Page 137 of Love or Tequila in Unexpected Places

But this? Oh, this shit was the icing on the cake.

Angelo was hunched over a stack of paperwork from Talon, his private investigator, trying—unsuccessfully—to comb through them and take notes. He’d barely made a dent when the door to his office creaked open.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“What the hell areyoudoing here?” Angelo snapped, fury sparking at the sight of Oliver Lockwood sauntering into his office like he owned the place.

He’d been planning to confront Lockwood himself, thanks to Talon’s recent bombshell discovery. It explained why the board had suddenly approved the merger and shed light on the cryptic advice his father had given him months ago:

“Don’t trust him, son. Keep digging. And make sure nobody else knows about it—not evenher.”

Angelo had intended to ambush Lockwood at his own company tomorrow—confront him about his shady dealings and his treatment of Allison. But of course, the universe had other plans, dropping the man right at his doorstep, looking smug as ever.

Where the hell is Calliope when I need her?

He moved to press the intercom, but Oliver beat him to the punch.

“I hear you’re living with my daughter.”

Angelo didn’t let his expression betray the chaotic storm brewing inside. “You hear correctly.”

No use in denying it. He wasn’t ashamed of his feelings for Allison, but this required a careful approach. He needed to find a way to turn this to his advantage.

“Why?”

Angelo couldn’t help himself. “Because your hearing’s still sharp, despite your age?”

The old man’s face twitched. “Listen here, boy—”

“No, you listen tome, Mr. Lockwood,” Angelo said, leaning back in his chair, the picture of calm. “What goes on between Allison and me is our business. You have no say in how or where she chooses to live—especially after you’ve spent years ignoring her.”

Oliver’s composure cracked, fury flushing his face. “How dare you? You don’t know anything about my relationship with my children.”

Angelo crossed one leg over the other, still calm as ever. “I know enough,” he said coldly. “And let’s not pretend this is about all your children. Though, I’m sure you’ve done a bang-up job ignoring the boys, too.”

“You son of a—”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you, Mr. Lockwood,” Angelo interrupted, his voice low and dangerous. He felt a thin thread of control inside him stretch, just shy of snapping.

Lockwood huffed, red-faced and seething.

He might actually pop a blood vessel. If only.

Angelo rose slowly, buttoning his suit jacket with deliberate ease. He sauntered over to the front of his desk, leaning against it and folding his arms as he towered over the older man.

“Now, you’re going to listen very carefully,” he said, voice cool. “You will apologize to Allison, or you will disappear from her life. You won’t contact your children, and you will step away from the business you care more about than your family. I’ll make sure of it.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. “Oh, and one more thing. You will sign over the company to Johnathan within the next month, or I’ll tear you and everything you’ve built to the ground. Do we understand each other?”

Angelo didn’t wait for a response. He turned his back on Oliver and strolled back to his chair, calm as a lake before a storm.

The old let out a sharp, bitter laugh, as if they were discussing the weather. “You think you can ruin me?”

Angelo’s smile turned dark, predatory. “You really don’t want to find out.”

TWO DAYS AGO

Angelo’s phone buzzed, offering him a much-needed break from his fruitless search for dirt on the scumbag Allison called her father. He’d been digging for months, but so far, Oliver Lockwood’s business was as clean as a whistle—on paper, at least.

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