Chapter 11
Days later, Max lay on the bed next to Sienna, in the room they had come to think of as theirs. She was perched on the edge of the bed, with her cell phone pressed to her ear, as it had been for almost two hours. She was speaking to a woman back in the States who was planning to open up a small business.
He could only hear Sienna’s side of the conversation, but from what he could gather, the client was big on talent, but small on business acumen, and was leaning heavily on Sienna’s knowledge and wisdom.
And that, Max thought, she had in spades. Sienna was patient, encouraging, and clear in her advice, and with his knowledge of US business protocols, he was impressed by how much she knew, not to mention how gracious and professional she was.
He was proud of her.
She’d apologized when she’d arrived, saying that the client had frantically messaged her earlier in the day and she hadn’t been able to schedule anything before she came. As much as he had wanted to sample her delectable body once more, as they almost always did when they got together, he found to his surprise that he didn’t mind. He was content merely to be in her company, and glad for the unexpected opportunity to witness another side of her; the professional side, rather than the wild, unbridled one. “It’s your business,” he’d insisted, “and you have a right to handle it.”
While she worked next to him, he took the opportunity to go over the bar’s financials; something he was normally meticulous about, but which, in recent weeks, he had begun to neglect, what with everything that was going on in his life right now.
It took a lot of time to get up to speed, but he worked with practiced ease and efficiency. The bar’s financials were normally quite straightforward. There was little in the way of anomalies—except maybe today.
He flipped back a few screens on his tablet, and then forward again. The figures were all wrong. Something wasn’t adding up, and the intrusion into the accounts seemed haphazard and careless. There was no way that either Max or the senior manager would have left the accounts in such shambles.
With rising dread, he signaled to Sienna that he was stepping away for a moment, and excused himself to slip into the hallway for privacy. His mother picked up in a few rings. “Max! Everything okay?”
Was it?he wondered. “I don’t know. I’m seeing some anomalies in the bar’s accounts. It looks like several random withdrawals have been made; the sums are inconsistent and there are no memos.”
“Oh that,” his mom dismissed with a light laugh. “That’s nothing.”
“It is something,Maman,because the money is gone.”
“Oh, pooh. I gave Eliose access to that account—”
“You what?” Surely, he wasn’t hearing right.
“It’s such a little account. Hardly worth making a fuss about. She needed money to get things in order for the baby.”
Max felt the pressure building between his eyes and pressed a thumb to his nose bridge. “Maman,” he said patiently, “a separate fund has been set up to meet all those needs. The nursery, the equipment, clothing and I don’t know what else a baby has to have. You’ve hired someone to source and deliver all of that. Why would Éloïse need more money?”
Huimin laughed again. “It’s fine. You know us women; we always think we need to buy more stuff, especially when babies are concerned. Why, when you and your brother were little, I drove your father crazy with that. I once bought sets of matching jumpers for both of you, identical ones in six different colors—”
“Everything okay?”
Max spun around to see Sienna standing there behind him, door ajar, her hand on the knob. How long had she been standing there? And how much had she heard? He felt an uncomfortable heat rise inside him. “Just family business,” he mumbled. “I’m fine.”
His mom piped up, her voice tinny on the other end of the line. “Is someone there? Are you speaking to someone else?” As usual, she was irritated at not being the center of attention. Quickly, he told her he’d call her later, but that they would be discussing the matter again. His mom sounded almost petulant; she wasn’t a woman who enjoyed being opposed, but she said goodbye and blew him a kiss, anyway. He told her he loved her too and hanged up.
Sienna was looking searchingly into his face. “Your mom?”
“Mm-hmm,” he conceded, guiding her back inside with one hand on her waist and shutting the door. Her face was inscrutable. Had she heard any of the conversation about Éloïse? Or the baby?
If she had, she wasn’t revealing anything. Instead, she led him back to bed and clambered in after him. Rolling over onto her tummy and propping herself up onto her elbows, chin in her hands. “You never talk much about your family.”
“Neither do you,” he countered.
“Sure, I have,” she answered playfully, counting off on her fingers. “Parents were married for twenty years before I came along. I was a total surprise for them because they were planning on retiring early. I’m an only child and very spoilt. Though my parents stopped supporting me financially when I turned twenty-three. They wanted me to develop a work ethic. They constantly remind me that I’ll get everything due to me upon their death. I hate it when they mention their older adult status.”
He smiled sadly. “Well, I guess I’m just the opposite. My mom married barely out of her teens.”
“My mom and dad as well,” cut in Sienna.
Max smiled. “I guess we have that in common. My mother is from Singapore, though her family immigrated to France when she was a teen. Her family was wealthy and so was my dad’s. The families pushed for their union and they were married within months. My brother came soon after their wedding and I followed five years later.”
She watched him intently, listening to every word. “What are your parents like?”