***
Kristen let out her breath as she ended the call. That went better than she expected. She had not been nearly as confident about Donna’s acceptance as she let on. She set her phone on the oak desk and paced back and forth across the polished wood floor in her father’s study.
What a fiasco this whole thing was turning out to be. Dad always made it look so easy to run a business. Now she didn’t know who to trust or what was going on. Maybe she should have turned over the whole thing to lawyers and managers and gone back to Africa. At least there, she felt competent and productive, knowing her work on a clean water project was helping people. Except, of course, if she had gone back to Africa she wouldn’t have met Matt.
The thought of Matt made Kristen smile in spite of her worry. Matt was everything she wanted in a man. He was funny and sweet, and when those soft brown eyes looked her up and down while he smiled that half-smile, her insides turned into hot fudge. They hadn’t known each other long, but it was clear to them both that they belonged together. Within three months, they were engaged.
Now the accountants were saying there were some irregularities. What did that mean anyway? She couldn’t let it get in the way of their wedding. It was probably just some sort of accounting error or misunderstanding or something. She had been cleaning receipts and papers out of an old billfold when she came across the business card, Donna Zimmer, CPA. It seemed like the answer to a prayer. Donna could straighten it out, and in a few days, Kristen would become Mrs. Matthew Arlyn.