Page 67 of Boss

“Can I ask questions?”

He forked steak in his mouth and chewed.

“Are you the oldest?”

“No. Dale is the oldest. I’m the next behind him,” Tarek said and put more hot sauce on his steak.

“Interesting that Alek Marshall would adopt a child with already having a son,” she said.

Tarek shrugged. “My father is a curious man.” He kept eating and sipping his wine. She stared at his handsome rugged features. She hated his arrogance. However, she never could ignore his masculine features. Like the way his jaw muscles locked and released when he chewed to reveal a dimple in his right cheek. Or the dark sheen to his hair and the few strands that drifted to his brow. She couldn’t ignore his eyes that probed her mind when focused on her. He wasn’t your typical kind of handsome. His tough exterior matched his personality and silent brooding. She found that complication tempting. And she knew she shouldn’t.

“Is Daniel your boyfriend?” he queried.

She spits out some of her wine and started choking.

He stared at her.

She dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “I told you no.”

“Then why were you kissing?”

“Kissing? I didn’t...”

She looked up at him. He stared at her. “So you had me and him followed.”

“Why were you kissing?” he asked again. There an edge to his tone that she didn’t like. But she decided to ignore it.

“He kissed me. I happened once. Your little investigator just happened to see it.”

“Right?”

“I don’t care what you believe. It’s the truth. And you ended things with me. Remember? Why do you care?”

“The way he acted when I drove up. He wanted to protect you,” Tarek noted.

“From a maniac in some supped up monster truck out to attack us. That was being a gentleman, not a boyfriend,” she said.

“Looked different to me,” he said.

“Well looks are deceiving. You thought I worked for your brother and wanted to screw her way to the top.”

He chuckled. “You got a point.”

They continued eat. Then she caught him peeking up at her.

“What?” she asked in response to his staring.

“Why were you calling for your mother and father when I found you?”

“I wasn't.”

“You were, more than once. Are your parents... alive?”

“No. And we will not talk about them. Trust me. You won’t like where the conversation goes.”

“Understood,” he said.

“Has MGS always been so corrupt?” she asked.

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