Double Trouble

by Curry, Edna

  Or maybe that was another casualty of his amnesia?

  She slid a hand down to caress him, amazed to find him ready again.

  “Ye, gods, what you do to me, Woman!” he murmured and covered her body with his again. “This time, I’m taking my time to find what delights every inch of you.”

  “I’ll be happy to show you, if you return the favor.”

  Neither of them got much sleep that night and he never did call a cab.

  The next morning she drove him to his motel to change, then they went on to their offices together.

  ~ * ~

  Later that morning Rosie was in her office finishing sorting the store’s mail when Karen buzzed her. “Rosie, there’s a Melvin Enderman here who says he’s from Latham headquarters in Chicago. He wants to see you and Ken.”

  Rosie groaned. So Lester’s computer expert had arrived. She’d warned Ken repeatedly that he was asking for trouble getting behind on the reports to Lester, but he’d been dragging his feet on them for months. “I thought you said Lester was sending someone named Kirk.”

  Karen sounded nervous as she replied, “I guess he changed his mind.”

  “I see. Tell Ken to expect us in a few minutes. I’ll be right out.”

  She walked to the outer office. A small, thin middle-aged man was standing at Karen’s desk with his back to her. Only a ring of dark hair showed around his bald head, reminding her of a donut. As Karen said, “Here’s Ms. Kapp now,” he turned icy blue eyes on her. His cold look and greeting sent a chill sliding down her back.

  Extending a hand in greeting, she thought, He thinks we’re all thieves. “Hello, Mr. Enderman. You’re from the home office?”

  “Yes. I’m Melvin Enderman. Lester Latham sent me.”

  Confused, Rosie blurted, “I thought Lester said to expect a man named Kirk?”

  “He couldn’t make it,” Melvin said with a glare.

  Apparently he didn’t like being questioned. Why hadn’t Lester called to tell her about the change in plans? “Welcome to Minneapolis,” she said, managing a smile.

  His brief handshake was cold and his brows dipped. “I didn’t come to socialize, Ms. Kapp. I understand you’re having computer problems?”

  She nodded. “Ken did complain of that a couple of weeks ago, yes. But he says everything seems to be working all right now.”

  “Then we should have no problem checking things out and getting the missing reports sent in to the home office immediately.”

  She certainly hoped so. This cold fish gave her the creeps. “Ken’s office is right this way, Sir.”

  She turned and knocked on Ken’s door.

  It opened almost immediately and he greeted them and waved them inside. Rosie was surprised to see papers in stacks on various surfaces. Ken was usually so anal about keeping everything in his office neat. “A place for everything and everything in its place” definitely fit Ken. But not lately.

  Rosie introduced them and stood aside a bit uncertainly, not sure what was expected of her. Since they’d arrived at the office, Ken was acting so formally. Apparently he didn’t want the staff to know anything was going on between them. Well, she could be businesslike, too. “Can I get you anything, Ken, or help with anything?”

  ~ * ~

  Kirk smiled at her offer and shook his head, then looked at the other man. “Would you like coffee, Melvin? No? Then nothing right now, Rosie. I’ll buzz you if we need anything.”

  He watched her leave, noting the relieved look on her face. He turned to eye Melvin. “I’m sure you heard about my amnesia?”

  Melvin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, Ken, I heard.” He glanced around at the stacks of paper. “Looks like you’ve been working, though. You didn’t forget how to do your job?”

  “I still remember how to read a balance sheet and the principles of business,” he said. “The problem is, I don’t remember the details of this business.”

  Melvin frowned. “So you’re doing what?”

  He didn’t care for this weasel of a man at all. But evidently Uncle Lester trusted him, so Melvin must be competent. Until he regained Lester’s trust, he would have to put up with him.

  “I’m trying to match invoices to checks written, to try to figure out where we stand financially. Apparently, I didn’t make very good notes to myself on which invoices were paid when and with which check. So, there are lots of invoices that I’m not sure are paid.”

