Page 20 of Taint My Soul

As I settle down, I look up and see his sharp gaze is in my direction. He breaks eye contact, placing his suit jacket around his chair. I exhale deeply as I turn on my computer to start the day.

Another voice breaks through the deafening silence, and my body jerks as I look up at a different man walking toward me with a friendly smile. I’m so lost that I didn’t even know someone was approaching my table. “You must be the new guy. Welcome to Seven Stone.” He extends his hand, and I shake it with a smile, getting to my feet.

I hope the look on my face does not show unrest.

“I’m Kurt.”

“Mason. Nice to meet you.”

“Good to have fresh eyes around here. If you have any problems, I mean, any problems at all, my office is just before the elevator.”

“Of course, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mason.” He punctuates, winking and making me force a giggle. “Um, just in case you are free Wednesday night. The guys hang out together at The Sovereign.”

“The Sovereign?” I squint my eyes at him. “Is it a membership thing?”

“You have never heard of that before.” He leans closer. “Where are you from?”

“Earth.” I retort, and he gives me a look. “I just moved to Kingston city because of the job.”

“Hmm.” He nods. “If you need directions, I’m always here.”

“No, thank you.” I disagree.

“Mason. In my office now!” Saint’s voice slices through our conversation like a knife. I swallow and look at him through the glass enclosure, except he’s not looking at me. A part of me must have forgotten that this was part of the job.

Kurt leans in, “You got to answer the boss. PS, he doesn’t tolerate tardiness.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” I murmur and head into his office, bracing myself for the interaction.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MASON

The memory of that night hits me with full force when I step through the door.

“Sit.” he says, and I settle down opposite him, clutching my hands under the table.

It feels odd sitting opposite him after what happened between us, but I must be comfortable knowing he’s my boss, and I’ll continue to see him until Vincent gets exactly what he needs from me.

“Your predecessor mishandled something important.” He looks up at me. Our eyes meet briefly. “Can I trust you with confidential data?”

“Yes, sir.” I shift in my seat, letting out a breath through my lips.

“Good.” He gets on his feet and takes out two folders from a box, setting them down on the table. “A transaction went missing last week. You’ll audit every line in these accounts. If someone tried to hide something, I expect you to drag it into the light.”

“Yes, sir.” I nod and take the folder from the table. “Anything else you need from me?”

He glances at me. “No, that will be all for today.” I can still see that he’s trying to figure out how he recognizes me. Or maybe he already knows?

That won’t be a problem because I already know what to say. I’m working at the Red Horn club simply because I need extra cash. That’s it.

I shut the door on my way out and sit on my chair, digging into the folder. By the end of the day, I’m halfway through. I stop by his office and let him know he’ll have the audit as soon as possible.

“You have until Friday.” He grunts without looking up from his phone.

“Yes, sir.”