His for Now (His #2) by Octavia Wildwood Read Free Book Online

inflated and, well, all over the place to be honest.”
    “You’ve lost me,” I said as I dabbed on some lip gloss and ran a brush through my long dark hair.  I glanced at the clock and saw that I’d lost track of the time and was due on campus right away.  I seemed to be absentminded a lot of the time lately.
    “I finally picked up the newspaper this morning,” Mina told me.  “I read about the budget cuts at the university and the claims of overspending.  But here’s the thing:  I worked on the preliminary figures.  I have a rough idea of what the budgets in each department should be.  And these numbers are just…bizarre.” 
    “So what you’re saying…”
    “What I’m saying,” Mina said, “is that someone has doctored the numbers on this chart.  I wonder if it could have something to do with the college’s budget being all messed up now.”
    “If what you’re saying is true, how come no one else has noticed it?” I asked.  It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Mina – she was as credible as they come – but the explanation just didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
    “I still keep in touch with one of the girls I used to work with,” Mina said.  “She quit working in the finance department shortly after I did.  I guess there was a lot of upheaval and it’s pretty much all new staff there now – and not necessarily well-trained staff.  Apparently it’s a case of the blind leading the blind…not good!  But even so, I doubt they could screw up this badly.”
    “ So someone might be exploiting the department’s vulnerability,” I said slowly, trying to process what I was hearing.  “Maybe they’re hoping to pass what they’re doing off as widespread incompetence.”
    “It’s a possibility, right?” she asked.  “I mean, it makes sense to me but I’m so sleep deprived right now that it’s not saying much.  Oh god, sweetie no , put the diaper down!  Oh!  Not on the walls!  Oh no…oh shit, literally, shit!  Daniella, I’ve got to go!”
    Wincing at the nasty visual in my mind, I hung up the phone and hurried out to my car.   It was a beautiful, clear morning but I barely had time to notice as I flung my bag into the car and jumped behind the wheel.  I was running so late!
    Normally I was a law-abiding citizen but I did have one bad habit:  speeding.  It seemed I had a heavy foot and today it served me well.  I weaved in and out of traffic like a pro, secretly pleased that a silver sedan behind me stayed right on my tail.  At least someone appreciated my driving!
    As I drove my mind was filled with theories, some implausible and others perhaps not so crazy.  I was no natural-born sleuth but I felt like my intuition was usually accurate as long as my love life wasn’t involved.  Every fiber of my being was telling me Mark was up to no good, but there were still too many blanks to make sense of the puzzle.
    It was clear that I needed to do some more digging.  I began making mental checklists of people to talk to and dreaming up excuses to ask snoopy questions without raising suspicion. 
    I got to my parking spot and grumbled a bit about it being so damn far away from the building.  I supposed I’d have to start applying to other colleges soon…hopefully I’d be hired on at one with better parking!  A twinge of sadness came over me as I surveyed the campus.  It really was a beautiful place and it had been home to me for so long…I was really going to miss it.
    But I wouldn’t miss having to bring running shoes to work with me just for the long trek from my car to the building.  I bent down to remove my high heels and slipped my feet into my sneakers.  I heard a car pull up behind me and cringed. 
    At this time of morning, the only students on campus were those who had classes – and classes were about to start.  I’d hoped I could avoid being seen in my grubby sneakers but it wasn’t to be.  Hopefully it wasn’t anyone important behind me because