Page 30 of Sinful Attraction

Michael has a private condo just to get away, and he has a better relationship with his family than I do. So, how come I’ve never set aside money and gone and done that?

I can guess some of it. I don’t think Michael had to pay his way to getting a doctorate. My parents are pretty generous, but they never supported me getting anything beyond a Bachelor’s, so I had to take tuition, books, and everything out of what they gave me monthly. There was never much left over after that.

Now, though, I can think about it. And it’s past time that I do.

I’m just starting to relax when I hear the arguing and yelling finally die down on the other side of the house. That puts me on alert again. On the one hand, I’m glad nobody got smacked, no dishes got thrown, and they’ve finally settled things. On the other hand, I can pretty much guess the minutes I’ve got until they bring the fallout of that argument to my threshold.

I try to meditate until that time comes, but my stomach is jumping around. This situation used to terrify me as a kid, and it’s not very comfortable now, either.

Then, my father’s rapping on my door like a cop, startling me half out of my chair. “For fuck’s sake,” I mutter under my breath, straightening and going to unlock my door.

My father stands there stiffly, hands shoved in the pockets of his smoking jacket. His face is reddish, and his voice is hoarse from yelling. “We need to talk about Imelda,” he says simply.

I lick my lips, brace myself, and lift my chin. “All right. What about her?”

“The security records, CCTV videos, and evidence from her room all proved your story. She confessed an hour ago. She says she was employed by the Rossis.”

I nod. “That’s pretty much what I expected. It confirms how they were able to monitor my work so closely.”

“Damn it,” he snaps. “I just spent the last hour wanting to go put a gun to Rossi’s head over this, and your mom keeps telling me it’s not worth a war. It’s millions of dollars of insult!”

I stare back at him.Oh, now he’s fired up.Now that there’s evidence enough that he can blame someone besides me. He’s so damn predictable.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about them having that money long enough to enjoy it,” I say sharply. “It was stolen out from under them in under a day. My sources say they’re in an uproar over it.”

“Huh.” He frowns. “You mentioned something about that before, but I wasn’t really listening.”

That’s no surprise at all.“They have security leaks as well, and theirs aren’t caught yet. One of them stole that money out from under them, and no one knows where it is now.”

He huffs. “Can you still get it back?”

“I’m working on it. It would help if I still had admin access to our system.” I look at him meaningfully.

“Your cousin says you don’t need it. If you don’t like that, talk to him.”

I roll my eyes. “You gave chief admin privileges to Carlo? He’s fifteen! Are you kidding me?”

“He does the job for pocket money, he doesn’t ask questions, and he doesn’t even know what most of what he’s monitoring even is, so we don’t have to worry about leaks as much.”

I fold my arms, regretting coming home even more. “Until the Rossis slip someone else into our staff roster.”

“I’m changing the hiring process to help prevent that. Have a little faith.” His tone has shifted to a resentful growl. Then, he takes a deep breath and adds, “Look, I need to know where the hell you have gotten all this information about the Rossis.Imelda, the money, their current fight—where are you getting it all from?”

“I have a source inside the Rossi family.” That’s as close as I’m letting him get to the truth. If he finds out that I’m working with Michael, he’ll react almost as badly as if he finds out that I slept with Michael.

“You have... wait, who?” He peers at me.

Right now, I realize it’s time to set a boundary and stick to it, no matter how crazy he gets. I frown at him. “Ah... ah, Dad, this is my source, not a family source. If you want access, it will be through me.”

He scowls back at me... but then, his face softens slightly. “Fine, protect your source, but if I need to question them directly for the good of the family, you are not getting in my way.”

“Sure, if I agree with you.” I fold my arms.

He looks shocked for a moment, then scowls again. “Learn to be more agreeable, then, because I still run this family.”

“And you assume you run me despite my being a grown adult. Keep it up, Dad, and I’ll walk.” I stare him right in the eyes.

For a moment, he hesitates. Then, his face darkens again, and he says, “Stop assuming I give a shit. You’re just a woman. It’syour mom who wants more grandkids. I don’t care if you leave or not.”

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