THE FIRST LIE (EBOOK)

Funny how one little accounting discrepancy could set a chain of events into motion that could leave so many lives in ruin.

That was exactly what happened, and it all started on one warm July day.

My temples throbbed, and I rubbed them, desperate to ease the increasing tension as I stared at the numbers on my screen, confusion distorting my logic. 

With a sigh, I slumped back in my desk chair, the hinge squeaking as I rocked back slightly, capping and uncapping my pen.  

Something didn’t add up—and that wasn’t just a bad accounting pun.  I leaned forward, squinting at the screen before I jotted down two numbers on a piece of scratch paper, underlining them both.  

Why were they not the same?

Before I could dig any deeper, my cell phone buzzed across my desk, startling me back to reality. 

I pressed a hand against my chest as I shook my head.  With a final glance at the numbers on my screen, I grabbed the device and swiped to accept the call.

“Hi, hon,” I said, my voice warm with the glow of a woman married less than two years.  

“Hey, Liv,” he answered.  The harmonious clacking of keys created a staccato background music for his words. “Just calling to see if you wanted to grab lunch with me.”

I stared at the screen, weighing my options.  “I’d love to but…”

“Oof,” he said.  “That sounds like a brush off.  I’m hurt.”

I chuckled as I shifted the phone to my other shoulder and leaned closer to my monitor, tapping on my keyboard to shift around on the spreadsheet.  “Sorry.  I really want to go, but I’ve got something strange going on here.”

“Something strange?” he said, his voice changing to make it sound silly.

“I’m being serious.  There’s something wrong with these records I’m auditing.”

“Uh-oh.  Are we all going to be out of jobs?”

“Well, I hope not,” I answered.  “But I’d like to get to the bottom of it to be sure it’s just one of those weird little errors that’s easily explained.”

“I have no doubt you’ll get to the bottom of it, Liv.  But…you still need to eat.  And maybe the lunch out will do you good.  We can chat about what you found, see if we can piece it together between the two of us.”

I twisted away from my monitor, my chair protesting as I rocked back again, twirling a pen between my fingers.  As much as I wanted to dig into this little puzzle and find a solution, I also treasured time spent with my husband.  

I pressed my lips together as I bit back the smile creeping across my features.  “All right.  Let’s go to lunch.”

I could almost see the fist pump he did on the other end of the line before he said, “Awesome.  You can pick.  We’ll meet in the lobby at eleven forty-five?”

“Perfect,” I answered as my eyes and mind returned to the screen.  

With another thirty minutes until we met, I could definitely gather more information.  

I spent the time pouring over the numbers, this time taking a far closer look than I had for the standard audit.  

As I jotted down another note, my forehead permanently creased by now, my phone buzzed again.  I glanced at it, spotting Daniel’s name.  

My gaze flew to the clock, my lips tugging back into a wince.  Muttering a curse, I snatched the phone and keys from my desk and leapt to my feet.  With them clutched in my hand, I logged off, triggering the Sterling Enterprises logo to appear on my monitor. 

I grabbed my purse from the coat tree as I hurried through the door, swinging it shut behind me.  

I raced to the elevator. My heart thudded as I puffed for breath, poking at the button repeatedly until it swung open. I stepped inside and jabbed at the Lobby button until the doors slid closed.

A few minutes later, I shuffled onto the marble floor of the expansive lobby at Sterling Enterprises, the investment firm both Daniel and I worked for.  

I spotted my husband’s lithe form milling around in the lobby’s center and hurried toward him.  

As I skidded to a stop behind him, I tapped his shoulder.

He twisted to face me, a grin spreading across his features.  “Hey, I thought I was getting stood up.”

I slipped my hand into his, squeezing it as I smiled up at him. “Not a chance.”

Daniel’s gaze snapped sideways as a group of people entered the lobby. He tugged me aside, moving me from their path. 

Ethan Sterling, tall and imposing with a confident stride, led his entourage. His sharp suit and commanding presence turned heads.