  “I see,” Melvin said, looking skeptical. “You didn’t exactly follow our standard procedure, then.”

  “Apparently not.” He sighed. So Melvin didn’t believe he had really lost his memory either. He bit out, “What exactly did you come here for?”

  Melvin smiled, looking like the cat who’d just eaten the canary. Or maybe the disgruntled employee who’d just gotten his dream assignment and couldn’t wait to lower the boom on someone he disliked.

  “Your uncle said you’re behind in your quarterly reports. And Lester wasn’t exactly pleased with the last couple you did send. Our boss is getting impatient.”

  “Tell me about it,” he muttered.

  Melvin’s lips curled. “So, I’m supposed to help you with your computer problems in getting the reports in ASAP. I assure you I’m highly qualified to do the reports for you.”

  “I see.” At least Melvin hadn’t said he was here to run an audit. Though as soon as Lester saw the lousy numbers he was coming up with, Lester would no doubt order one as the next step.

  “Lester’s orders,” Melvin added with a smirk, as though daring Ken to deny him the right to do that.

  “My computer seems to be working fine, Melvin,” he said. “You’re welcome to see for yourself.”

  “Yes, I will do that, Ken, if you don’t mind.”

  “Be my guest,” he said, getting up and surrendering his desk and computer.

  It rankled him to turn over his office to this man, but if that’s what the Latham Company’s CEO wanted, he really had no choice. He answered a few basic questions about the programs they used for bookkeeping.

  Melvin merely nodded. “Good. You’re using the same software that all the other stores in the Latham chain are using. I shouldn’t have any trouble.”

  He nodded at Melvin and moved to a side table and continued his task of matching invoices to checks.

  How could he have allowed things in his office to get into such a state? A flash of memory showed him marking every paid invoice with the date and check number. He knew he always circled the amount paid, or if it was a partial payment, wrote the amount paid on account and neatly filed it away in orderly filing cabinets. Yet he hadn’t found one with that information on it. How could that be? And why was everything now in such a mess? Nothing made sense.

  ~ * ~

  Rosie decided today would be a good time to go to lunch with Gloria Haverson. She’d been so busy with her mother’s things and then with helping Ken, that they hadn’t had a chance to see each other for weeks.

  Besides, Melvin and Ken had been working for hours without asking for her opinion or help. They wouldn’t even miss her. If they needed anything, Karen could find it for them.

  Seated in a back booth of the restaurant where she and Ken had gone for hamburgers a few nights ago, she related her problems to Gloria, as she’d been doing for many years. She and Gloria had been friends in high school, then had gone their separate ways during college years, but now had ended up back in their hometown. Gloria was a legal secretary for one of the top law firms in town and Rosie valued her opinions and discretion.

  Now as Gloria bit into a juicy burger, Rosie explained all the events of the past week. She told her about the mugging and Ken’s amnesia.

  Gloria bit into a French fry and chewed thoughtfully. “I really can’t see Mr. Perfect doing some of the things you describe,” she said with a sigh.

  “I know,” Rosie agreed. “He was so insistent on announcing our engagement a few weeks before Mom died. He and Mom had their heads together all the time p
lanning the perfect wedding. But after the mugging, he said he’s not a marrying man and didn’t even remember me.”

  “Too weird.” Gloria pushed back her long dark hair with an impatient hand. Her long hair had a habit of falling into her face as she leaned forward.

  “I know.” Rosie sighed and drank her coffee.

  “You need a manicure,” Gloria scolded. “You’re working too hard and not taking care of yourself.”

  Gloria’s long nails had a fresh manicure, Rosie noted. “You’re right. I really do need one,” she said, looking ruefully at her uneven nails.

  She’d removed the chipped polish and smoothed the broken nail, but hadn’t taken time to redo them. “Cleaning out Mom’s apartment was a big job and then I helped Ken clean up the mess the burglars left.”

  Gloria gave an inelegant snort. “No wonder Ken doesn’t appreciate you. You’re acting like a doormat.”

