Page 19 of Indecent Demands

I lifted my chin defensively. “I told you my parents died a few years ago. Since then I’ve dedicated my free time to helping others. It’s not like I have a family to spend time with.”

“Yes, and I’m sorry to hear about that loss.”

“Do you still have yours?” I was desperate to get off this subject.

Seth nodded. “I don’t see them as much as I’d like, but we’re close. They’re always wondering when I’m going to bring a girl home for the holidays.”

I laughed. “My mom was meddling the same way.” Then I sobered up. “I think it was her way, in the end when she knew she was dying… it was her way of asking if I’d be taken care of when she was gone. Asking if I wouldn’t be alone. But it’s easier to tease your daughter about not having a boyfriend than it is to talk about… your impending death.”

Seth smiled gently at me, and for a second it felt like we were just two people at dinner getting to know each other. “It’s amazing, the way parents will protect their kids, in ways we don’t appreciate until we’re much older.”

I nodded. “My parents sacrificed a lot so that I could go to MIT. I was already grateful. But then when my dad got sick and my mother had the accident… it was all I could do to keep our heads above water. I felt like I failed in loving them the way they’d loved me.”

“You shouldn’t feel that way,” he countered. “You did everything you could.”

I absently toyed with the stem of my wineglass. “I hope I did.”

“So you feel strongly about medical debt,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Yes.” My reply was cautious.

“And you feel that if I were to turn this perpetrator into Harcourt, it would be innocent families who would suffer.”

I exhaled a deep breath, not knowing where Seth’s head was at at the moment, or what he knew. “I truly believe that, yes.”

Seth hummed and drummed his fingers on the tabletop, his gaze never leaving mine. “You see, this leaves me with a dilemma. I’ve been told I need to find this thief. It’s what Damien is paying me to do and he’s going to want an answer and results. And I don’t think an impassioned speech about how the person was using the money for good, and we should just let them off with a warning, is going to fly with a man like Damien, as you said.”

I scrambled to think of an answer. “Harcourt wants to take the company public, and I’m surprised he was able to find the thefts when nobody else has noticed them until now, especially in accounting or the tech team. Doesn’t that strike you as suspicious?”

“You think that Harcourt is robbing from himself to donate to people?” Seth snorted in amusement. “Ariana…”

His tone dropped into a growl as he said my name, and a shiver ran up my spine. He was so affable and friendly, to see that switch happen gave me a shot of adrenaline and arousal I never expected.

“When are you going to admit that it’s you?” he finished calmly.

My heart sank into my stomach, and my entire body flashed hot, then cold.

“Here we are!” Our server said cheerfully as she appeared with our plates. “Careful, these dishes are hot…”

We both smiled politely as she served us and checked that we didn’t need anything else. The sommelier came by to refill our glasses of wine, and then our busboy stopped by to refill our waters. I wanted to scream at them to leave us alone, but I also hoped that they never left the table. As long as they were here, I was in limbo—I wasn’t able to escape the accusation, but I was safe from it as well.

But they did leave us alone, and then it was just Seth facing me down.

I swallowed, still not willing to admit to anything. “You were saying?”

“I’m saying that I have you on video,” Seth said quietly. “I appreciate the disguise. You did some neat tricks that’ll quite possibly fool a jury or confuse a computer facial recognition system. But I knew it was you. What were you doing with that cash, Ariana? Is that for yourself?”

He cut into his food while asking me these questions, his tone casual, his shoulders relaxed. Like this was no big deal to him—or, more like he knew he had all the power here so there was no reason for him to be anything but casual.

My wires were being crossed. On the one hand, I was terrified. On the other hand, I was shockingly turned on. It was almost like the former was feeding the latter. Could it be that the fear was making me even more aroused?

That was a kink I hadn’t known I had, either.

Then the last part of what he said struck me, and I felt my face heat up with anger. “I havenevertaken anything for myself,” I hissed, realizing too late what I’d admitted. But now that I had, I continued on. “Go through my financials and you’ll see. Take a look at my apartment and you’ll see. There’s nothing there. I’m not taking fancy vacations, I’m not buying a bunch of stock, I’m not buying up real estate or investing, I’m not buying fancy things.”

I exhaled a deep breath to try and calm myself. “I take out cash because a lot of people need cash in hand to really help themselves. SNAP, soup kitchens, tax credits—there are programs to help people but those only go so far. At the end of the day people need to be able to make decisions about what they need the most, and that means they need cash. Not other people telling them what they are and aren’t allowed to have.”

“So you take the cash and give it directly to people who need it?”

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