Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“You’re making me nervous,” Mom said after watching me peek out the window for the umpteenth time.
“Well, I’m nervous that the CEO of Steele Corp is coming to my house. I should have said no.” I paced away from the door.
“No, you shouldn’t have. He publicly backed you, gave you a better position, and offered to bring dinner so we wouldn’t be inconvenienced. He’s being nice, Sophia. Nice is good.”
“He’s being nice because he wants your help.” I purposely did not think about what else I knew he wanted.
“Good, because now I want his too. If everything you said is true…” She shook her head, her anger visible. Then her expression softened. “Are you worried about your dad?”
“Ha! Not remotely.”
“Then what’s going on?”
I was freaking out that the rich dragon shifter who wanted me as his mate was going to say something about our almost one-night stand to my mom.
“I think I’ve been thrown too many curveballs by life, and I’m stressed out.”
“Understandable. Try some deep breathing.”
I’d just let out a long exhale when the doorbell rang.
“Keep breathing,” Mom said. “I’m answering that so you don’t scare him away.”
As if I could. I’d been trying.
Ignoring her orders, I followed her to the door and watched her open it. Konni stood outside, holding a large paper bag and a bouquet.
Flowers? What was he thinking?
“Mrs. Elmantas?” he asked politely.
“I am,” she said. “You must be Mr. Steele. Please, come in.”
He smiled and entered, keeping his gaze on her until she shut the door and faced him.
“These are for you,” he said. “I heard that you were in a car accident and hope you’re recovering well.”
Oh.
Why was I disappointed that the flowers weren’t for me?
“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Steele.”
“Call me Konni. Please.”
She smiled, took the flowers from him with her good hand, and led him to the kitchen. I followed, my skepticism unmasked behind his back.
“Have a seat,” she said when we reached the table. “Sophia, come help me put these in water.”
She sat with him while I found a vase.
“I hope you like Italian,” he said. “I thought a little comfort food might be nice tonight.”
“Italian sounds perfect,” Mom said.
The bag crinkled, and I listened to him unpack the food as I put the flowers in the vase with water.
When I brought it to the table, I saw three wrapped takeout tins. Konni opened Mom’s for her—Lasagna, a side of garlic bread, and a tossed salad.
“Sophia mentioned why you wanted to talk to me,” Mom said as I went for silverware. “Do you really think someone was behind my job losses?”
“Your daughter was targeted at Steele Corp in less than three weeks of employment. The similarity between recent events and your job losses makes me uncomfortable. Can you tell me about your previous employers and what happened?”
I hated that he was asking her to rip open one of her biggest sore spots and poke at it.
“Is that really—”
Mom set her hand on mine and patted it firmly to silence me.
“Let’s eat while this is hot,” she said.
Once my mouth was full, she started talking.
I’d been too young to pay attention to why she switched the first few jobs.
It wasn’t until my senior year that I began to notice and ask questions.
Hearing the definitive pattern of position cuts, staffing cuts, downsizing, along with the occasional supposed performance issues, now made me hurt for her all over again.
“The duration of my employment has decreased with each job,” Mom admitted. “This last one was less than a month. How can we prove whether or not I was being targeted?”
“I’d like you to talk to your old coworkers. But discreetly, just in case we’re right. Ask a coworker out to lunch to catch up, or maybe bump into one by chance if you know where to find them.”
He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a credit card.
“Please use this for expenses. Steele Corp lost millions on this last deal. Whatever you need to dig into this as quickly as possible will help me find the person responsible.”
Mom looked at the card but didn't take it.
“I’ll also pay your wages while you’re investigating since you’re doing so on my behalf.
The card is private. It doesn’t go through the company.
We can settle expenses later, but I’d like you to spend in front of the people you talk to.
Be happy. Relaxed. As if you don’t have a financial care in the world. ”
Mom’s gaze lifted from the card, and a slow smile grew.
“You want to bait whoever might be targeting me.”
“I do.”
“What if we’re wrong? What if it’s truly just my bad luck?”
“You’ll still be helping me narrow down the possibilities so I know where to look for the mole. I promise you’ll be earning your salary.”
She took the card. “If we really want them to pay attention, I should settle my hospital bill first. Spending money with that out there wouldn’t look realistic.”
“Agreed,” Konni said.
“I’d like to deduct it from my wages and set up a payment plan for the remaining balance once everything is settled.”