  Rosie stiffened. “I am not! I’ve just been helping him a bit because he was hurt. We were engaged, after all. People would expect me to help him out.”

  Gloria sniffed. “Not if they heard about him dumping you,” she insisted. “That’s way beyond the call of duty.” Her eyes narrowed as she regarded Rosie. “You’re not still in love with the jerk, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Rosie said.

  “You’ll have to put more conviction into your voice than that if you want me to believe you. Honestly, girl, have you no pride? The man doesn’t deserve the time of day, let alone your help.”

  Rosie felt heat rise in her cheeks. “He’s still my boss, you know. And I really do like my job.”

  “There is that,” Gloria agreed with a resigned sigh. She sipped her coffee.

  “Besides, Ken’s really been much nicer since the mugging,” Rosie confided thoughtfully. “I don’t know how to explain it, but he seems different. Maybe he had a near death experience or something.”

  “Are we talking about the same man, here? Mr. Perfect? The guy you never seem to be able to please?”

  “Yeah, I know. But come to think of it, he hasn’t criticized me lately. And he even came to this place for hamburgers one day with me.”

  “You’re kidding! I thought he only ate elegant stuff like shrimp and steak?”

  “Not any more. He’s eaten junk food right along with me every time we’ve shared a meal the past few days.”

  Gloria paused, a French fry half-way to her mouth. “He dumped you, but you’re still sharing meals?”

  Rosie smiled ruefully. “I know that doesn’t make much sense, but it just seems to happen. I mean, we were just grabbing some food on the way to do something that needed doing, like cleaning up the damage in his apartment, or going to the cabin to pick up his car.”

  “Uh huh!” Gloria scoffed.

  “Really, they weren’t dates or anything.”

  Gloria eyed her over the rim of her coffee cup. “What do you mean, you went out to his cabin to pick up his car?”

  Rosie shrugged. “Ken apparently arrived at the store parking lot in a taxi that night. After the mugging, we couldn’t find his car. Then a neighbor at the lake reported that Ken’s boat was floating upside down in the lake and said his car was parked out there. The neighbor thought he had drowned and wanted the police to drag the lake for his body.”

  “But he was in the hospital? So why was his car out at the lake?”

  Rosie shrugged. “We still haven’t figured that out. Maybe someone took the boat out for a ride, like teens having a lark, and capsized it. You never know. I hope Ken gets his memory back soon and so he’ll be able to explain all this.”

  “Oops, look who walked in.” Gloria rolled her eyes toward the door.

  Rosie glanced that way and saw Melvin and Ken being shown to a table across the room. “All right, I believe you; he has changed. I’ve never seen him in anything but a fancy restaurant before.”

  The waitress brought their bill and Rosie took the opportunity to take her leave. “I really need to get back to work,” she told Gloria. She didn’t want to admit that seeing Melvin and Ken together made her nervous. What was Melvin going to find in his investigation? Because, whatever Lester had called it, she felt sure that Melvin was investigating their store’s financial records. Was their store really in a financial bind?

  If so, was her job on the line, too?

  Chapter 9

  When Rosie returned to the office, Karen nodded toward Ken’s door and said, “Harry’s in there, now. Is it true what he said, Rosie? Does that man from headquarters think something’s wrong here at our store?”

  Rosie frowned. What was going on? She’d never liked Ken’s floor manager much, but she hadn’t expected disloyalty from him. “What did Harry say?”

  Karen blanched. “Just that Lester wouldn’t have sent that man here unless we’re in big trouble. Are we?”

  Yikes. Gossip would spread through the employees faster than a flash flood coming down a mountain. “I’m sure Harry is exaggerating, Karen,” she said putting as much firmness in her voice as she could manage. “Don’t borrow trouble.”

  Karen looked doubtful, but nodded.

  With a sigh, Rosie strode to Ken’s office. She opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.

  “Rosie,” Harry said, starting to rise from behind Ken’s desk. His face reddened under his shiny bald head.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I needed some copies of invoices for prices that were missing on some boxes we got in last week.”

