Bowles, Jan - In Debt to the Dom [Guilty Pleasures 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Free Page A

She’d just arrived too early in the morning. That was all. Any minute now and her computer would be brought back, fully functioning once more.
    Patting the dry towel over her face, she breathed in and began to relax. Everything would be fine. She’d covered her tracks well. No one would find out. When she sold her house, she’d replace the money and no one would be any the wiser.
    Holding her head high, she emerged from the restroom.
    Two burly security guards were waiting outside, and her heart sank.
    “Maddie James?”
    Swallowing, she nodded. “Yes.” It was amazing that her voice worked at all, knowing her career must be at an end.
    “Please come with us.”
    Standing on either side of her, they escorted her to the elevator.
    This had turned into a nightmare. Her sister was still missing, and she had secretly wired five hundred thousand dollars to a bank account who knew where.
    Throughout her training and early career, they had been warned about moments like these. Their line of work opened them up to unscrupulous individuals. Blackmail was a distinct possibility. It was drilled into all investment bankers that they must involve security from the beginning, yet she hadn’t followed that advice. Why? Because, when it came to her family, simple rules didn’t apply. How could she jeopardize Simone’s chances of staying alive? Instinct had just taken over.
    Now she would have no choice but to own up to her actions and take her punishment. If that was the only way to keep her sister alive, then she was glad she had done it.

    * * * *

    Keaton Rivers paced his office one more time, anger surging through his veins. How dare anyone steal from his company. But Maddie James? It seemed almost impossible that she would do such a thing. He wondered why? Was it revenge because he hadn’t given her the promotion she so obviously wanted? Surely the woman wouldn’t be so dishonest? Or maybe she just wanted to punish him for stepping out of line, by assuming she’d sleep with him. He still seethed on that count. The woman had made a fool of him.
    Well, security was bringing her straight to his office right now. So he guessed he’d find out. He dragged a hand through his hair. Even though he’d been awake all night following the trail of money, he didn’t feel remotely tired. A primal need to regain what was his pulsed inside him. He had to remind himself that whatever Maddie James had done he couldn’t lash out. He had to keep a firm grip on his emotions. There would be time enough to have his revenge in court.
    A knock at the door brought him face to face with the culprit. Maddie walked in, her head lowered. He nodded to the security guards, and he was left alone with her.
    He walked purposefully behind his desk and sank into his leather chair. The disappointment in her actions made him put a barrier between them.
    He waited a while. The silence continued uninterrupted as she stood in the center of his office and occasionally shuffled her feet.
    He shook his head and spoke in a dismissive tone, “And I had such high hopes for you, Maddie.”
    Her head immediately snapped back, and she looked straight at him. He saw the worry on her face—the burden of something more. Maybe she had been blackmailed. A softer tone reached his voice.
    “If you have a reason for doing what you did, then please divulge it now.”
    She shook her head. “I’ve nothing to say.”
    Feeling exasperated, he leaned on his desk and stared at her. “Then it was all for personal gain?”
    Keaton rubbed his hand across his face, and then into his hair. He let out a deep breath. Shouting wouldn’t help. “This is so disappointing. I’ve been up all night following this money trail.” He looked at his watch. “I need to have this sorted before I go on vacation later today. You should know that as soon as someone authorizes a large transaction it’s automatically flagged by the system. You were naïve to think you could hide your tracks.