“You know if they had anything to do with the attempts on your life, you are walking right into their lair,” Shadow admonishes me again on the way to the office Monday morning.
“That’s why I have you,” I nonchalantly counter.
He gives me a disgusted look and shakes his head.
“Look, I understand what you’re saying. Whether they are or not, I want this finished as quickly as possible. If they are, maybe I can find out why or change their mind. If they’re not, maybe I can get more information out of them that would help me figure out what the fuck is going on,” I explain.
“I suppose it’s worth a shot, Dominic. You need to understand that Sophia’s father is not one to be fucked with, though. Dude has done some hard time in the past,” Shadow reveals.
“Prison?”
“Yes. Got sent up for being an accomplice to an execution-style murder and spent several years in a hardcore, maximum-security prison before he was released. He officially quit the cartel life when he was released, but we both know those ties are never really severed. They may have allowed him to lay low for a while, do a few jobs for them here and there, but if his skills were needed, they wouldn’t hesitate to pull him back in.”
“I guess that’s why Sophia said he disappeared for a while and they went hungry.”
“Could be. He was away for a long while, but with her being so young when it happened, she may not have fully realized the time span,” Shadow surmises.
I nod but I’m deeply engrossed in my own thoughts and memories. “Sophia told me once that she was really mad at her mother for welcoming her father back in with open arms after he’d been away for so long.”
We reach the office and my mind is still trying to put this jigsaw puzzle together with the pieces I have in front of me. Once I’m in my office, the business owner in me takes over and I put those other thoughts away, for the most part. Knowing that Sophia is back at work this week and on the floor below me stays in my thoughts nonstop.
“Good morning, Dominic,” Darren calls from my doorway.
“Good morning. Come on in.”
“Listen, I won’t keep you, but we do need to talk about Sophia,” Darren says pointedly.
“What about her?”
“You have to take her back,” Darren states emphatically.
“What?” His statement shocks me momentarily and I’m unsure of how to answer him.
“You hired her to be your right-hand person, your go-to person when you’re not around. She needs to do her job and not report to me. Whatever happened between the two of you needs to be resolved and she needs to report to you again. She’s not doing the job you hired her to do. And, well, hell Dominic, I’m just too damn old for all this bullshit,” Darren bustles.
“For what bullshit, Darren? What has she done?”
“Nothing! She’s a great employee and she handles that Rich fellow like he’s putty in her hands. Sophia needs to be working with you and learning all the ropes. Not hanging with an old bastard like me who’s closer to retirement than he is anything else.”
“Let me talk to Cheryl and see what I can do, Darren,” I compromise.
“You just need to make it happen, Dominic. I think it looks worse that you moved her away from you if none of that mess is true.” Darren leaves my office and my mind is spinning faster than when he walked in.
Does he have a valid point? Does it make me look guilty?
Dana walks in with my morning coffee as usual and I decide it’s time to have another conversation with Cheryl. “Dana, ask Cheryl to come to my office as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“No. Thank you, Dana.”
Half an hour later, Cheryl knocks on my door and I call for to enter.
“You wanted to see me?” Cheryl asks as she walks in and takes a seat.
“Yes. Darren was in here earlier and wants to move Sophia back to me. He says he’s too close to retirement to be responsible for her and that it makes me look guilty for moving her away from me,” I blurt out.
Cheryl takes a moment to process my words and think through the conversation. She is no doubt playing out every possible scenario in her head. “Do you want to move her back under you, Dominic? That puts you at a greater risk. If anything is said or done that can misconstrued or misinterpreted, you would have no recourse in the matter.”
