Author Anon

“Are you accusing me of embezzling?” Dan asks.

“No. I just want to know why there seems to be some items unaccounted for,” says Tracy.

“And you’ve run this by Robert?” asks Dan.

“Not yet. I wanted to see if you knew anything.”

“I’ve accounted for everything in my books. If we did not receive it, it was not recorded.”

“I’m curious to know,” says Tracy, “why you’ve been receiving extra money on the side.”

“What I do outside of this company is nobody’s concern,” says David. “And what gave you the right or the authority to investigate my finances.”

“You weren’t the only one investigated. You were the only one with unusual income, however. I feel it is my duty to find out what became of the missing invoice.”

“So you think I may have stolen some jewels and sold them. If I did that, give me the credit for having the money stored away somewhere much more secret,” says Dan.

“If you can explain where your extra income is coming from, perhaps we can move on.”

“The hell I will.”

——————————————————————————————-

“Carl, what are you doing in this building?” asks Melanie.

“Darling, I work here,” says Carl.

“You never told me you worked for the Goldes,” says Melanie.

“I’m just a mere janitor, my dear. How could I tell you I was in such a low position?”

“How long have you been here.”

“A while. But you’d better not be caught talking to me. These Goldes are pretty stuck up. By the way, my name’s Carl Redd.”

“There you are, Mrs. Black. I have some correspondence that needs to be attended to immediately,” says William, completely ignoring Carl and leading Melanie away.

——————————————————————————————-

“Oh, she’s got red hair,” says Elaine Copperfield. “Living up to her name already.” She and Richard laugh.

“No one in the family’s ever had red hair,” says Richard.

“It must be on Lisa’s side of the family,” says Elaine.

“Yes, it’s on our side of the family,” says Blanche. Lisa looks at her grandmother in surprise, but Blanche sends her a quelling look.

——————————————————————————————-

“So now you’ve got me here,” says Amanda. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

“Let’s enjoy our dinner first,” says David. “That will be icing on your cake.”

“I understand you met an old friend recently,” says David, taking his time with his food.

“Who told you that?” asks Amanda.

“Lisa. You know Rick works for us.”

“No, I was not aware of that. I was unaware he was here in Brighton at all until a few days ago.”

“I believe he was a very good friend of yours,” says David suggestively.

“Yes, he was.”

“You’re not very talkative, are you?” asks David.

“There’s very little to say.”

“Come on, I’d like to get to know you a little better. I’m a bit curious about how close you were to Rick and whether you still hold a candle for him. I wouldn’t like that kind of competition.”

“Rick was a childhood hero. He defended me against other kids. Not physically, just verbally. He was several years older than I was and treated me like a younger sister. There was never anything romantic about our relationship and he left for college when I was still a kid.”

“Why did he need to defend you?”

Amanda hesitated for a while. “Because I was overweight and had poor self-esteem.”

“Surely your gratitude extended beyond friendship.”

“What I might have felt for Rick is irrelevant now. He is married and a very loyal person.”

“And are you loyal to him?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asks Amanda.

“Do you still hold out hope for him?” asks David. “Do you hold yourself in readiness should he decide to turn to you?”

“Of course not,” says Amanda.

“You sound pretty defensive.”

“I don’t like what you’re suggesting.”

“Well, if something should happen between Rick and Lisa, would you be there for Rick?”

“I’d be there to support him, but I’ve outgrown my childhood infatuation for him. Believe me.”

“Hmmm. Then I guess what I have to tell might not be of much interest to you.”

“What is it?”

“It concern’s Rick’s child.”

“If you’re going to tell me, it’s not his, I already know. Lisa told me that much.”

“Really. Did she tell you who is?”

“I think I can guess.”

——————————————————————————————-

Filed under: All That Glitters