Page 52 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

Annie relaxed against him. She was feeling like the unpopular kid on the playground and she couldn’t resist the comfort of Fisher’s embrace. “I don’t understand. How is this possible?”

“What do you know about laundering money?” he asked.

“Whenever I hear that term, I think of a huge washing machine full of dollar bills.”

“I’m guessing not much?” he asked with a smile.

She tipped her head and said, “I don’t even balance my personal checkbook.”

“So who does the accounts here?” he asked.

“Me with help from Denise and her husband Edmund. He’s a CPA,” she said. “And Sonia, the quiet waitress, is an accounting major so she always double-checks everything.”

“Anyone else?”

“Well, my father has been known to poke around but he’s not an accountant. He hasn’t touched my computer since he crashed it during my audit.”

“Does anyone else have access?”

“Well, I don’t generally keep the office locked. So anyone could wander in whenever they felt like it.”

“And get your account information?”

“What do you mean?”

“Here’s a quick lesson on laundering money,” he said. “The whole purpose behind laundering money is to hide vast sums of money from the federal government. Now why would you want to do this?”

“Because you don’t want to pay taxes on it,” she said.

“True, but also, because it was probably gotten illegally.”

“Now what you need to hide the money is a cover for the illicit funds. Restaurants, casinos, any business that operates in high turnover gives the launderer a variety of ways to hide their money.”

“But how?”

“They create fake invoices, fictitious businesses, or layer their transactions through multiple accounts,” he said. “They claim to have spent more on a service or supply than they actually have. They even create ghost employees. They also underreport, they claim the money came from a nonexistent source.”

“But in my case they’ve made a whole new business account,” she said.

“Allowing them to launder a lot more,” he said.

“How can we stop them?”

“We’re going to catch them in the act,” he promised.

He sounded so sure, so positive. Annie wished she felt the same. What if they didn’t catch the bad guy and she was forced to close up her business? What if the bad guy ruined her reputation and she could never open up another business. She fretted her lower lip. Good thing she was a mature, reasonable businesswoman or she might have thrown a screaming temper tantrum on the floor. As it was, she just wanted to cry.

“It’s going to be all right,” he said.

Annie turned to find Fisher watching her. One of his hands stroked up and down her back, offering comfort. She didn’t feel comforted, however. She felt angry and hurt. Someone she trusted was out to get her and she didn’t like it one damn bit.

“How do you know?” she asked. Her fingers strayed to his tie and she began to loosen the knot.

Fisher sucked in a breath and his hand stilled on her back. Annie pulled his tie free and tossed it onto the desk. Then she began to unbutton his shirt. He’d wanted to kiss her? Well, she wanted more than that from him. She felt used and abused and she wanted to be comforted. And not with kisses on the forehead or pats on the back. This man had been wreaking havoc with her sanity from the moment he’d moved in. Annie placed her lips on the pulse at the base of his throat.

“I just know,” he ground out from between his teeth. “Annie? What are you thinking, Annie?”

She pulled back and gazed at him. They’d known each other such a short time, but she felt safe with him. When everyone else in her life was suspect, she trusted him. He would make things right.