“It’s going,” she said. “What about you?”
“Same. He had his own way of doing things, but I’m figuring it out.”
“Liam…”
“Yeah?”
She hesitated, but then decided to ask anyway. “Are you finding any anomalies? Figures that don’t reconcile?”
Liam frowned. “Nothing like that. Are you?”
“One account. I can’t figure out where he got the data. It’s like there’s another account or something. I’m waiting for more information from the client, but I’m stumped.” She hated admitting that. It felt like failure, and she never failed at numbers. It was the one thing she was really good at.
Liam shrugged. “If anybody can figure it out, it’s you. That’s why you always get the hard stuff.”
Angie rolled her eyes. “Flatterer. Hey, did anybody else get any of his accounts?”
“I think Jenny might have. The three of us are the least senior here. Maybe you should bring it to Barnes or Blake’s attention if it keeps giving you trouble.”
“Not yet. I want to see if I can figure it out. I don’t want the partners thinking I can’t take the initiative and do my job.”
“Gotcha.”
“Have you heard anything more about Charles? Or heard from him?”
Liam shook his head. “Nope. All I know is what you know. He didn’t give notice. He called and said he quit. He hasn’t picked up his stuff yet, though. Probably too embarrassed. I have to admit I wondered why he quit like that. He always struck me as the sort who’d volunteer for anything so long as he thought it might help him get ahead. And he seemed to be on the fast track.” Liam shrugged. “But sometimes those types burn out. Spectacularly. It’s hard to sustain that kind of work load.”
She knew what Liam meant because she’d had her own problems with trying to do too much. She was an overachiever and she wanted to do it all. She also felt like she had to work hard because she hated having any debt and she wanted to pay things off sooner rather than later.
But she’d learned how working too much could ruin all your plans for the future. When she’d caught Dan cheating, he’d blamed her for ignoring him because she was working all the time. She’d been devastated. And angry because she’d been doing it for them. She’d wanted to pay off her student loans and save enough money for a downpayment on a house. Instead, she’d impulsively bought her condo when her relationship imploded. Yet another thing she had to pay for, but at least it was for her.
She had come to accept that she’d been working too much and maybe ignoring her fiancé more than she should, but she still didn’t accept it as an excuse for what he’d done. That was on him. It had taken her a while to get to that point, but she’d gotten there with Maddy’s help.
“Angie, he made a choice. He made a choice. Blaming you for his choice is like blaming your neighbor because you ran over their mailbox. Makes no sense.”
Mads was right, of course.
“It is hard to sustain,” Angie said. “And speaking of work, I’d better get back to mine and get this figured out.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“Will do.”
Angie returned to her desk with fresh coffee, woke up her computer, and sighed as the columns appeared. The numbers hadn’t magically fixed themselves while she’d been talking to Liam and she had no emails from the client with more information.
She’d figure it out though. She had yet to meet a spreadsheet she couldn’t wrangle. Today was not the day to admit defeat, either.
Colt wouldn’t. She didn’t know a lot about him, but she knew that much.
She thought of him last night on her couch, a cup of coffee cradled in one large hand, his blue gaze attentive and breathtaking all at once. He made nerves dance in her belly and sparks kindle in her center. It’d been a long time since she’d had sex with anyone, and the idea of sex with Colt made her hot and achy.
Not that she planned to let him know that.
When he’d left, he’d kissed her on the cheek and then walked away. She’d wanted, so badly, to turn her head and press her mouth to his—but she hadn’t done it.
She still wasn’t sure she should, no matter how he made her feel inside. The last time she’d let herself fall for a guy, she’d ended up with a shattered heart.
It was more than that with him, however. Colt was a dangerous man, and she wasn’t sure she could handle that life even for a little bit. She’d had a taste of what could happen when Natasha abducted her, and she didn’t want to go through that ever again.
But Colt was incredibly tempting. He didn’t blame her for getting him shot, though Angie still felt as if she’d helped make it happen. Probably always would.
If he’d been shot once in the line of duty, he could be again. She didn’t want to get close to him and then have something like that happen. It had been terrifying the first time, and she’d barely known him. If she let herself fall for him?
Angie closed her eyes. “Stop,” she whispered. “You’re depleting your mental bank account with this nonsense.”
She slid her mouse over a column and clicked. Time to push Colt—and any theoretical relationships—from her mind and get down to business. This is what paid the bills. This is what she could rely on.
Not blue-eyed men with gorgeous smiles and dangerous professions.
Chapter Four
Colt didn’t call Angie right away. He didn’t want to seem too eager, so he waited until about eight that night. And he texted to ask how her day had been instead of calling. She answered right away.
Angie: It’s been a long day at work. I just got home.
Colt: Wow. It’s not even tax time yet.
Angie: It’s always tax time in this business. But no, you’re right. Except that corporate returns are due March 15 and I’ve got
