Free Betrayal by Danielle Steel

ones I mentioned to you are all signed by Brigitte Parker.”
    “She said she’s never stayed at either hotel,” Tallie said firmly, far more willing to believe her assistant than her accountant. She still believed that the mistake here was his, not Brigitte’s, or any improper use of the credit card on her part.
    “Maybe she’s forgotten. It’s been a while,” Victor said calmly.
    “I don’t think so, Victor.”
    “Maybe she’s embarrassed to tell you that she used the card for personal reasons, and she reimbursed you without our knowledge.” He was willing to believe that she had made it up to Tallie, although he couldn’t prove it, but he was entirely unwilling to believe that she’d never been there and checked into the hotels. Her name on the charge slips said otherwise. “It’s clearly her signature on the charge slips.”
    “Maybe someone forged it,” Tallie suggested coolly.
    “I doubt that.”
    “I never look at things like that, Victor. Brigitte handles all the statements when they come in. I don’t have time. That’s why I have her. And you check the accounts and the general ledger.”
    “Yes, I do. This only came up because of the recent audit. And we still have no explanation for the twenty-five thousand in cash you’re spending every month and can’t account for. I’m much more concerned about that than the hotel bills we can’t explain.”
    “So am I. If you don’t mind, I’d like to show the accounts and the spreadsheets to my father. He’s a lot better at this kind of thing than I am.” She always relied on her father’s advice and wise counsel.
    “Of course, I have no problem with that.”
    “Thank you, Victor. I’ll call you later.”
    She sat thinking for a minute after the call to Victor, wondering again about the hotel bills. And then she called her father. As always, he answered on the first ring.
    “Hi, Dad,” she said, trying to sound casual, but he knew her too well for that.
    “What’s wrong?” He went right to the point.
    She laughed at his question and tried to sound unconcerned. “Some stuff came up in the audit that I’m confused about. Maybe my accountant made a mistake. Would you look at it for me?” Her father was good with spreadsheets and figures, and his mind was still sharp. His body had failed him, but his brain was still operating at full speed.
    “I’ll be happy to take a look. Send it over whenever you want. What’s the problem?”
    “My accountant says I’m spending twenty-five thousand dollars a month in cash. I’m not spending it, Brigitte says she isn’t. I can’t figure it out.”
    “Do you have a joint account with Hunt?” he asked her bluntly, although he liked Hunt immensely, and Hunt certainly had more than enough of his own money and didn’t need Tallie’s, and he’d been very generous with her and Max.
    “No, I don’t. We haven’t commingled anything. But I can’t imagine that twenty-five thousand dollars is disappearing every month. I think it’s got to be a mistake, and I don’t want to get upset about it till I know.”
    “Have your accountant send me the spreadsheets and I’ll take a look,” her father said in a concerned voice.
    “Thanks, Dad.” He was always there for her. She didn’t mention the hotels to him, there was no point. It was either identity theft, or one of them was lying, and her father couldn’t know that. But he might be able to figure out the cash or see where Victor Carson had made a mistake. She called Victor back afterward and asked him to messenger copies of the spreadsheets to her father. He promised to do it immediately. And she felt better after that when she went back to work. She was sure that the mystery of the missing cash would be solved with another pair of eyes on the spreadsheet.
    Brigitte drove her back to town that night. They chatted amiably on the way home, but Tallie was distracted, thinking about her conversations with Victor, and the conversation between them