Page 19 of Sinful Attraction

“I’ll give you my decision by tomorrow evening.” I finish draining the water bottle and set it aside, standing up.

“I guess that’s the best I can expect for now.” He sounds resigned. I don’t care.

“Yes, it is. But be ready anyway. If I decide to do this, I’ll want to get started right away.” The hopeful look he shoots me annoys me. I’m not giving him a definite yes.

But I’m not giving him a definite no, either. The truth is that the guy’s offer intrigues me. It offers plenty of opportunity—including the chance to completely screw him over.

That’s a chance I’d love to take. But for now, the chance to vindicate myself with my parents is enough.

Chapter 9

Michael

I go home that night frustrated and a little stoned, only to discover my parents tensely sitting in the family room waiting for me. I slow down a little when I see their faces and the way their eyes flick to me and stay on me as I walk in. My father’s mouth works like he’s trying to figure out what to say.

“What is it?” I ask as I come in.

My mother sighs. “Maria has... a friend over. Try not to disturb her.”

“Friend?” Something in her tone catches my attention.

“She keeps bringing this one really creepy guy over,” my father elaborates. “We’ve had no reason to ban him from the house yet, aside from staring at your mother’s tits for ten solid seconds when he first saw her.”

“That’s weird. Why is she hanging around with him? Is he particularly attractive or something?”

“Not at all. He looks like someone you should keep your underage daughters away from.” My mother winces. “He even has a... what do the kids call it? A neckbeard.”

“What the hell is the guy even here for?” Maria is shallow as hell. She doesn’t go near guys who aren’t model-perfect. So, why does she have some creepy, ungroomed spud following her around?

“Fixing her computer, I think.” My father rubs his temple. “She said she didn’t want to wait until you weren’t busy. Just hoping he’ll be done soon.”

A little alarm bell goes off in the back of my head, but I’m too tired and distracted to pay much attention to it. “I’ve got too much going to be dealing with her or her weird-ass friends right now anyway,” I grumble.

“Actually, I’d really like it if you kept an ear out for trouble from him,” my mother says, “since you’re right down the hall.”

I look between my parents.Did we suddenly stop being mobsters on the last day?“Why don’t you just kick him out?” I ask before I really think about it.

Dad winces. “Yeah, I confronted the guy, and your sister blew her stack completely. Told me to stop policing her friends, pitched a fit about how unfair I was being...”

I stare at him tiredly.The Golden Child strikes again. I’m willing to bet they’d come down on me or anyone else who brought in someone who creeped them out.But my family dynamic is what it is. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Have you got a lead on our stolen money yet?” My father lifts an eyebrow as he looks up at me, changing the subject to something he knows will grab my whole attention.

“Yes,” I lie. “I’m designing a search program looking specifically for incidences of the wire transfer interception program’s use. It has only been used a few times: by Arya, by myself, and by whoever stole from us. I am pretty sure Arya didn’t steal it back, but this will make sure and hopefully point me in the right direction.”

My father nods curtly. “Well, that’s a start.”

“Did anything come up in the staff background checks?” I’m still hopeful that it’s just some social engineering by an outsider, the same as we hit the Castelluccis with.

“Not a damn thing.” He shakes his head. “I can see why you wanted me to check, though.”

I smile thinly. “I’ll figure this shit out. Thank you for checking.”

He nods distractedly, and I turn and walk away. I’m glad he’s moving on this. I’m glad we can still speak with each other respectfully. Since talking to Arya, I’m realizing that I’m lucky to have a family like mine. I can actually get past humiliation, arguments, and being in the doghouse if enough time and work goes into it.

Arya, though? No wonder she’s so pissed at me. She can’t help how crazy her mother is or how much of an asshole her father is, but until I upset her personal apple cart, she had been maintaining. Now, apparently, a whole lot of family crap is coming to a head for her. I just have to deal with this embarrassing theft and the surrounding mystery. She’s trapped in a daytime talk show episode.

I need to find a way to make all this shit up to her. But there’s a roadblock. She doesn’t trust me at all, and rightly so.

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