Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Burgundy Dress
Leo did not ask Tessa to believe him.
That was the first thing she noticed.
He instructed Caroline to obtain the original filing and arrange an independent forensic review of the signature.
Then he surrendered his office computer and company records for examination.
He also agreed not to contact Sal directly.
Tessa watched him make every decision.
Still, she refused to return to the estate.
She spent the next two days in a modest hotel near her father's hospital.
Greg visited Sunday afternoon with Buster.
The golden retriever immediately rested his chin on Tessa's knee.
She scratched behind his ears.
“Your dog is the only man I completely trust right now.”
Greg winced.
“Fair.”
He placed a folder on the table.
It contained the insurance analysis he'd been working on.
“There's something I need to tell you before you read this.”
Tessa looked up.
Greg took a breath.
“I didn't start talking to you at the café entirely by accident.”
Her hand stopped moving.
“What?”
“I recognized your last name. Your father had filed a complaint about Hawthorne before his stroke. I was looking for somebody in his family who might know what happened.”
Tessa slowly stood.
“You asked me out because you wanted information?”
“At first, I wanted to speak with you. Then I genuinely liked you.”
“Did you ever plan to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“When? After dessert?”
Greg lowered his head.
“I handled it badly.”
“You handled me.”
The words came out harder than she'd intended.
Greg accepted them.
“I know. I'm sorry.”
She handed him the folder.
“I don't want another man deciding what's best for me while keeping secrets.”
Greg stood.
“I understand.”
Before leaving, he turned.
“The analysis is yours. I made a copy for my attorney and reported the discrepancies to the state insurance regulator. You don't have to trust me to use it.”
Tessa waited until he was gone.
Then she sat down and opened the folder.
For three hours, she compared Greg's figures with the notes her father had written.
A pattern emerged.
Hawthorne had exaggerated the amount of care provided to certain residents while simultaneously describing those residents as too expensive to keep.
The inflated payments had flowed through Sal's consulting company.
Now the building was being sold at a reduced price because its supposedly unsustainable costs made it appear unprofitable.
The same people who had been taking money from Hawthorne were preparing to buy it cheaply.
Tessa called Caroline.
“I think I understand the whole thing.”
Caroline listened.
Then she said, “There's a foundation dinner tomorrow. Donors, board members, and representatives from the buyer will be there.”
“So?”
“We could use the opportunity to ask questions about the sale in front of the people responsible for approving it.”
Tessa looked at the burgundy dress hanging inside her hotel closet.
“Would they let a former maid ask questions?”
Caroline paused.
“You're Arthur Jenkins's representative. And several donors have requested information about the care fund. I can arrange for you to speak if you want.”
Tessa considered the offer.
Then she smiled.
“I want.”
Monday evening, the Santoro ballroom glittered beneath enormous chandeliers.
A string quartet played beside a marble staircase.
Waiters circulated with crystal glasses.
Sal stood near the center of the room, greeting donors as though nothing had happened.
He was speaking to a wealthy investor when the ballroom doors opened.
Conversation slowed.
Tessa entered wearing the burgundy dress.
Her dark curls fell over her shoulders.
A delicate gold necklace rested at her throat.
She had purchased the necklace with her first paycheck years earlier.
It was the only expensive thing she'd ever bought purely because she wanted it.
Tonight, she wanted to remember that she belonged to herself.
Leo saw her from across the room.
He was wearing a black suit, but his expression held none of the possessiveness she'd witnessed Friday night.
He simply looked stunned.
Tessa approached him.
“You're staring.”
“I know.”
“Problem?”
“No.”
He took a small breath.
“You look beautiful.”
She studied his face.
“Thank you.”
He didn't move closer.
He didn't reach for her.
He offered his arm.
“Would you like me to escort you?”
Tessa considered it.
Then she took his arm.
They had barely crossed the ballroom when Sal appeared.
His gaze swept over Tessa.
“Well,” he said loudly. “The help certainly cleans up nicely.”
Several nearby guests turned.
Tessa felt the familiar urge to disappear.
Then she remembered her father sitting in a locked room.
She smiled.
“Good evening, Mr. Bianchi.”
Sal looked at Leo.
“Is this really appropriate?”
Leo's voice was calm.
“What's inappropriate?”
“Bringing a maid to a foundation event.”
Tessa released Leo's arm.
“Former maid.”
She looked around at the gathering guests.
“And I'm here because I have questions about what happened to four million dollars intended for elderly patients.”
The quartet stopped playing.
Sal's expression froze.
“You should be careful making accusations you can't prove.”
“I agree.”
Tessa lifted the folder Caroline had prepared.
“That's why I'm asking for an independent audit.”
A silver-haired donor stepped forward.
“An audit of what?”
Tessa turned to him.
“Of the care fund your family helped establish.”
She explained the invoices, the missing renovations, and the falsified information about residents.
She never claimed more than the documents supported.
By the time she finished, three donors had demanded a meeting with the board.
Sal looked murderous.
Leo stepped beside her.
“I've already requested that audit,” he announced. “All relevant records will be made available to independent investigators.”
A reporter near the ballroom entrance raised her phone.
“Mr. Santoro, are you saying your foundation has been defrauded?”
“I'm saying serious discrepancies have been discovered.”
“Are you personally involved?”
“My name appears on a filing I dispute. That filing is being examined.”
The answer did not satisfy the reporter.
But it was an answer.
Sal suddenly laughed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this entire spectacle is based on the accusations of a disgruntled employee who happens to be sleeping with my business partner.”
Tessa felt the insult land.
Leo took one step forward.
She touched his arm.
“No.”
Then she faced Sal.
“I'm not sleeping with anyone in this room.”
A woman near the back coughed to conceal a laugh.
“And even if I were,” Tessa continued, “it wouldn't fix the broken fire doors.”
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
Sal's smile vanished.
Tessa turned toward the donors.
“If you want to help, ask where your money went. My father nearly lost his life trying to answer that question.”
She walked away from the microphone.
Leo followed her into the empty hallway.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he said, “I'm proud of you.”
Tessa looked at him.
“I'm proud of me, too.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
Before he could answer, Caroline hurried out of the ballroom.
“Tessa. We have a problem.”
“What happened?”
“Someone sent the hospital a transfer authorization.”
Tessa's smile disappeared.
Caroline continued.
“It says you've approved your father's removal from medical care.”
Tessa stared at her.
“I never signed anything.”
Caroline held up her phone.
The document displayed a familiar signature.
Tessa Jenkins.
And beside it was a scheduled departure time.
May you like
11:00 P.M.
Less than two hours away.
