Page 18 of His Undercover Wolf

Ah…Otsana was fishing. “I have never invited anyone to join me until now. This place is special and until I met you earlier tonight, I had no desire to share it with a woman. Every few weeks Cillian dines with me but he’s usually too busy chasing women. Most nights I cook for myself at home. I find it relaxes me after a long day.”

“You cook for yourself?” Otsana was clearly surprised.

“I do almost everything for myself. I have no full-time staff in my home, but I do have a cleaning lady come in every week and she also does my laundry.”

“That surprises me, I thought you would have quite a few staff. I’m flattered you chose me to be the first to share dinner here with you.”

“My turn to ask questions. Are you seeing anyone?”

Otsana sipped her wine, placed the glass on the table and looked into my eyes. “No…”

When she didn’t continue, I asked, “What happened?”

I waited while our server placed bowls of crab bisque in front of us and left to return to the kitchen before expecting an answer.

“I had been seeing someone until about two years ago. We had been together for a little over six years and I had been hoping he would ask me to marry him. I arrived home early from work after our case was wrapped up and found him in bed with a woman I’d thought was a friend.”

“Ouch. So your comments at the office about not trusting anyone outside family now make sense. I’m very sorry you were hurt.”

“Best I discovered the deception before we married.”

“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m thirty-six, thirty-seven in March next year. Now it’s my turn. How old are you, it wasn’t included in your profile?”

“Thirty-nine, forty in September. I have managed to keep my age and a few other personal details away from the vultures in the media.”

“Relationships?”

“Nothing long term. I’m usually far too busy and no one has caught my eye until now.” I looked deep into Otsana’s mismatched eyes and watched as her cheeks pinked.

“Why me?”

“Honestly?”

“It’s what I’d prefer,” Otsana answered before taking a mouthful of bisque and a bite of fresh, crusty bread.

“I have no idea, but when we first met, I felt an overwhelming attraction that I still cannot explain. Something in me insisted I reach out and grab the opportunity to know you better. A bit other worldly and strange, but…”

“I felt something also which is why I agreed to dinner.”

We ate in silence until the bread and bisque were finished. The server materialized and whisked the dishes away.

“How long has Cillian been seeing Maria Aladrotti?”

“I’ll answer this question but no more shop talk.”

“Sorry, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

“No, it’s fine. Cillian and I were frustrated with so many dead ends and decided to do some more investigations of our own. We thought Maria, being the daughter of a mafia boss who has his fingers on the pulse of everything happening everywhere, might spill on something her father might have said that could be relevant to our insider trading. Cillian drew the short straw on spending time with her and Evan said it was worth a try. After a week, Cillian realized she either knew nothing or wasn’t as dumb as we’d hoped, and last night, he called it quits.”

“When my team and I read the file we were wracking our brains, trying to figure out why Cillian would jeopardize the security of the company by seeing the daughter of a criminal mob boss.”

“Mystery solved. How did you come to be on the force and why corporate fraud?”

“The old story of always wanted to join the force to help people and when I made detective, I was seconded to the major crime squad, a coveted position. The corporate fraud squad had one of their detectives killed in a parachuting accident and I was asked to fill in on a case they were halfway through. I found I enjoyed delving into corporate business and had good instincts for weeding out fraud. After the case was solved, I requested a permanent transfer. The bosses were gob-smacked because major crime is a coveted squad and positions are easy to fill, while corporate is considered the lesser team and no one wants to be there. They agreed when I insisted, and I’ve been there ever since…About eight years now.”

Chapter Seven

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