Page 13 of Miss Treated

So much for hoping Dominic would be on my side. Jesus, was there no end to family members working at this company?

The blonde sidled up to Dominic, touching his arm. “We on for coffee again this afternoon, Nic?”

There didn’t appear to be a woman alive who wasn’t under his spell. He was like the Pied Piper. The Pied Piper of pussy. The thought had me biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

Dominic smiled. “Afraid I can’t today, Shauna. But I’d like you to meet Kelsey. She’s doing the audit.”

Shauna fixed her scrutinizing gaze on me. “I’m Shauna, the sales manager.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too. Rain check until tomorrow, Nic. I’ll talk to you later, Sophia. Thanks again for including me on the call.”

“Anytime, Shauna.” The older proceeded to focus her attention on me. “So you’re Kelsey Maxwell. I’m Sophia Russo. You’re stunning. Isn’t she, Nicky?”

It was the first time I’d witnessed Dominic blush. As for Shauna, well, she sucked in a breath at the door she’d yet to walk out of before shutting it harder than necessary.

“Don’t mind her. So many of the girls here have been aflutter about my nephew coming to work here last month. He’s the new office eye candy and everyone wants a sugar fix.”

Again, Dominic blushed. Her comment had gone beyond embarrassing right to insulting. He was the COO.

Sophia narrowed her gaze. “Tell me, Kelsey, you seem young. Are you recently out of college?”

Another shot fired. “No. I’ve been out for a few years.”

She faked a smile. “So, tell me what it is I can do for you?”

“As you know, I’m here to focus on accounting processes. I’d like to set up meetings with each accounting function lead to better understand and document processes.”

“It would be easier if I send you the documents we have. My team is too busy to waste time in meetings.”

“I’ll keep the meetings as brief as possible.” Everyone was always too busy for an audit. They weren’t exactly designed to be convenient. But this was why I’d been hired, and it was a company priority. She could play games all she wanted, but so long as the owner requested this audit, she and I both knew it had to happen.

After a staredown which privately wore on my nerves, she finally relented. “Fine. But I expect to be in every meeting with them.”

“I’m happy to have you there. I’ll also need a point person, perhaps an accounting manager, to answer any follow-up questions and send information on sample sets.”

“You can send all your questions directly to me, and I will facilitate the requests which have merit.”

In other words, she’d decide what she would or wouldn’t give me. I’d leave that fight for Mr. Chambers. I was here to do a job. Period. “Sounds good. Thank you.”

“I’ve offered to assist,” Dominic interjected.

Her wrath turned on her nephew. “I see your father finally found something useful for you to do.”

Surprisingly, he had no comeback.

She focused on me again. “Your last firm indicated you were a stellar employee. Lofty praise from a highly rated auditing firm. But it begs the question why you left.”

She’d overstepped in looking into my background, but now that I’d met her, I wasn’t surprised. “I prefer the sunny weather and fish tacos of California. It was nice to meet you, Sophia. I won’t take up any more of your valuable time.”

Her lips curled into a fake smile. “Nice to meet you too, dear.”

She turned to Dominic, speaking in what sounded like Italian.

His jaw went tense, and he responded curtly in the same language.

“Nicky, why don’t you stick around? I’m certain Kelsey is capable of finding her way back to her office on her own. Aren’t you, dear?”