Matched in Miracle-Book 1, Chapter 1

Lacy Cooper stood in her lavish executive office that overlooked the park below, staring at the termination letter in her trembling hands. Her heart sank as she absorbed the words, spelling out the end of her career in Los Angeles.  

She had dedicated her entire profession to the prestigious Sterling Financial Solutions, but the more she dug into the company’s finances, the more discrepancies she found. What she’d expected was a swift and thorough investigation into who was laundering money.  But not this. Lacy should have seen it coming when her boss brushed her concerns aside. None of this was her fault, even though the paper in her fist said otherwise. 

She could hardly get past the first paragraph.  

We regret to inform you that your employment with Sterling Financial Solutions is terminated effective immediately. After a thorough investigation into financial discrepancies within the company, it has been determined that you are responsible for the irregularities.  

Thorough investigation? Apparently, the only one who’d done any investigating was herself. How could he put the blame on her? 

Glancing over the rest of the letter, Lacy couldn’t believe what Mr. Guldbrandsen was implying. Serious breaches of trust, misappropriation of funds, and fraudulent activities. The topper: evidence and testimonies collected have substantiated these findings. 

Whose testimony did they gather? The culprit? The boss himself? Was he the one who was the one cooking the books and landing the blame in her lap? How could she possibly go up against their team of lawyers? Lacy had seen how ruthless they could be. They’d have her behind bars before she could even prove her innocence.

Lacy pulled her contract from her files and perused the terms. At least she’d have her final paycheck, her accrued vacation, and hopefully some severance entitlements.

After crumpling the paper, she tossed it into the trash can and slumped into her desk chair. How had five years led to this? They’d never write her letter of recommendation, especially after what he said in the final paragraph.

She took the paper from the trash can.

We wish you the best in your future endeavors outside the world of finances and hope that you will use this experience to reflect upon and rectify your actions. What exactly had he intimated? 

Outside of her degree in accounting? And, yeah, she just bet he wished her the best. Where could she go to find people who wouldn’t cast her aside? The only place she could think of was her hometown of Miracle, Texas. But was anyone still there who still remembered her?