Page 25 of Ace of Swords

Tatiana, now that I looked at her closely, was dressed for a night out. Thin hoop earrings, her hair was freshly blown out, not a strand out of place, and that jumpsuit she was wearing, with those sexy heels, that was an outfit that she planned carefully.

My suspicions about Sergio were just another chaotic addition to an already messy situation. My feelings for Tatiana couldn’t be resolved easily; not until I figured out what the hell was gong on with the Montalla’s finances. So despite her hand on my knee and the way her cleavage peeked out the top of her jumpsuit, I was going to tackle problem number one head on.

“Do you think your father is capable of breaking the law, Tatiana?” I asked flatly.

“What?” she said, her mouth hanging open. Her hand stopped stroking my knee and I instantly missed it.

“I’ve noticed some irregularities in the books, and I’m trying to make sense of it all. Obviously I don’t want to accuse your father of anything without knowing all the facts, so I thought I’d run it by you. I mean, I feel like we have a connection. We can talk like this, right?”

She was looking at me like I was a stranger.

“I’m such an idiot,” she said.

“You're not,” I assured her.

“Were you getting close to me to try and get at my father?”

“No, god, no! I just need you to clear up a few things for me. Like when your dad first started the Chinese Import division of–”

“Stop!” she said, loudly enough that some guests looked over. She raised her hand in front of me. Her cheeks were turning red, but not the way they turned red when we'd been in my bed. “I don't know anything about my father’s business dealings. In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t work there and I don’t have an interest in his companiesat all.But Rolland,” she said, seeming to calm down a bit, “if my fatherwereguilty of some crime, and I can’t even begin to imagine what you suspect him of, why would I rat him out to you? He’s myfather.”

“The law is the law, Tatiana. If your father is–” I lowered my voice to a whisper, “hiding money, my ass could be on the line. And it’swrong. Tell me if you think it’s impossible. I could do some more digging, maybe expose that someone he trusts has defraudedhim. I need to know.”

A single tear trailed down her cheek. It stunned me to see it appear. Holy hell, was I being that terrible? I reached out to take her hand, hoping she was upset by the revelation that her father could be a crook, and not angry at me. As soon as my hand touched hers she jumped back, sliding quickly out of the booth and heading for the door.What was happening?

I threw a twenty on the table to cover the drinks, then followed Tatiana down the block to the parking lot. I found her by her car, digging through her purse, searching for her keys.

“Tatiana, don’t run away like this. Let’s go back,” I suggested, touching her cool shoulder and gently turning her to me.

“Back off, Rolland,” she shouted, jabbing a finger so close to my face I felt the air fly past my nose. “I’m a person, not some spreadsheet filled with numbers and statistics that you can play with and figure out to your satisfaction. You can’t fuck me one day and then use me to nail my father the next. And youcertainlycan’t accuse my father of being a criminal over cocktails and then think we can exchange our life stories over appetizers. Really, how can someone as smart as you be so fucking stupid?” She practically spit those last words in my face. She was seething.

Tatiana opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. As she was twisting the key in the ignition, she paused, giving me a feeling of hope. Maybe she'd had a change of heart? “My father’s not guilty of anything, Rolland. You’re on the wrong track. He worked hard to build his company, pushed by grief for my mother and love for me. Now get your hand off my car and forget you even know me.” She slammed the door closed, almost taking my hand off in the process, then she reversed the car and sped down the street, leaving me in the parking lot.

I’d royally screwed this up, that I knew. But where did I go wrong? I never thought Tatiana would be so defensive about her father. All indications had been that she loathed the guy. All I’d heard from her was resentment, and watching her shopping the other day, it was obvious every one of those purchases was a giant “fuck you” to the man.

There had to be a bigger picture that I was missing, and I hated missinganything.Maybe Tatiana was right, maybe I looked at the world too simplistically, expecting everything to add up, everything to be either black or white.

Did I retreat to my orderly columns of numbers and data because I was incapable of handling feelings? How was it possible that one minute I was ogling the hickey I’d left on Tatiana’s shoulder, getting turned on from her hand on my knee, and the very next minute I'd decided interrogating her about her father’s business was better than enjoying her presence over drinks?

It didn’t feel wrong in that moment, but looking back, I realized I’d made a big mistake.

I wouldn’t be able to rest until I'd worked this out. I needed to make this right; not for my career, but to protect any chance I had of being close to Tatiana again.

There was only one person who could help me.

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