Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) by Marilyn Campbell Page B
Authors: Marilyn Campbell
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taking her first steps toward independence. Her confidence was shaken, however, when she opened her jewelry box and discovered that the diamond was the only valuable piece inside. She had thought there were a number of items left, such as the gold earrings. Had Russ returned those and she'd forgotten?
She pulled out the envelope where she'd left all the receipts from Decker. The agreement and inventory list were there as well as the television and clothing receipts, but the only Tiffany's receipt left was for the ring. Her brain had been fuzzy for so long, she supposed she could have forgotten, yet she clearly recalled when Russ had taken other pieces.
After Russ returned that jewelry, he'd deposited the money in her checking account for her and put the deposit slips in her accounting box with her other financial records. He had teased her about being such an old-fashioned girl about her bookkeeping but it wasn't like she did anything complex with her money. Besides, she had never had enough money to splurge on a computer. Her simple paper system was all she needed to keep track of her finances. However, after going through every piece of paper in the box, she hadn't found evidence of any recent deposit.
To make things easier on her, he had been writing out the checks for the various bills. All she had to do was sign her name a few times and her financial responsibilities had been taken care of.
According to the check stubs, she had paid out thousands of dollars, so the money must have been there, even though no deposits were recorded and no running balance had been kept.
She also thought he told her he'd balanced her account a few weeks ago when the bank statement had arrived, yet there was no bank statement in the box. It wasn't that she distrusted Russ. He was a saint. The deposit slips and statement were probably in another drawer somewhere. But a quick search of the apartment didn't uncover them, and she didn't want to waste any more of her free time.
The manager of Tiffany's was courteous and seemed sympathetic to Barbara's plight, but they would only refund seventy-five percent of the original cost of the ring: $45,000. She had known it had been expensive, but had never imagined an amount that high. The discounted refund was more than acceptable.
Her next stop was the bank, where she deposited the Tiffany's check and met with a bookkeeper to review her account. She was shocked to hear that her current balance was under a hundred dollars rather than the three thousand something Russ had told her she had after he'd balanced her account. There was only one moderate deposit, made last month, and that had been expended for regular bills.
She was relieved to see that the checks she'd signed had all cleared, but that didn't explain where the rest of the money from the returned jewelry had gone. She was no longer positive Russ was such a saint.
He was pacing the apartment when she returned late in the day.
"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've been worried sick!"
"I went out for a while. I'm allowed now, remember?" She calmly set down her purse and went to the refrigerator for some orange juice.
"You could have at least left a note! Don't you have any idea what I've been going through for the last two hours? I called the hospital thinking you had another emergency and I wasn't here to help!"
Guilt pierced the protective shell she'd built around herself on the way home. No matter what he may have done with her money, she knew his concern for her was genuine. "Geez, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect to be gone longer than you. It was very inconsiderate of me."
Her apology placated him enough to lower his voice. "How do you feel?"
She walked over to her favorite chair and curled up in it. "Tired. The doctor was right about overdoing it too soon but I'm okay."
Russ sat down on the bed and studied her face. "But something's wrong. What? Where did you go for so long?"
"I re-registered at school. I'm going to take
She pulled out the envelope where she'd left all the receipts from Decker. The agreement and inventory list were there as well as the television and clothing receipts, but the only Tiffany's receipt left was for the ring. Her brain had been fuzzy for so long, she supposed she could have forgotten, yet she clearly recalled when Russ had taken other pieces.
After Russ returned that jewelry, he'd deposited the money in her checking account for her and put the deposit slips in her accounting box with her other financial records. He had teased her about being such an old-fashioned girl about her bookkeeping but it wasn't like she did anything complex with her money. Besides, she had never had enough money to splurge on a computer. Her simple paper system was all she needed to keep track of her finances. However, after going through every piece of paper in the box, she hadn't found evidence of any recent deposit.
To make things easier on her, he had been writing out the checks for the various bills. All she had to do was sign her name a few times and her financial responsibilities had been taken care of.
According to the check stubs, she had paid out thousands of dollars, so the money must have been there, even though no deposits were recorded and no running balance had been kept.
She also thought he told her he'd balanced her account a few weeks ago when the bank statement had arrived, yet there was no bank statement in the box. It wasn't that she distrusted Russ. He was a saint. The deposit slips and statement were probably in another drawer somewhere. But a quick search of the apartment didn't uncover them, and she didn't want to waste any more of her free time.
The manager of Tiffany's was courteous and seemed sympathetic to Barbara's plight, but they would only refund seventy-five percent of the original cost of the ring: $45,000. She had known it had been expensive, but had never imagined an amount that high. The discounted refund was more than acceptable.
Her next stop was the bank, where she deposited the Tiffany's check and met with a bookkeeper to review her account. She was shocked to hear that her current balance was under a hundred dollars rather than the three thousand something Russ had told her she had after he'd balanced her account. There was only one moderate deposit, made last month, and that had been expended for regular bills.
She was relieved to see that the checks she'd signed had all cleared, but that didn't explain where the rest of the money from the returned jewelry had gone. She was no longer positive Russ was such a saint.
He was pacing the apartment when she returned late in the day.
"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've been worried sick!"
"I went out for a while. I'm allowed now, remember?" She calmly set down her purse and went to the refrigerator for some orange juice.
"You could have at least left a note! Don't you have any idea what I've been going through for the last two hours? I called the hospital thinking you had another emergency and I wasn't here to help!"
Guilt pierced the protective shell she'd built around herself on the way home. No matter what he may have done with her money, she knew his concern for her was genuine. "Geez, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect to be gone longer than you. It was very inconsiderate of me."
Her apology placated him enough to lower his voice. "How do you feel?"
She walked over to her favorite chair and curled up in it. "Tired. The doctor was right about overdoing it too soon but I'm okay."
Russ sat down on the bed and studied her face. "But something's wrong. What? Where did you go for so long?"
"I re-registered at school. I'm going to take
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