One Night With The Boss

CHAPTER 17

Right, he didn't take the money but it was his business, his account, and he didn't realize that something was amiss.

Tortured with regret for the fact that they suffered because of her, Kate tries to figure out what she can do to make amends. He knelt down and clasped Camila's hand. "I'll find out what happened and I'll pay you back your money. Your family will not suffer" he promised, his voice trembling with emotion. He turned his head and spoke to Elgort, his voice fierce. "Translate for me."

Elgort's eyes were cold. "I don't believe in false hope."

"Translate for me!" The emotion in her voice clearly had an influence because Elgort observed Kate for a long time and then shrugged a little and said something in Spanish to the woman. Camila hesitated then put a hand on Kate's shoulder and nodded.

Raphael's voice sounded sharp, "you have assured him that you are as innocent as the dawn. Happy now? Is that your watchword? Why let someone down once if you can disappoint them twice?"

Still tormented by the reproach against her, Kate stood up, her fingers piercing her palms. "No. I'm not at all happy. I'm not happy they're hurt because of me. And I'm not happy someone is using my business for personal gain. This is my life you are talking about. Cafe Bz means something to me. We help people. Help someone who is struggling." And he knows all about what it's like to fight.

"I'm sure so." A thin smile Elgort sneered. "You're just a saint, Kate Rutherford. Saints with shoes heels."

Kate's mouth tightened. "Obviously something happened and, in this situation, I can't blame you for thinking I was involved. But I wasn't involved. And you obviously don't know how upset I am."

What an incredible blow. Everything he built collapsed around him and he had no answer. Hows it? Hows it?

For a moment he felt the helpless feeling he had once felt and he just wanted to curl up into a ball and hide from his life.

But he can't curl up into a ball and there's no hiding. Kate lifted her chin and looked into Elgort's eyes. "I found your assumption that I had something to do with this very offensive thing."

"I found an offensive scam."

Kate took a deep breath. "Given what you told me, you have the perfect right to be upset and I understand now why you refused to extend a loan on business."

"good. Then we no longer need to waste time with each other."

"Don't say that." Kate reached out and put a hand on Elgort's arm, "if you withdraw the loan for my business then I can't do it right. I can't fix a lot of things. And I want to."

Elgort's gaze was very unsympathetic. "I'm sure you did. It's not easy to see that most of your income will vanish in smoke."

"I don't care about my income. It's not about my money. Why don't you believe that? If something has happened then it happened without my knowledge."

Kate looked at Elgort with horror that culminated when something happened to her.

Is that impossible? No, it's not possible. That's not possible at all.

Suddenly the pieces started to fuse together and made him sick. The things that Elgort Downey had said since he suddenly recalled, things that he did not understand back then. I don't know how you can sleep at night.

Horrified and more than a little panicked, Kate is suddenly tempted to tell the truth, but her grim mouth prevents her from speaking. It's too late for the truth. It doesn't have to be a genius to see that Elgort has already tried him and found him guilty. He could see anger twinkling away in Elgort's eyes and he suddenly regretted being dishonest at first. He should have told his business team about his limitations from the start. He should be open and honest. But if he told them, they would never invest. Elgort Downey will turn it down, as everyone does.

Everyone, including his father.

And he still couldn't believe what he was facing. Unwilling to accept what Elgort said, he sought an alternative explanation and came up with nothing. He swayed slightly and then felt a strong male hand on his arm as Elgort forced him back into his chair.

"Sit down" he said rudely, "if you commit fraud, you take a chance and deserve to be found."

Grace licked her dry lips, trying desperately to think straight. "We bought coffee from a company and we paid generously. Obviously they don't pass it on to the producers. They must have done something with the money. They must have shared it with someone in my company."

Elgort smiled contemptuously. "And I wanna know who that is? Owner, maybe?"

Kate shook her head, too shocked and numb to muster an excited defense. "No. Not me."

But who?

What he really needed to do was to double-check the company account in detail, but how could he do that? Who could he trust? He almost laughed at the irony.

It was ironic that one man who had the skills to help her was watching her with disgust. How big was his reproach when he knew the truth about her? To clear his name, he had to tell her everything about himself, but when the thought crossed his head, he rejected it.

After all, the fact that he was innocent directly did not absolve him of responsibility. Cafe Bz is his business. He was overconfident, and the misplaced trust had disastrous consequences.

No, he couldn't ask Elgort Downey for help. Is over. He's going home, back to England, and somehow finding the answers he needs. And then he looked elsewhere to get the finances he needed to pull his company out of trouble.