My cousins and I had to go deal with a disgruntled member of the Cartel who thought he could talk smack about us.
Then another day, I was requested as a guest at a luncheon to meet a politician who wanted to earn my favor.
This morning, after I welcomed Elena into my father’s old office, I felt right in the decision to let her work here with that laptop. She seemed to prefer the privacy here. I hadn’t stayed, though, going to remind a couple of drug dealers what kind of punishment they could expect when they stole from the family. A lethal punishment.
Killing liars and traitors was something that my brothers and cousins could do for me, but they were all equally busy in their own respects.
When did Father step back from being on the front line?
I wondered about the timing of it as I was driven back to the large mansion.
He always stayed fit and strong. And he was always involved as much as he could be with the men and soldiers who handled the dirty work.
All my brothers and cousins had gone out on tasks like I had today, killing alongside him.
When he got older, though, he had delegated more. I supposed that was expected, but I struggled to see how that would apply to me—yet. I was only thirty-eight. I didn’t feel old enough to stay in an office and be on the phone.
I rubbed my face.
Bullshit. Like you’re not hurrying home to get in the office.
I was motivated to check in as quickly as I could to see Elena. It still didn’t feel like my office. Memories of it being my father’s space were too strong. Seeing Elena there changed it all. She was the reward waiting for me there. And she was also acting like a catalyst for me to let go of the past and embrace my future.
I entered the room after the long day of dealing with bullshit. The sight of her sitting there in the spare chair, hunched over her laptop, made me want to smile.
“You’re going to ruin your posture like that.”
She sat up, surprised, and gave me such a big smile that it stole my breath.
Fuck. Do you realize how gorgeous you are, sweetheart?
“Hey, you’re back.” Her face lighting up at my return made me feel like a god among men.
“How’d your day go?” she asked conversationally, like we were just two ordinary people discussing ordinary jobs.
She wasn’t naïve. She understood that I was a leader of a dangerous and powerful criminal organization. While she didn’t want to know any details, she continued to impress me with how laid-back she could be about my identity and what my family did. She was way too sweet to ever want to harm anyone, but she didn’t view me as some horrible, murdering monster. She didn’t cringe or cower away from me like she feared me. Her acceptance of my darkness was something I couldn’t get over.
Why do you have to be so perfect for me?
Why now?
Why did you have to come into my life when I shouldn’t be thinking about you but instead, all the responsibilities that I have on my shoulders?
“My day is better now.” I gave her a long, appreciative look, letting her pick up on my tone.
Her responding blush was exactly what I was hoping for. She noticed the flirty way I’d spoken, but she didn’t give me anything back. As expected. She was too shy to hit on me.
“I don’t think I can add to any good news, though,” she admitted.
I set my hands on the back of her chair, tormenting myself with the soft brush of her hair on my fingers. “No?” I itched to slide her wheat hair aside and massage the knots out of her neck.
“Well.” She let out a sigh and looked up at me. “These shell companies seem connected, but it’s a more layered and complicated web than I thought they might be.” She looked up again quickly, as if regretting her words. “I’m not quitting. I’m not saying it’s toohardfor me to look at. It’s just that it might take me a few more days to really have any answers for you about who might be trying to mess with your finances.”
She proceeded to show me what she had investigated so far. The more she talked and walked me through what was on the screen, I understood that she was not only an accounting genius but also well-versed in investigating and researching online. I had already set her up to work alongside my bookkeepers, but now I wondered if she would be even more helpful if she were to work with my cyber specialists, the few men who were IT techs that could hack into any system in the world.
“You’ve been busy,” I commented at last.
She nodded and closed the laptop. “It feels good to be busy and know that I’m working toward something.”
