Page 29 of Protected By the Elf Prince

And maybe, just maybe, I liked that he looked at me like I was worth something.

My chest tightened unexpectedly at the thought.

Before I could unpack that mess, an inconsistency in one of the financial reports caught my attention.

I frowned and leaned closer toward the screen. “That’s odd.”

The numbers didn’t line up. It wasn’t a massive discrepancy. Small enough, in fact, that most people probably wouldn’t notice.

However, I did.

A transfer had been altered between departments, and the adjustment made no logical sense. Someone named Lance Hawthorne signed off on it, but I didn’t recall anyone employed here with that name. Unless they were on another floor. But people in those departments dealt with different types of clients. This floor was for the big companies.

When I checked another file, my frown deepened. “Okay….”

Maybe it was just an accounting mistake.

Except whoever altered the figures knew what they were doing. The subtle inconsistencies were buried carefully.

I printed the report and headed toward my boss’s office. After I knocked on the open door, Martin looked up from the sheets in front of him. “Everything all right, Landon?”

“I think so,” I replied, stepping inside. “I just noticed something strange in the quarterly adjustments for these files.”

I handed him the paperwork. His expression remained relaxed for exactly two seconds before tightening almost imperceptibly.

Interesting.

He recovered quickly and said smoothly, “I don’t know how this got sent to you. But that’s already been handled.”

I blinked. “Handled how?”

He set the paper down. “It was a minor internal issue. One of the rookies messed up.”

“Shouldn’t the figures still match now?”

His smile tightened slightly. “Forget about it.”

Every instinct I possessed sharpened instantly because that was not the response an accountant gave another accountant.

“Are you sure I should?” I asked carefully.

“Yes.” The finality in his tone was unmistakable.

I held his gaze for a second longer before nodding once. “Right. Okay.”

But as I left the office, unease settled heavily in my stomach. Something about the interaction felt wrong. But was there enough information for accusations?

Not yet.

Still, I quietly saved copies of the reports once I returned to my desk.

The rest of the day passed in a blur after that. Half my attention stayed on the accounting discrepancies and the other half remained entirely occupied by the fact that I’d invited Dashiel over tonight.

Every time I thought about it, nerves twisted through me.

Though they weren’t bad nerves. It wasn’t like I wanted to throw up or shit myself.

So… was it more like anticipation?