“Sure.” I don’t push. “But for what it’s worth? I think it’s hot.”
She stares at me. “You think what’s hot?”
“That you’re not what you seem. That there’s more going on under the surface than anyone realizes.” I stand and head toward the door. “Keep reading your books, Samantha. But don’t be surprised when real life gets more interesting than fiction.”
I leave her there, stunned and beautiful in the lamplight.
Back in my room, I take my medication and think about the footage I watched earlier. About the way she kissed my father. About the way she’s looking at me now, like she’s trying to figure out how much I know.
She’s playing a game. I just can’t tell yet if she knows the rules or if she’s making them up as she goes.
Either way, I want in.
Whatever’s happening between her and my father, it’s not stopping me from pursuing what I want. And I want to see what Samantha looks like when she finally stops being careful and lets herself fall apart.
Preferably with me.
10
DONOVAN
I stareat my laptop screen, jaw tight as the encrypted message comes through at two in the afternoon.
Marco: Package secured. Numbers don’t match. Short 200k.
This is the third shipment in two months with discrepancies. Either our suppliers are getting sloppy, or someone’s skimming.
Both options are unacceptable.
I pull up the transfer records, cross-referencing them with the manifests Marco sent. The math is simple. We paid for a specific amount. We received less.
Me: Find out who. I want names by tonight.
Marco: On it.
I close the laptop and lean back in my desk chair. This is my job. The corporate side of our operations. Making sure money flows where it needs to flow, that our legitimate businesses providecover for the less legitimate ones, that everything balances on paper even when it doesn’t in reality.
Dad handles strategy. Kai handles enforcement. I handle the infrastructure that keeps it all running.
Usually, I’m good at compartmentalizing. Business is business. But today, I can’t focus.
Because Samantha is in this house, and I can’t stop thinking about her.
The way she looked at breakfast this morning. The way she laughs at Kai’s jokes. The way she and Dad have been circling each other all week with an energy that makes the air feel electric.
I noticed the shift between them. I’d have to be blind not to.
And instead of being bothered by it, I’m jealous that my father got there first.
I need to clear my head.
I change into swim trunks and head to the pool house, grabbing a towel on my way out. The pool house is separate from the main residence, connected by a heated walkway. Floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides, heated pool, hot tub, sauna. One of my favorite places on the estate.
I push open the door and stop.
Samantha’s in the pool.
She’s doing laps in a black one-piece swimsuit. She moves through the water like she’s been swimming her whole life.
