Page 22 of Scandalous Lover

Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy. We’ve been thick as thieves since grade school when my mother secured me a scholarship to the exclusive private school in the next town over and threw me to the wolves.

Dom saved me on day one from getting beat up by a bunch of jocks and brought me into his fold. Ben and Avery were quick to welcome me as well, and it's been the four of us ever since.

I make my way down the long hallway to the door that leads to the Raft dining room. The place is closed at this hour, and I’m honestly surprised Dom is here at all on a Saturday morning. He’s in his kitchen until late into the night, so he usually rolls in around noon.

I nearly have a heart attack when I turn the corner and see the “meeting.”

It’s Dom standing in front of the bar with nearly forty guys sitting around the dining room, listening to him rant.

“...eyes on every inch of this place. Even when you think I can’t see you, I can. Is that clear? And if any one of you lays so much as a finger on her, you’ll not only lose your job, but you’ll have me to deal with personally. Each and every one of you knows I have the resources to make you disappear?—”

“Chef,” I say loudly, interrupting his pointed threat as I walk quickly over to stand beside him.

He doesn't even glance over at me, raising two fingers to point at his own eyes and then points them around the room at each and every one of what looks like all of the resort’s male employees.

I gawk at him for a beat before catching myself and turning to the room. “You’re all dismissed, thanks for coming. Sorry for whatever this was. No one is at risk of bodily harm or job loss at this time.”

Dom just continues to glare at each man as the group files out of the restaurant.

When the place is empty, I turn to him with an exasperated sigh. “Do I even want to know what that was about?”

Dom turns to walk back toward the kitchen, and I follow. “Don’t start acting like I’m a crazy person. I just wanted to make sure those fuckboys know what’s going to happen if they lay a finger on my sister.”

I stop short as the words slap me right across the face. I shake it off quickly and hurry to catch up with Dom as he moves through the prep kitchen toward his office. “N-Naomi?”

He turns with one hand on the handle, looking at me like I’m an idiot. “That’s the only sister I’ve got, isn’t it?”

I let out an exasperated sigh. I can usually brush off Dom’s antics. As long as they aren’t causing real issues for the resort, it's not my problem. Especially because I have so much to worry about and he’s as much an owner of this place as I am. More, actually.

But this? This is my problem. On many levels.

“What does Naomi have to do with anything?” I keep my voice level and neutral, even as my insides melt.

“She’s going to be on island for a bit. I guess she got into some kind of trouble with her internet job and needs to get out of the city. My father is being less than hospitable, as I’m sure you can imagine, so she’s coming here.”

She’s coming here.

Elation and sheer dread draw their swords and start dueling in my ribcage. “Oh.”

Dom tosses another glance at me, and I catch myself once more. “Okay. She’s staying with you and Reina.”

He sighs. “Yeah. Next week.”

Okay. I have one week to prepare myself for this total and complete shit fuck.

“Because Reina has guests at the house,” he goes on. “So, until then, she’s staying here at the resort. The only room available was a small second floor one, but that’s going to have to do. Maria got it all set up last night.”

“Oh.” The word is more of a reaction to the air being forcefully sucked out of my body. “She’s here already.”

“She’s coming over on the eleven fifteen water taxi. I’m going to have one of the shuttles go pick her up.”

“I’ll pick her up,” I say too quickly, and Dom turns on me once more, eyes narrowing.

“Mister I don’t have twenty minutes in my day for a lunch break suddenly has time to ferry my fugitive sister around?”

I take a deep breath to recover.

I am the manager of this goddam resort.

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