  Rosie shook her head. “I don’t mean, why are you in this office, I mean, what are you doing spreading speculation among the employees about the man from headquarters?”

  “Spreading speculation? I only said…” He began, sitting back in the chair, a guilty look coloring his wide face.

  “Karen told me what you said. There’s no reason to worry the employees. You know how gossip spreads here.”

  “Lester sent a man here. That’s reason enough for me to worry, isn’t it?” He frowned at her, running a big hand over his graying ring of hair. “And we’re doing an extra inventory in the middle of the year. Why?”

  Rosie closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Because Ken wants one, that’s why. He’s the boss. He doesn’t need to explain his reasons to us.”

  “Huh!” Harry snorted disbelievingly. “And look at this office. I’ve never seen Ken’s office look like this! He’s always so persnickety. That means he’s upset about Melvin being here, too, doesn’t it?”

  “Ken was having computer problems so he was late getting in his reports. Then you know there was the mugging and his amnesia which put him even farther behind. He’s probably just trying to sort stuff out because he doesn’t remember a lot of things yet. “She certainly hoped that’s all it was. She’d never seen Ken leave stuff out like this either. He’d always filed everything neatly away, out of sight. But she wasn’t going to admit that to Harry. He always managed to make mountains out of mini-marshmallows.

  “Well, yeah, but…”

  “Let’s keep this quiet. I don’t want all the employees upset by unfounded gossip. Lester sent Melvin to help him get his late reports done and get back on track,” she repeated firmly. “I’m sure that’s all it is and they’ll figure it out.”

  She didn’t know why she felt such a strong urge to defend Ken. Did she really love him after all? No, she didn’t! He didn’t deserve her loyalty after the way he’d dumped her so easily.

  She pushed away the guilty thought that she’d treated him badly herself. She’d known she didn’t love Ken when she’d allowed her mother to think she’d accepted his proposal. She’d wanted to keep her dying mother happy, not thinking of Ken’s feelings in the matter at all. That hadn’t been fair to Ken no matter how justified she’d felt in wanting to please her mother.

  She’d meant to break their engagement herself. Before he’d beat her to it.

  “I suppose they’ll figure it out. “Harry picked up the invoices
he’d come for, closed the file drawer and pulled himself to his feet. He chewed his lip for a long moment, an angry look on his face. “I hope you’re right, Rosie,” he said, and then strode out.

  Rosie went back to her own office, but had trouble settling back to work. Part of her job was balancing the cash registers and making the bank deposits each day.

  Today she found herself counting stacks of bills several times and adding checks over and over before getting a correct total. Worrying thoughts kept swirling in her head.

  Was Harry right? Was their store in big trouble? Were heads about to roll as the Latham CEO reorganized and tried to save it?

  It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened in this chain, she knew. Lester had used the “a new broom sweeps clean” theory several times before to turn around stores in his chain.

  But their store’s sales were always healthy, as the money that passed through her hands daily attested. Surely their profit margin was sufficient to cover their expenses. She couldn’t imagine why there should be a problem.

  ~ * ~

  Kirk noticed Rosie and Gloria leave the restaurant, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to believe that any part of their store’s financial problems were Rosie’s fault, but couldn’t help wondering. After all, she did handle the incoming cash and checks. Could she be skimming from their daily cash receipts?

  If only he could remember his immediate past, so he could get a better handle on what was going on in their store. He managed to make small talk with Melvin, though the man was definitely a cold fish, and a very suspicious one.

  Melvin asked pointed questions about who did what in their office, most of which he couldn’t answer.

  “I really don’t know how to answer you,” he told Melvin. “As I told you, I still don’t remember most of my past. I’m told the invoices are turned over to me and I write all the checks except for the payroll. I write one check to another account for that, and Rosie writes the individual payroll checks and keeps track of each person’s deductions for income taxes, social security taxes, payments to the health insurance, and so on.”

  “She also balances the cash registers and makes all the deposits, doesn’t she, Ken?”