t an accountant or a police officer; he was a supervisor.

      “I think you’re the only one that can help me,” she said, as if hearing his thoughts.

      “How do you figure?”

      She took a deep breath and swung her black, velvet hair over her shoulder. “Can I explain it in the car? Please?”

      The image of her, wrapped in his blanket in his living room, suddenly felt too intimate. Going to the office—or anywhere else—seemed like a good idea. “Give me five minutes.” Jeff closed his bedroom door behind him and flipped on the light. He slapped his face a couple times while watching his reflection in the mirror. He definitely wasn’t dreaming. Confusion and annoyance were evident from his expression, but it was the best he could do at this hour. He threw on jeans and a shirt.

      The dog growled from the other room.

      “Jeff!”

      He shoved his feet into already tied shoes and ran out of his room. The dog’s large mouth lifted up and over its teeth, in preparation to bite something...or someone.

      Victoria whipped around to face him. “There was a man lurking down there in your backyard.” She pointed at the back glass door.

      Jeff’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, it’s more of a community area.” The moment he said the words, he knew it was a weak attempt at comforting her. The dog turned around in a circle a couple of times and plopped back down on to the rug.

      She blew out a long breath. “He must be gone, or Baloo wouldn’t relax. I’m sure of it,” Victoria said, but it seemed as if she was talking more to herself than to him. She turned her attention to Jeff. “Ready to go?”

      Her concern about a lurking man may have diminished, but his only increased. “If you’re right and think someone is after you, I don’t know how safe it is to walk to your car in the open. Even with me and the gorilla by your side.”

      A flash of anger sparked in her eyes, and Jeff was reminded how badly he needed coffee. He wasn’t guarding his tongue very well without it.

      “He’s a Newfoundland. And a great rescuer.”

      He smiled at the dog in hopes of appeasing Victoria. “I’m sorry.” The possibility of a man waiting in the shadows changed things. Jeff wasn’t armed or trained in defensive techniques. “What are we dealing with?”

      She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. He’d never seen her look annoyed before. At work, she was nothing but quiet and efficient. She faced the window again. “Last quarter I reviewed the expense reports before submitting them to the audit committee.”

      He nodded. “Like every quarter.”

      “Yes, but when the numbers went public, they seemed different than I remembered.”

      Jeff shifted his feet. Maybe he should’ve taken a seat first. “What do you mean?”

      “The numbers made Earth Generators, Inc. look like a much better company than reality. The profits are way up and the expenses are way down. The difference in operating and capital expenses grew exponentially.”

      “Okay. Hang on a second.” Jeff pressed his thumbs into his temples, attempting to fight off the headache threatening to start. “So, in English, that means the stockholders are about to be very rich.”

      She tilted her head to the left and right, as if weighing his translation. “Essentially, yes. Except, the numbers were blatantly wrong, Jeff. I’m sure of it.”

      Victoria consistently proved to be the best accountant in his department. It’s why she’d risen to lead accountant within a year. Normally, he’d believe her in a heartbeat, but she was standing in his living room with her massive dog at four in the morning. Had she lost her mind?

      “The problem was—when I checked the data again—everything matched the public numbers.”

      “So you misremembered.”

      She blinked and shook her head. “No, I don’t think I did. But your reaction proves my point. I knew I needed evidence.”

      Jeff winced but covered it by taking long strides into the kitchen. She may think they had no time to waste, but if he didn’t at least get some instant coffee into his system, he wouldn’t be able to retain a single word she said.

      Victoria followed him to the sink. “So, this time around, at the end of the quarter, I took action. I saved my own copy of the report onto a flash drive before submitting it to Wagner and the audit committee. Then, when the report became public yesterday, I went into work early—before everyone else—to see if the numbers matched the statements on my flash drive.”

      “And?”

      She folded her arms across her chest. “I was right on the money, Jeff. Someone changed the numbers in the company files and the public reports.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her arms. “Except Wagner caught me comparing the reports.”

      Jeff’s spoonful of coffee grounds froze in midair. While Jeff was supervisor of the accounts payable department, Todd Wagner managed the entire accounting division. In fact, Wagner had just reassigned Jeff to supervisor of the accounts receivable department starting next week.

      Jeff frowned. “Victoria, listen. I’ve always respected your opinion and your work ethic. But Wagner is my boss, too, so I’m not sure this is the best way to communicate any prob—”

      “Please.”

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