Page 68 of Boss

He shook his head and smiled. The lights flickered on and off. She glanced up at the fixture over the kitchen table. The lights held.

“Will we lose electricity?” she asked.

“No. I’m sure the storm will pass shortly. This will all be over soon.”

She glanced over to the small television mounted beneath the kitchen cabinets. The news reporter was again pointing to a radar map. To her it didn’t look like it would end. Resolutely she continued to eat.

He cut his steak and ate more.

“So fucking me was part of the save the environment job?” he asked.

“Must you be so crass?”

“Yes or no? Making love with me was part of the job?”

“No. We didn’t make love. Having sex with you was a choice. And it’s not a job. It’s a cause. I didn’t plan it the first night. I had something to drink and...”

“Bullshit, it was planned,” he said.

“You have no idea who we are too each other...”

Tarek looked up again. She bit down on her bottom lip and wished the wine hadn’t loosened them.

“Why don’t you tell me Kassandra?”

“Ah, I already have,” she said.

“You're my fake employee and I'm your boss. The story ends there?” He chewed and stared at her. Gone was the light of sexy in his eyes. He stared at her with predatory precision now. She felt like he’d pounce from across the table.

“Your father and brother are plotting against you. I swear it. I don’t know how they are doing it. I just know it’s going to be bad.”

“I’m not mad you would give me sex in exchange for your empty cause. And I wasn’t fooled either Kassandra. After our little make believe time together I found out what my brother and father were really up too. And I needed no complications.”

“I was a complication?” she asked.

“You were a distraction,” he corrected her. “I’m focused now.”

“On what?”

He kept eating.

“Well don’t keep me in suspense. This ends with me in jail anyway. You might as well tell me.”

“My contacts said the operation is called Easter EGG. It’s a code name used by the government Securities and Exchange Commission for an investigation that goes back twenty years with my father.” The smug smile on Tarek’s face dimmed, but he kept chewing and staring at her with keen interest. “Easter represents April. According to my contacts, April is when they plan to make the bust. And EGG stands for Environmental Global Grab. Apparently MGS, and three other corporations like you, are suspected of EPA violations. Of course the government could care less about the pollution my family dumps into the oceans and drinking water, or the dead endangered animals washing up on costal shores. But they have to put up a sacrificial lamb since next year is an election year. And we would have escaped their sweep if it hadn’t been my dealing with Kovalevsky and LuxeOil.”

Tarek sat back. All the humor drained from his face. She felt a pang of sympathy for him.

“So you’re in trouble? That is why you came back home.”

Tarek continued to chew and not answer. He cut his steak with fierce determination and snatched up a cube of meat to toss into his mouth. He chewed as he spoke. “This is personal for you, why?”

Kassidy held her tongue.

“Answer me!” he slammed his hand on the table. She didn't want to tell him about Clarissa, she didn't want to tell him about their connection. That wound was hers, not his. If she reopened it then everything would explode.

“It's not personal...”

“We’re done talking. Done!” he shouted at her.

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