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As his words rattled around in my brain, I smiled. What I’d taken as an insult had been his stupid way of trying to be helpful.
“Thank you.”
“No need. It’s just my opinion of course.”
Direct and decisive it would be, then.
“I want to bring Lara back on board.” There, I’d said it.
His brows drew together. “Why? You know what everybody thinks of her.”
“We need to find the real embezzler, and she’s the one who uncovered it in the first place.”
“You think it’s worth the risk?” He picked up his drink and sipped on his straw.
“It’s just that…”
His eyes narrowed at me.
I got the message faster this time.No weasel words, no filler words, be decisive.“I think it’s well worth the risk for both her and us. The cops have stopped even looking for anyone besides Lara, so without finding the identity of the true culprit ourselves, she’ll be convicted. And, if we don’t find out who it is, he or she could start up again later. If you really believe Lara’s to blame, isn’t there a saying about keeping your enemies close? This way you can keep an eye on her.”
Josh tilted his head quizzically. “Okay. I didn’t say I thought it was Lara.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay, bring her in starting tomorrow.”
I’d come here for lunch to figure out my arguments on paper, expecting it to be a difficult conversation. The ease of convincing him surprised me. I said the only appropriate thing, “Thank you.”
“Thank you for suggesting it.”
This man constantly surprised me. “You’re an enigma.”
I’d thought him a jerk when he yanked me out of the airport in Sioux City. I’d thought him a jerk a minute ago for telling menowithout even listening to my question, and both times he’d meant to be helpful.
He raised his drink. “Dinner tomorrow night and we can fix that.” He raised a brow in invitation. “You did say this week.”
“Okay, but just coffee—two coworkers getting to know each other a little better.”
“We didn’t have any luck with coffee last time. It should be dinner,” he insisted.
“If I say no, will you stop asking?”
He chuckled. “Of course not, I’ll ask Jenny to relay my dinner invitation to you.”
That was low. He knew Jenny’s reputation as our queen of gossip, and I’d never live it down.
“Every day,” he added.
“Okay, already. Dinner tomorrow.”
Having Jenny spread it far and wide was the last thing I needed.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right.”
On the walk back to work, my insides did backflips as I thought about tomorrow night. When I looked over at him, I noticed that scar on his chin again, but I held back the question.
