Love in the Vineyard (Tavonesi #7)(74)

Everything was definitely not okay. But she’d have to get Mary’s help to sort it out.

“Mr. Tavonesi complimented us on our work. He’s quite happy with the launch of the business.”

“That’s good news.” Enrique held her in a steady gaze. His pupils were dilated, and she sensed fear under his apparent calm. She knew too well the telltale signs of fear. But until she had facts, she wasn’t going to confront him.





Natasha reviewed the report with Mary on her lunch break the next day, and it was damned clear that Enrique had stolen the funds. No one but Enrique could have done it. He was the only other person who had the password to the account. Other than her and Adrian.

It’d been all she could do not to confront Enrique that afternoon. But a group of growers had come for a tour, and she hadn’t had a moment to speak with him before he’d left for the day.

After work, she drove like a demon over to Enrique’s. His small house was a tidy one-story at the edge of town. The yard was rather unkempt for a man who gardened for a living.

Fuming, she ran up to the door and knocked.

“Natasha. I didn’t expect to see you.”

She bet he hadn’t. “Can I come in?”

“Um. Well… my grandmother lives with me. Let me just go warn her that we have company.”

Was he going to run out the back door? God, she’d watched too many movies. She stood there for what could only have been a couple of minutes, but her pounding pulse made it feel like an age.

“Come on in.”

“We apologize for the mess,” said an elderly woman with a thick Spanish accent from a recliner. Her face was wrinkled, and she had the look of a woman struggling at the edge of death.

“This is my grandmother, Rosa,” Enrique said. “This is my new boss, Natasha Raley.”

Rosa held out her hand. Natasha took it in hers. Rosa’s hand was bony and cool. Natasha’s heart lurched when the woman forced a smile against the oxygen tube circling her face.

“Enrique says good things about you, Se?ora Raley.”

“Thank you. Your grandson works miracles with plants.”

“He works miracles in life,” she said with a beaming smile to her grandson.

Enrique’s grandmother was fighting for her life. Seeing a person facing death had a way of putting other issues into perspective. There was no way she was going to confront Enrique in front of his ailing grandmother.

“Let’s take a walk,” she offered.

“I’ll get my jacket,” Enrique said. He patted his grandmother’s hand. “We’ll be just outside if you need anything.”

Rosa smiled. “You two young people enjoy this glorious evening. I heard the doves. Maybe you’ll see them.”

“I’d like to stay close by,” Enrique said after he grabbed a jacket and they stepped outside. “She’s had a bad day.”

Ailing grandmother or no, he’d stolen funds that didn’t belong to him. He’d put her job—and Tyler’s future—at risk. Natasha decided to cut to the chase.

“I know that you’ve stolen funds. The accountant discovered the fake vendor accounts. You’re the only person with a password.”

Other than her.

He dragged a hand across his chin. His calm demeanor reminded her of those scenes in movies where men calmly walk down prison halls on their way to the gas chamber. Apparently he’d been expecting this day to come.

“Let’s sit down. I have a story to tell you.”

“You could put the money back,” she said, knowing she was grasping at any solution.

“You should hear my story before you consider what’s to be done.”

She listened as he told her about his grandmother’s illness. She was doing better, he had hope. But the experimental treatments weren’t covered by the healthcare plan. Each injection for her breathing disorder cost five thousand dollars.

“She has three more to go. Please believe me, I was desperate. I have faith in these doctors, but they underestimated the number of treatments she’d need. I sold everything I could, charged my credit cards to the max. I had no choice but to take the money.”

He gave her the same palms-up gesture that Eddie had used. The eerie similarity zinged into her awareness, but she wasn’t sure what it signified.

“Couldn’t your parents help out?”

“My parents are dead. And my brother and grandfather. My dad’s parents died ten years back. So it’s just me and my grandmother.”

“I’m so sorry.” She knew what it was like to have no family.

“No, I’m sorry I involved you. I’d hoped it was a small enough amount, spread over several accounts, that it wouldn’t be noticed.”

“But you could be imprisoned for theft,” Natasha said. Anger sparked. He’d put her in an impossible situation. “There’s no way I can hide this!”

Even with Mary’s patient explanation, Natasha wasn’t sure how Enrique had managed to siphon the funds. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“We’ll have to return to Colombia.”

“But Tammy told me that you’d informed on a drug kingpin in Colombia, that you worked to put him behind bars. They’ll kill you.”