“I like your confidence that this won’t take as long as I think it will,” Konni said. “If there’s a balance remaining when this is done, we can discuss repayment.”
“Then you have yourself a deal, Mr. Steele.” Mom held out her hand.
“Just Konni,” he said, shaking it. “How do you feel about dessert?”
He stayed through dessert, which was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had in my life, then said he needed to go.
Mom nudged me to walk him to the door. I flashed her a frown, but reluctantly moved off with him while she started cleaning up.
“Thank you for inviting me into your home,” Konni said, maintaining his professionalism. “If your mom runs into trouble, call me.”
“I will. And thank you for helping us.”
He shook his head slightly. “You’re helping me. Steele Corp’s lawyers officially dropped the lawsuit. Let me know if you don’t get what you’d asked for.”
“I’ll be sure to message him tonight,” I said.
“Smart.” He glanced at his watch again.
“Running late for your meeting with Lianna?” I guessed.
“Intentionally,” he said. “Everyone runs late to these gatherings. If it weren’t your first day, I’d take you with me to accept drinks on my behalf.”
“How chivalrous of you.”
He grinned, dropping the pretense. “I’ve seen your alcohol tolerance. You’d be fine.”
I snorted.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t be late.”
“Don’t fire me if I am,” I said.
“Never.”
I watched him leave, then turned and found Mom staring at me.
“He’s the rich guy who likes you, isn't he?” Mom asked.
I made a face. “Why can’t you use your clairvoyance to solve who’s getting you fired and trying to make me look bad?”
“It’s not clairvoyance. It’s called having eyes and ears. You were flirting with him.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
She laughed. “Sophia, you were. He’s nice. And handsome. You have my approval.”
“No, I don’t,” I said, walking around her to wash the few dishes we’d dirtied.
“Is taking this card and helping him figure this out going to complicate things for you?” she asked, watching me. “Is he going to use it to manipulate you?”
I slowly shook my head, hating that it made me more nervous knowing that he wouldn’t try to use it.
“He’s had the opportunity to manipulate me and hasn’t so far. He’s one of the more trustworthy ones, not that that means much.”
“Coming from you, I think it does.”
My phone buzzed, waking me thirty minutes before my alarm. Disoriented, I fumbled for the device and squinted to read the message.
K: Can you come in early?
Me: How much more am I getting paid to be at your beck and call? Also, when will I receive my compensation?
My phone rang. I saw “K” on the screen, the vague contact info I’d grudgingly entered for him, and answered it with a quiet, “What?”
“I apologize for waking you."
“Who said you did?”
He chuckled, and the sound wrapped around me.
“I find your early morning surliness cute.”
“You're insane for finding it cute and for using the word surly.”
My phone dinged, and I pulled it away from my ear to read the auto-deposit text from my bank. Another five thousand dollars.
I cleared my throat and said, “How soon should I meet you?”
His amused laugh sounded so nice.
“How soon can you be here?”
“You’re already in the office?” I asked, sitting up. “What time did your meeting end last night? Did you even sleep?”
A beat of silence answered me before he did.
“I’ll tell you when you get here. Hurry up.”
He ended the call, and I became a quiet whirlwind as I got ready.
After sending Mom a message that I was heading in early, I snuck out of the house and drove downtown. The city was quiet that early, which made the commute even quicker.
An hour and a half earlier than usual, I walked into the Steele building and headed up to the executive floor. No one was around yet. No one except Konni, who had his office door open and a paper take-out bag on his desk. He stood when he saw me and held it out.
I accepted it, along with the coffee he handed me.
“Should I be concerned that you bribe me with food, beverage, and cash?”
He chuckled as he went to close his office door.
“Probably.” The word said so close to my ear immediately after hearing the door shut made me jump.
His hands gripped my arms, steadying the coffee I still held. His nose skimmed against my cheek as he inhaled.
“I stayed until the contract was signed last night, then came to sleep here. There’s a bedroom behind that panel. Would you like to see it?”
His exhale teased my skin.
“Professional distance, Konni,” I managed in a voice that sounded unbothered.
It was a lie.
The heat from his hands was warming me from the inside out, and I wanted to tip my head back so he could nuzzle my neck and maybe kiss it. Slowly. With a healthy amount of tongue.
A shaky breath escaped me.
Damn it!
“Let go.”
His touch vanished, and he stepped in front of me with his hands raised.
“I apologize and promise to exert more control over my need to—” His eyes went gold. As in completely gold, not just a little bit.