Free Punishing His Accountant: Caught Stealing by Alicia Roberts

Chapter One
     
    It wasn’t like Ella Wilder planned to steal the money.
    She’d just borrow it – and return it after a few days.
    The balloon payment on her mortgage had come up, and the bank refused to refinance her loan. She scrambled to get funds from her IRA, but the paperwork was taking time, and she didn’t want to give up her beloved home.
    After racking her brains for days, Ella decided that she’d get a short term loan from her employer, InterPlus Worldwide. Nobody would notice that they money was gone, and she’d return it as soon as her IRA-paperwork went through…
    “I need you to run a current quarterly statement for me right away.”
    The deep male voice startled her, even though she knew who the speaker was. It was Josh McGould, CEO of InterPlus Worldwide and her boss.
    Ella rotated her chair to face the man standing behind her.
    “Sure thing,” she said, “I’ll have it printed out within the hour. Do you want a digital file too?”
    “ Yes, that would be great,” Josh said. “I’m flying down to Argentina on the redeye this evening, so I’ll review the numbers when I’m on the plane.”
    Ella nodded. “I’ll send the file to your private e-mail. Is there anything else you need before your trip?”
    “No, that’ll do it.”
    Josh shrugged, and Ella caught herself admiring the cut of his light gray suit and his midnight blue silk tie. Looks like Armani, she thought to herself, before reminding herself not to gawk at her boss’s chest.
    “If you need anything else before you lea ve, just let me know,” she said, wondering if he’d noticed her stare.
    “Thanks, Ella,” Josh said. “These sales trips seem to come up out of nowhere. I appreciate your helping me get ready.”
    His eyes met hers, then briefly swept downward. Ella was certain he’d just checked out her legs, and not for the first time, either, although he was always discreet about it.
    Today she was wearing sheer pantyhose under a black pencil skirt that hit above the knee. As Josh made eye contact with her again, she felt herself flush and had a sudden urge to tug the skirt down over her knees.
    “You’re welcome,” she said, returning his gaze.
    His eyes were deep brown, almost black, beneath his high, tanned forehead and luxurious jet black hair, which he wore combed back with just a touch of gel. Ella knew he prized good manners, and she always made sure to observe the proper formalities around him.
    Besides, she thought, watching him striding away toward his corner office, his formalities made her feel more secure. He seemed strong and masculine, and whenever he was nearby, her heart seemed to flutter. Occasionally she caught something in his eyes – something almost predatory, that made her feel weak-kneed.
    Despite her attraction to him, Ella prided herself on her independence and had no intention of starting up an affair with her boss, so she was grateful for his formal manner. Formalities helped increase the distance between them, and helped her to try not to fantasize about his rippling muscles and large hands.
    Two years ago, Ella had been hired as the head of InterPlus’s accounting department. She’d been surprised when Josh told her to report directly to him – she’d expected an international trade firm like InterPlus to have a vice president-controller, but, Josh told her that he liked doing things his own way.
    Occasionally, Josh would return from a trip overseas with a small gift for her. The latest had been a beautiful tea set from Malaysia, after he’d remarked that she always seemed to have a mug of tea at her desk. It had never occurred to her to add up the financial value of his gifts. He never made a big deal of the gifts, so she didn’t either.
    Ella dropped off the printed quarterly statement on Josh’s desk and e-mailed him a digital file as he had requested. For the rest of the afternoon she kept herself busy with some trivial financial reports, to keep her mind off what she was