Chapter 17

17

Easton

It was Christmas Eve and the snow was falling in blankets. Things had been going great with Isla and I. Neither of us were excited about the holiday party, but attendance was required. We had been going back and forth between our places since that night, not spending a single night apart. Waking up to her every morning was a dream come true, but I was stressing about meeting her parents. Our relationship was still technically new even though we both knew how we felt about each other. Her parents didn't know much about me, or at least I assume, and first impressions were everything.

"I'm almost done." Isla called out from the bathroom, putting the final touches on her makeup and hair.

Without her, there was no way I could get through tonight with my co-workers. Thank god for her.

"Okay, what do you think?" Isla walked out, smoothing down her red dress that came down to her knees and black knee-high boots.

Hot fucking damn.

"You look absolutely stunning. How did I get so lucky?"

She smiled and kissed me, her hands gripped around the collar of my polo. "Honey, if we didn't have to leave right now, I'd opt to just stay home in bed."

Holidays without my grandma had not been the best, but with Isla by my side, maybe I could learn to love Christmas again. We could start our own traditions. For the first time in a while, I was excited to spend Christmas with someone.

"Stop trying to seduce me. You know how hard it is to say no to you."

She took my hand and led me to the door. "I'll seduce you later. Let's not be late."

I took my keys from the table by the door and we headed to the car. The temperature had dropped significantly in the last few days. However, this was nothing compared to the temperatures in Vermont.

"I finished packing while you were getting ready. Are you sure your parents don't mind me coming?" I asked, starting the car and backing out of the driveway. "I just don't want to impose. Especially since they haven't seen you in a couple years. They might just want to spend time with you."

"They are very excited to meet you. My mother has been waiting for me to find someone. She won't shut up about grandkids."

One of the most important things about me was that I was born to be a father. I might not get along with many adults, but kids and I had always bonded pretty easily. I didn't want to rush having kids because I wanted to be ready financially. Plus, finding the perfect woman to be my wife and the mother of my children. Was it weird that I knew even as a teenager that I wanted at least two kids?

We pulled up to the Largen Co. and the parking lot was packed. Christmas lights were strung all over the building and a huge Christmas Tree outside the entrance. I had given up on Paul and the weirdness surrounding the holiday party. Right now, I had better things to focus on. Tonight was all about Isla and I.

"If the party sucks, we'll cut out early." I said to her, opening her door and taking her hand. "I'd much rather be home with you anyway."

After tonight, we would be spending the week at her parents house. I was not a man that would ever make love to a woman at someone else's house. So, no sex for us, but that wasn't important. Making memories with her, enjoying the holiday, and hopefully making her parents see that we were right for each other, that was my priority over the next week.

As we entered the building, Christmas music played loudly, and people were mingling while carrying glasses of champagne. On top of that, the over the top decorations would have cost a fortune. Don't be petty. Not tonight.

First stop was to get a glass of champagne, and then Luca approached us.

"Hey, I see everything worked out for ya. To be honest, she scares me a little. Good for you, mate."

"She's the one that got away. Never again."

Luca nodded and waved someone over.

I wasn't expecting this…

Isla

Ava walked up behind me and Luca put his arm around her waist. When the heck did this happen? Hell, I didn't even know they knew each other.

"What are you doing here?"

She smiled and took Luca's hand. "When you two left us the other night, we got to talking…"

I pulled her to the side. "What do you mean? You and him are…"

"Dating, yes. He's very sweet. Aren't you happy for me? I haven't found a guy that was relationship material in years."

Why was this freaking me out so much? Because he was Easton's friend? It might actually be kind of cool for her to be dating Luca. I didn't know how close Easton and him were but we could double date. Of course, then my mind went to what was going to happen if things didn't work out. Would she hate Easton?

"Just promise me whatever happens between you two stays between you two."

She crossed her heart.

The guys were standing away from us and Luca looked happy. For the first time in a long time, Ava had a smile on her face. She had a couple of rough relationships and deserved a good guy. Hopefully, Luca wouldn't fuck things up. I'd have to talk to Easton about this later. Right now, we were here to have a good time.

Easton came over and put his hand on the small of my back and led me away. "Don't worry. He's a good guy."

There were so many people here. A party of this size with all the food, champagne, and decorations had to have cost a fortune. Hopefully Scarlett would get back to me soon. I could trust her to look into it with discretion.

"Do you wanna dance?" He asked, laughing.

How the heck did you dance to Christmas music? "Maybe another time. How long are we staying?"

Just then, my eyes landed on Scarlett walking in the door with Lauren. She looked surprised.

"I'll be right back."

Slowly, I walked over to talk to her. Maybe she had some information for me.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, well Lauren asked me to come. We should talk." Scarlett said as Lauren walked over to Paul.

I side eyed him and then we took a couple steps away from everyone. "What is it?"

"Lauren did some digging. Apparently Paul didn't get permission to cancel a project. In fact, the end of the year wrap up showed that the funding was still going to it."

"Wait, what? So…"

"Apparently, the Board of Directors had an emergency meeting this morning and found out that he had been canceling projects for the last couple of years, but in the paperwork they still showed as funded."

"Wait, are you saying…"

"You were right. But it's much bigger than just the one project. He had been doing this for the last five years. The money is just gone."

Easton was right to follow his gut and if he hadn't confided in me, none of this would have been discovered.

"So, what's going to happen?" I looked over at Paul and he looked so carefree. He had been getting away with this for years, and probably thought he would never get caught.

"You'll see." She nodded for me to go back to my date. "I'd stick around for another half an hour or so."

After going back to Easton, I couldn't help but watch Paul interact with everyone. Most thought he was a good boss, but they didn't know half of it. What else was he stealing? Company bonuses? Raises? Normally when embezzling from a company, they took everything.

Lauren walked up to the podium. "Can I have your attention please?" Everyone in the room fell silent. "The Board of Directors wants to thank all of you for your level of commitment to Largen Co. We have some major changes coming next year. First of all, we will be continuing the Parkinson's project and the new President and CEO would like to say a few words.

Paul looked around the room. He had no idea what was going on.

No freaking way.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Scarlett Jeurgens. I am very happy to be your new CEO and look forward to working with all of you in the coming new year."

Easton's eyes were stuck on me. "Did you know about this?"

I shook my head. "I didn't know she was going to be your new boss if that's what you mean."

As soon as she stepped down from the podium, six police officers walked in the entrance and swarmed around Paul. He didn't even try to fight to get out of it. Hell, he knew he was guilty.

"I didn't let it go and Scarlett found out he had been embezzling from Largen Co. for years. If you hadn't said anything, they would have never found out. Or at least for a while."

Now that Paul was out and Scarlett was in, he would have a much better experience. She was very experienced and would make a wonderful addition to the company. Her knowledge of financials would help Largen Co. figure out how to replenish the money that was taken.

"Well, since that's over, what do you say we go home and enjoy our last night before we leave for Vermont?"

I leaned in and kissed him. "Sounds perfect."