“I think that’s everything that can’t wait until tomorrow, unless there’s something else I’m forgetting?” There wasn’t a chance in hell of that, but it was possible he hadn’t remembered to tell me about a project or call.
“Nothing big.” He sighed as his head dropped back against his chair. “This is going to sound insane, but I need you to keep an eye on my father’s personal accounts and let me know if there are any large odd purchases. He’s…being stubborn and I just need help keeping an eye on him.”
“His personal accounts?” While I had access to all of the accounts, I’d never been asked to look into Reginald Wright’s information.
Tanner chuckled, but it was a frustrated sound, not a pleasant one. “Hell, you might as well know. My father has threatened to buy me a spouse. I wish I could say it was an offhand comment or a joke, but I’m not sure it was. I’ve done my best to make sure he knows that’s not acceptable, but I’m a little worried an alpha is going to turn up in my mailbox at some point.”
I tried not to laugh, but the cough that came out sounded fake even to me. Tanner chuckled quietly. “Go ahead and laugh. It’s insane. But I don’t want to end up on the news as part of some kind of human smuggling ring or in some kind of arranged marriage, so help me keep an eye on him.”
“Of course.” I’d never worked for Tanner’s father, but I’d heard stories about him. If he thought a mate was suitable for Tanner, then chances were it was a terrible idea on every front.
“I’m serious. Any large purchases or anything that looks like a dating site or worse, come to me immediately.” He lifted his head and opened his eyes. “I know it’s not in your job description, but—”
I interrupted, shaking my head. “Technically it is. Analyzing your accounts and making sure they’re balanced is something that I can take care of. Usually you just find it easier to have the secretary handle that. I’ll just take over that duty from her again until you’re satisfied the…problem has been resolved.”
That he’d needed me and a secretary had been a surprise when I’d first gotten hired, but it hadn’t taken long to see how much work he really did. Some days it felt like he could have used more help or learned to delegate better.
“Thank you.” Tanner nodded and began gathering up papers. “Oh, and I’m going to be working on a project with Austin and a few friends, but that’s all going to be run through my private accounts. It’s not company related, but I might need you to gather up some information on contractors for me.”
“Yes, sir.” I started mentally flipping through the options for what he might need. Was he thinking about building a new house? “Commercial or residential?”
“Commercial.” Tanner’s answer came quickly, but it didn’t sound right.
Why did he have a commercial project that wasn’t being run through the company?
“Do we need to set up a separate corporation to run the business through?” There were a lot of pieces to Wright Shipping, but to my knowledge he didn’t have any other companies that weren’t associated with the main company.
He stopped to think. “I’m not sure. I’ll talk to Austin and the guys, but at this point, I’m going to say no.”
Still odd, but all right. “What kind of commercial property is it?”
I knew enough about construction to know that he didn’t want guys who normally worked on restaurants to design a library.
Tanner actually started looking uncomfortable.
It was amazing.
The normally take-charge, confident man went from tired but in control to moving around papers and squirming like a child who’d gotten caught misbehaving. I was too good at my job to let my surprise show, but it took him a few long seconds to answer.
“A social club.” He swallowed and moved papers from one side of the desk to another. “No restaurant, but a bar area and some smaller rooms.”
I was missing something.
“Okay, I’ll start putting a list of options together.” Before I could step away and remind him of his meeting, he spoke up again.
“Shane?”
I didn’t like the lack of confidence in his voice. He was never nervous. “Yes, sir?”
“Let’s narrow down the list to companies with animpeccablereputation for privacy.” Tanner finally met my eyes. “This is a private project and I don’t want a lot of gossip around it.”
“That shouldn’t be hard.” I started mentally redoing the list I’d already started in my head. “I’ll have that to you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Then slowly, the confident Tanner was back. “Okay, off to talk to the crazy man. Wish me luck.”
Since there wasn’t a professional answer to that, I just nodded and tried to keep a straight face. “Have a good evening, sir.”
Straightening, Tanner grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door. “Don’t work too late.”
