Page 111 of Matteo

The old man turns to me, the twinkle in his eyes making me uneasy. He’s still dressed immaculately, but his crisp shirt hangs a little looser on his frame. I notice the paleness of his skin, and the exhaustion deep in his eyes.

“Catch your eye, did she?” He grins. “Nothing wrong with a bit of fun, boy. Even if you're the boss. Women like authority.”

Bile rises in my throat at that. He didn't catch us doing anything, but I know how his mind works.

“We were talking about the server logs,” I reply calmly. I don't respond to him, but his comment makes me uncomfortable.

“You might have been. I'm sure she's happy just to be around you.”

What the fuck?

“It's not like that,” I grate out. The old man has misread the situation in his usual misogynistic way. I'm disgusted that he's my father. That he thinks Elizabeth would be part of something casual, that her reputation is of no importance, that she's mine for the taking.

I'm ashamed to be connected to him by blood.

“What are you doing here?” I snap, hating that he's here, in my lab, for the second time. It's like he's stalking me. Creeping up on me. What's he hoping to find?

“I heard from my doctor—”

I put up my hand. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“It's just you and Zach.”

“Don't. I told you I don’t want to talk about it.”

My jaw aches from how tightly I'm clenching it. Every muscle in my body is coiled tight, anger simmering just beneath the surface. For once, he seems to take the hint. Then his gaze drifts across the office toward Elizabeth.

Understanding flashes in his eyes. Something ugly. Something calculating.

“You seem rather frustrated,” he says mildly. “If she's offering it on a plate, you should take it.”

For a second, I can't breathe. His words land like a punch to the gut. Not only because it's offensive, but because it's about Elizabeth. He's reduced her to something to be taken.

Just another acquisition.

A transaction.

The way he views everything in life.

My hands curl into fists. Rage surges through me so fiercely that I have to physically stop myself from following him out the door. “Get out,” I growl.

He merely inclines his head and walks away.

I wipe a hand over my face, standing in disbelief at what he just said, treating Elizabeth like a piece of meat, mine for the taking. I shiver when I recall Zach telling us about Maya's mom.

“Fuck,” I say out loud, resting a hand against the wall, steadying myself. This man is the lowest of the low.

This is how he sees Elizabeth? As a plaything? This, after he's interviewed her, and knows how bright and smart she is.

Take it.

His words disgust me.

The dirty bastard.

I pride myself on being a good man. Honest and decent, and I put it down to seeing Mama falling apart because of what was done to her. And because I would never treat a woman as if she were an object.

How, I wonder, did Aurora Knight ever marry him?