The begining of a problem
Chapter 20
The Beginning of a Problem
Dr. Amara Queen had spent her entire life in control.
Control of her emotions.
Control of her reactions.
Control of her future.
The ability had served her well.
It was difficult to become a world-renowned surgeon before twenty-five without discipline.
Without control.
Without the ability to separate emotion from logic.
Unfortunately...
Lorenzo Vitale was becoming a problem.
A very attractive problem.
A very persistent problem.
And worst of all...
A problem she actually liked.
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The realization irritated her.
Immediately.
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Amara sat in her office reviewing surgical schedules.
Or at least pretending to.
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Because she'd been staring at the same page for nearly fifteen minutes.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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A knock interrupted her suffering.
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"Come in."
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Her assistant entered.
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Immediately smiling.
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A bad sign.
A very bad sign.
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"Why are you smiling?"
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The assistant's smile widened.
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The betrayal.
The suspicious-assistant betrayal.
Undefeated.
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"There's someone here to see you."
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Silence.
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Amara narrowed her eyes.
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"No."
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The assistant blinked.
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"What?"
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"No."
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The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without mercy.
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"I didn't even tell you who it was."
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"You don't have to."
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Silence.
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The assistant laughed.
Immediately.
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The traitor.
The complete traitor.
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"Dr. Queen."
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A pause.
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"It's Lorenzo."
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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Amara closed her eyes.
Immediately.
?
Because somehow...
That was exactly who she'd expected.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"Send him in."
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The assistant left.
Still smiling.
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The betrayal.
The workplace betrayal.
Undefeated.
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Seconds later Lorenzo entered.
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Black suit.
Tattooed hands.
Dangerous eyes.
The usual.
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Unfortunately...
The usual looked really good today.
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A serious problem.
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A very serious problem.
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The mafia don walked into her office carrying a folder.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Amara frowned.
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"What now?"
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Lorenzo sat.
Immediately.
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Like he paid rent.
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The audacity.
The complete audacity.
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"I brought information."
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The folder landed on her desk.
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Amara opened it.
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Then immediately frowned harder.
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Photographs.
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Financial records.
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Corporate documents.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"What am I looking at?"
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Lorenzo leaned back.
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Dangerously.
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"Romano's legitimate businesses."
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Silence.
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The surgeon studied the paperwork.
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Restaurants.
Shipping companies.
Construction firms.
Investment groups.
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The usual criminal front businesses.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Then something caught her attention.
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A pharmaceutical company.
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Small.
Quiet.
Easy to miss.
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Interesting.
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Very interesting.
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Amara picked up the document.
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Read it.
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Then read it again.
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The room became silent.
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Dangerously silent.
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Lorenzo noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
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"What?"
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The question came quietly.
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Carefully.
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Because he'd learned something important about Amara.
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When she became very quiet...
Someone was usually in trouble.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Amara looked up.
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Then smiled.
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The wrong smile.
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The terrifying smile.
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The smile that belonged in horror movies.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"This company."
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She tapped the page.
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Once.
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"Is laundering money."
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Silence.
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Lorenzo blinked.
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"Most of his businesses launder money."
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"No."
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A pause.
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"This one is stealing from him."
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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The room froze.
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Immediately.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo leaned forward.
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The predator returned.
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"Explain."
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Amara smiled.
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Dangerously.
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"Irregular inventory reports."
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A pause.
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"Incorrect tax structures."
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Another.
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"Missing revenue."
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Another.
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"And someone is falsifying pharmaceutical records."
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Silence.
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The mafia don stared.
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Then stared harder.
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Because once again...
She wasn't guessing.
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Not remotely.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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"How much?"
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The answer came instantly.
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"Millions."
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Silence.
Absolute silence.
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Lorenzo looked delighted.
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Actually delighted.
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The realization disturbed her.
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Deeply.
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"What?"
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The mafia don smiled.
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Slowly.
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Warmly.
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The dangerous smile.
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"The people stealing from Romano."
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A pause.
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"They're about to become very unhappy."
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The realization settled between them.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Then Lorenzo's phone rang.
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One of his captains.
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The mafia don answered immediately.
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A mistake.
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A terrible mistake.
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Because the second he answered...
A loud voice exploded through the speaker.
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"ASK HER OUT ALREADY."
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Silence.
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Absolute silence.
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The universe stopped.
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Immediately.
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Lorenzo froze.
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Amara froze.
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The phone froze.
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Reality itself considered leaving.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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The captain continued.
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Completely unaware he was on speaker.
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"Boss, you've been talking about her for weeks."
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Silence.
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The betrayal.
The catastrophic betrayal.
Undefeated forever.
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Lorenzo ended the call.
Immediately.
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Far too late.
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Much too late.
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The damage was done.
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Amara slowly looked up.
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Then adjusted her glasses.
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The movement was small.
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Precise.
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Dangerous.
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Interesting.
Very interesting.
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Lorenzo considered jumping out the window.
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Briefly.
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Professionally.
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Then Amara spoke.
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Softly.
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Calmly.
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The most dangerous tone she possessed.
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"You've been talking about me?"
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Silence.
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The mafia don realized something.
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For the first time in years...
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He was nervous.
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And judging by the tiny smile threatening to appear on Amara's face...
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She knew it.
End Chapter 20