A Little Bit Naughty by Farrah Rochon

“But I’m just asking that you pay close attention to her résumé. If I were you I’d call her in for an interview sooner rather than later. I have no doubt she’ll be snatched up by an employer soon.”
    “Thanks for the tip,” Selena said. After another pause she added, “I won’t bother asking you to dinner because I know you’re a one-woman man. And, despite your denial, I know this Jada has to be more than just a friend. You wouldn’t stick your neck out otherwise. I’ll talk to you later, Mason.”
    Once he’d disconnected the call, Mason tapped the phone against his lips, contemplating Selena’s words. Just a week ago, Jada would not have fallen under the classification of friend. To consider her more than a friend?
    “Stop making a big deal out of it,” he muttered. It wasn’t as if he’d gone out of his way; he’d made a simple call.
    Mason set the cell phone on his desk and returned to the ledger he’d been reviewing. A minute later, his desk phone buzzed.
    “Mr. Coleman, it’s Dudley Cook,” his assistant announced through the speaker.
    Mason’s eyelids slid shut against the headache that instantly sprouted behind his eyes. He was not in the mood for dealing with Oscar Davis’s cutthroat CPA today.
    “Mr. Cook,” Mason answered.
    “What’s the word on Vanuatu?” the other man asked.
    “Dudley, I already explained the risk of setting up a tax haven in Vanuatu.”
    “And I told you that Mr. Davis is willing to take the risk. I asked you to look into Seychelles, also. Have you made any progress on that?”
    “Seychelles has the same risk as Vanuatu.”
    As Cook went on a rant, Mason picked up the stress ball Kiera had given him as a gag gift for his birthday last year, and clutched it in his fist. Lately, he used the stress ball more than the tennis racket she’d intended as his real gift.
    “I never said it was illegal,” Mason interrupted. “I said it’s a gray area. Very gray. The IRS is looking at offshore accounts much more closely than they have in the past. Mr. Davis is barely paying eleven-percent right now. If he goes down to an even lower rate he’s essentially putting a bull’s-eye on his back.”
    “Again, it’s a risk he’s willing to take. Now, if you’re not up for this, find us someone in the firm who is,” Cook said before abruptly ending the call.
    Mason pitched the stress ball across the office and pushed away from his desk.
    Making partner was the next step in the chronology of the goals he’d set for himself years ago. The current partners were paying close attention to the Davis account. If he wasn’t careful he could very well be the snag that caused his own plans to unravel.
    But if the only way to a partnership was by compromising his principals, did he really want it?
     “Dammit,” Mason whispered.
    He knew exactly what his conscience was telling him to do, but he was starting to question if always doing the right thing was holding him back.
     
    ***
     
    “Okay, Kiera, enough with the half-assed explanations. It’s time for you to tell us what’s going on with you.”
    “Here, here,” Jada said, tipping her goblet of merlot in Callie’s direction. “You’ve been acting shady for over a week. It’s time for you to spill.”
    Kiera groaned. “God, can’t a person have one tiny little detail of their lives to themselves?”
    “No,” Jada and Callie said in unison.
    Kiera sent them both a nasty look, but Jada shrugged it off. It wasn’t as if she’d never gotten that look from her before.
    The three of them had been best friends since their sophomore year of high school, and had remained close, despite going to separate colleges. But, eventually, life started to get in the way. As Kiera’s catering business took off, and Callie’s veterinary practice expanded, they found themselves going months without seeing each other for more than a few minutes, usually when they ran into each other at the grocery store, or the dry