Free Close Your Eyes by Ellen Wolf Page A

moved in unison . H is confident and effortless lead made it very easy for Megan to follow.
    ‘I still think it’s rather weird to make out like that if you don’t really care for someone , ’ she said, referring to their earlier kiss on the dance floor. Terrified, s he bit her lip, cursing her own impulsive honesty. After all, who was she to lecture him on relationships? There was never anyone else but Ry an in her life, and she considered her experience t o o minimal to be able to have an opinion.
    ‘Touché . ’ He had the guts to laugh, his eyes merry once more. ‘ Ry doesn’t approve of it , either. But as I said, we are parting our ways , and coming here was her idea.’
    Megan couldn’t agree with his reasoning, but had neither the reason , nor right to keep pressing. Instead , she smiled and tried to focus on something different , eagerly leav ing the touchy subject of love and relationships.
    Given their history and level of closeness, they had plenty of other things to talk about . She was relieved when the conversation steered into a much safer direction. Matt had her in stitches with descriptions of some of the people he had met in the States, and his good - natured jibes carried no spitefulness or real nastiness.
    The music stopped again , and this time , they paused . They had ended up in the other end of the room, next to the exit.
    ‘I wonder where Ry is ?’ She turned to look at the large double - winged door she ’d seen him disappear through with his grandfather earlier . They had been away for quite a while . She started to worry , her sense of guilt at ha ving so much fun with Matt taking over.
    ‘Don’t worry, he’ll be here any minute . ’
    She was startled by the hard edge of Matt ’s smile , but i t was gone before she could figure out what had upset him . H is usual happy expression was firmly in place.
    ‘Grandpa had some difficulties with his upcoming horse show, Meg . ’ Matt’s strawberry - blond hair glistened in the sparkling light of the chandelier. ‘He doesn’t want to talk about it, but I know there was a problem with his manager.’
    ‘What happened?’ S he was glad for the distraction . A ny conversation was better than their very personal moment before.
    ‘Well, it turns out he had been cleaning us out for years . ’ Matt ’s face was carved out of stone . ‘ Not a huge amount or anything, but still enough to send G randpa reeling. I think it’s mostly the betrayal of his trust that hit him worst. The man had been working for us for twenty years , and G randpa considered him almost a part of our family, if you know what I mean.’
    She could hardly believe that. The patriarch of the Harper clan didn’t strike her as a man who fraternized with his employees . His aloof nature made it really hard to imagine .
    ‘Turns out, he ’s been pocketing some of the profits for years, adding to his not too shabby salary , ’ Matt continued, his voice hardening. ‘Grandpa might not be the most e nthus iastic boss, but he plays fair , and I know for a fact he paid him a pretty hefty amount, plus extras.’
    ‘It must have been very disappointing to find out he was stealing . ’ Megan felt sorry for the old man. Loyalty seemed to be very high on his list, according to Ry an , anyway. He expected a lot from his employees, because he gave his duties his hundred and fifty percent each and every day. In return , employees could expect steady pay, decent and respectful treatment , and the trust of the ir prestigious employer.
    ‘It was . ’ Matt nodded, sighing. ‘ His reports had some discrepancies for years, but G randpa believed his explanations, never checking into what was really going on. It was only when Ry finally got a good look at the books and spreadsheets that he raised a red flag. He persuaded D ad to hire another set of accountant s to have a second look at the books and things got ugly from there…’
    ‘He didn’t mention it to me . ’ Meg was