Page 83 of Alex

“That isn’t a bad thing. Look at the two of you now. You’re both mature, successful, and have bright futures ahead.”

I wouldn’t say mature, but I don’t refute his claims.

“When I was eighteen, right after Mom left us, Adam invited me to one of his notorious high stakes poker games where betting is anything and everything. You know the types where the sky’s the limit.”

Dad sighs. “Yeah, I know those rules all too well. That’s usually where back door business deals happen.”

I nod, getting back to my story.

“Right. Well, that night I bought some cocaine and gave it to him. He didn’t use it. He gave it to a waitress that ended up overdosing on it later that evening after we left. That’s not important. What’s important is that I ended up getting Bianca from him.”

Dad leans forward, propping his elbows up on his desk and resting his chin in his hands. “I thought the two of you met at her father’s club and dated like normal people.”

I shake my head, no longer able to look Dad in his eyes. “Just a tiny detail I omitted. We dated for a while, and I even fell in love with her, but as soon as I said those words to her, she dumped my ass and went back to Adam.”

“Was that her plan all along?” Dad doesn’t seem upset or angry. If anything, he sounds concerned about me.

“Probably, but I’m over it.” I look up so he can see the truth in my eyes.

Dad grins. “Because you are falling for Elise?”

I return his smile as I think about Elise. I just left her a few minutes ago, naked and spread eagle on my bed after having her scream my name.

“I think so. It’s way too soon to tell, but she’s different. She makes me happy.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, son.” His smile is genuine, and he looks proud.

“That’s not all that I need to tell you.”

Dad’s smile disappears as he leans back and waits for me to fill him in.

“When we were in the city, I took Elise to Bianca’s father’s club. There was a small verbal altercation, but nothing too serious. Elise met Adam and Bianca and found out about my past.”

I skip over the intimate details of fucking Elise on the desk. No one but the two of us needs to know what happened there.

“Adam also said he plans to interfere with your upcoming merger and take over the company. I think it’s all talk, but I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

Dad’s face is the definition of calculated. “What is his motive for all this? How does he expect to accomplish this?”

I take a deep breath, not really wanting to tell Dad the truth, but I need to. “He says he has video footage of the poker game and me holding the bag of cocaine.”

“Damn it, Alex.” Dad rubs his temples. “If he has footage, there’s no way we can dispute the allegations.”

“I know that, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for my past mistakes. I was hurt by Mom and wasn’t thinking about the consequences or the future.”

Dad blows out a breath. “I’ll call Bill and see if there’s anything we can do to stay ahead of this. Was this everything, or is there more?”

“There’s more.” My voice is low, barely above a whisper.

“Fuck, son.”

“When I went to drive her home today, her apartment was on fire. She lost everything, but the silver lining is that she was looking for a way out of her lease.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes.”

I shrug. “Right. The other silver lining is that her apartment fire and the office incident could be linked.”

“Do you have anything to confidently tie them together?” Dad resumes his cool, calm, and collected facade, but his jaw tics and he raises his eyebrow slightly.

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