Chapter 9

Ainsley's words were like a pesky fly buzzing around my head, but I swatted them away, refusing to let them distract me. The numbers grew clearer as I organized them, and patterns began to emerge—inconsistencies in the expenses, discrepancies in the income. The club's financial health was indeed a mess, and it was clear that Alex had been trying to manage it on his own for far too long.

The clatter of the kitchen grew louder as the morning progressed, and the scent of brewing coffee began to waft down the hallway. Despite the early hour, I was fully engaged in the task at hand. The thrill of uncovering a mystery was something I hadn't felt in a long time, and it was surprising how much I enjoyed it.

After a few hours of meticulous work, I found it—a pattern of unusually high expenses in the supply department. It didn't take a financial whiz to see that something was off. Supplies for the club should not have been costing that much, not unless someone was embezzling funds or ordering g