As she reached the top of the stairs she could feel her heart pounding. She wasn't out of shape, she ran marathons and played hours of tennis in college. When she stepped through that door her new life began. No more classes, work: 9 to 5 until she was old and gray. This was real life, this was making money and paying bills. She opened the door and stepped through.

“About damn time you got here,” was her greeting. “I thought I told you nine sharp.”

Jenny looked at the large clock on the wall. It was a little fast, but it still said ten till. “Sorry sir, but it isn't nine yet.”

The gruff man looked up at the clock. “Oh. Sorry. I've been here all night.”

The man looked like he had been there all night. His white shirt was wrinkled as if he had slept in it, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked as though he could use a shave. This was Jenny's new boss, Adrian Harbor. He was normally a very handsome man in his early forties, just the slightest hint of gray in the stubble on his face. He was athletic and still had the body of a twenty year old, though right now he was showing his age a bit. The dark circles under his eyes and the stress wrinkles on his forehead made him look older than he was.

“The auditor is coming Thursday and I can't even get the weekend receipts to add up.”

Actually Adrian had been there since Saturday night. His last accountant had screwed the books up pretty good, before Adrian fired him, and the IRS had sent him notice of an audit. He had neglected to share that information with Jenny when they talked about the job over lunch. He had hoped to straighten things up a bit before his new accountant came to work, but it was too big of a mess.

When Jenny met him for lunch she had been star struck by the dashing club owner. She applied for the job on a whim, she couldn't believe it when he offered her the position. It seemed like such a cool job, bookkeeper at a well known night club: even if it was a topless club. She had already been offered a couple of positions with some of the better brokerage firms, with her GPA she was a perfect candidate for any accounting position, but she jumped at the chance when Adrian offered her the job.

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