AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shut the door and let out a breath. Grabbing a beer from the refrigerator, I went down to Shaun’s house.
“So, how did it go?” He smiled when I stepped through the sliding door.
“We’re having dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’s my boy.” He walked over and patted my shoulder. “I knew you could convince her.”
“I want to meet her,” Jenni said. “I just can’t believe someone at Sterling Capital is ripping us off.”
“I know, babe. But Zoey will figure it out.” Shaun hooked his arm around her and kissed the side of her head.
CHAPTER 9
Zoey
On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. I needed ice cream because ever since I was a kid, it was what I ate when I was stressed. My dad always said that the best remedy for relieving stress was eating cream right out of the container. When I arrived home, I put the few things I bought away, changed into my pajamas, grabbed the pint of ice cream from the freezer, and took it over to the couch. As I dipped the spoon into the Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, I thought about Carter. Everything that could have gone wrong with this move to Los Angeles had. Finnick dying, resuming my responsibilities as a forensic accountant, and meeting a dangerously sexy man named Carter Kind. As I pondered my thoughts, my phone rang with a Facetime call from Cara.
“Hey, Cara,” I answered.
“Hello, my bakery owner bestie—oh, shit. You have the Ben and Jerry’s out. What happened?”
“Where do I start?” I sighed. “First, Finnick is no more. So, I have to buy a new car.”
“We knew that was going to happen sooner or later. What else?”
“I went to look at that building, and the numbers weren’t adding up. So, I went to Sterling Capital, talked to Shaun, the CEO, and confronted him. Come to find out, it’s a scam someone in his company is running.”
“Someone’s embezzling money?” Cara asked.
“Looks that way. Anyway, he hired me temporarily to work for him, review his accounting records, and find out. Then he took me to this awesome new building in Venice, and he said if I agreed to work for him, the first year would be rent-free.”
“Damn, Zoe. That sounds like a great deal to me. There’s nothing to be stressed about. You’ll have his books figured out quickly, and then you can move on to the bakery in a brand-new building, rent-free for a year. Think of the profit you’ll make.”
“I’m having dinner tomorrow night with Carter Kind.” I shoved a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth.
“Who?” Cara’s brows furrowed.
“The sexy guy who stopped and helped me yesterday on the side of the highway.”
“You did not tell me about that yesterday. Details now!”
“Long story short. He stopped to see if I needed help and drove me to the car rental shop. I saw him today at Sterling Capital. He’s Shaun’s cousin but owns his own company, Carter Management Group. Sam and Stefan are Shaun’s other cousins who own an architecture firm. Anyway, I saw Carter again tonight when I went to Sam’s house for a meeting about the bakery. He asked me to dinner and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“How sexy is he?”
“Like the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. He has the bluest eyes, Cara. Do you understand now why I’m stressed?”
“Sorry, Zoe. It doesn’t sound stressful to me. You’re stressing yourself out over nothing. It's a new place, a new car, a sexy guy, and a new business. What’s wrong with you?” Her brows furrowed. “If anything, I feel sorry for Carter.” She laughed.
“Thanks a lot.” I tapped the screen with my spoon.
“It’s the truth, and you know it. You have major commitment issues, and your track record with guys proves it.”
“I already told him I’m not looking for anything, and he said he wasn’t either.”
“Okay.” She shrugged. “It’s dinner—big deal. Stop reading too much into it. I have to go. Keep me posted. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I ended the call and set my phone down. “Shit.” I looked down at my ice cream and realized I’d eaten almost the entire pint.
