“Welcome home,” Salazar said coldly without looking away from his newspaper.
Brianna went to the windows and stared out. She couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the ocean. Close to the shore, the water was a brilliant green and then, as it deepened, the green melted to sapphire. The waves, which normally came straight toward the shore, were bent sideways today due to the Santa Ana winds. Suddenly she sensed her father’s eyes on her. Without looking at him, she moved to the table and took a seat opposite him. Against her better judgment, she peered up. His black beady eyes stared directly at her. Brianna couldn’t figure out his mood or tell what he was thinking—she’d never been able to read him.
“How can you be such a slut?” Salazar asked, his voice level and perfectly controlled. Brianna assumed her father was calling her a slut for kissing Derek. Salazar continued, “You’re just like your mother and you disgust me. You know damn well that I’m to approve anyone you date. How dare you go against my orders. It takes every ounce of control for me not to come over there and tear you apart.”
“I disgust you?” Brianna cried. “How could you murder three people, while I watched? What world do you live in?” Brianna knew that her father was strict, but sometimes he was far beyond reason. Looking at him, he seemed like a normal person—only he was anything but. Behind the wealthy facade of his Giorgio Armani suit, his Ferragamo shoes, and his Rolex watch was a cold-blooded killer, a drug dealer, a monster.
Even though Salazar was her father, she knew very few details about his life. Salazar told her that he was born in Colombia and, after the death of his parents, he moved to America to live with his uncle, Phillip Shephard. He attended school in San Diego and lived there for the vast majority of his life. Brianna also knew that Salazar and her mother married young, and that her mother died shortly after she was born. Beyond that, his past, and how he came to be involved with drugs, was a mystery to her.
“I didn’t murder anyone,” Salazar continued with a matter-of-fact tone.
“No, you had your men do it for you.” He would never get his hands dirty.
“I had my men do what was necessary to save you.”
“To save me from what? A friend?”
“That man was no friend to you. He was only using you and you are too damn naive to know if someone is your friend or not.” Salazar turned back to his newspaper.
“He was my friend and nothing more. I want you to know that you made a mistake. You killed him for no reason. And I’m not naive.” Brianna’s voice quivered as she fought back tears. She usually had better control over her emotions. However, with the recent massacre, she felt like she was in a daze.
Until Derek’s death, she’d mistakenly thought she had a say, if even a small one, in her own future. Now she allowed herself to see the situation as it really existed: she may be living her life, but Salazar controlled it. He manipulated everything to get the outcome he desired. She finally admitted to herself that she couldn’t escape him.
“You sound like a whiny two year old.”
Recomposing herself and gaining confidence, Brianna said, “Excuse me for complaining over the fact that you killed three men in front of me.” She tried not to think of that horrible night.
“Like I said, you are responsible for what happened.” Salazar sighed as he set the newspaper on the table. “Let me tell you a story.” He crossed his legs and folded his hands together. “When I was a child, I liked to play with tree branches and pretend I was sword fighting. One day my mother saw me and said to put the branch down. I didn’t listen, what could possibly happen? I thought I knew what was best. A few minutes later, the branch snapped and a small piece of wood was lodged in my hand. I ran to my mother in pain. She took me into the house and got a knife from the kitchen. She used that knife to dig into my hand and remove the wood. The knife made me bleed and it hurt worse than the wood did. I asked my mother how she could hurt me. And do you know what she told me? She said, To save you.”
Brianna wondered if she was supposed to assume that this simple story applied to her relationship with her father. Did he really think he was protecting her? Saving her? Realizing that her father intended for this story to end their conversation, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Besides, there really was no point discussing anything with him—he was going to do what he wanted, regardless of the consequences.
While Brianna ate her breakfast, trying to ignore her father, Ben walked in. She kept her head down, refusing to look at him. After all, he’s the one who told Salazar she had a man over to the condo. Even though she wouldn’t look at Ben, she tried to listen to what he was saying to her father.
“Sir, everything has been taken care of, exactly as you specified,” Ben said.
“Good.”
What did he mean by everything has been taken care of? She heard Ben leave the room.
She glanced up into Salazar’s dark eyes. A slow, cold smile spread across his face. “Well now, everything is going according to plan,” he purred.
Against her better judgment she asked, “What plan? What do you mean?”
As soon as the questions were out of her mouth, she wished she hadn’t voiced them. Salazar was always so volatile and the less she spoke, the better. The last thing she needed was to set him off.
To her surprise, Salazar answered calmly, clearly still in control. “All of your things have been moved back in here and the condo has been put up for sale.”
“You want me to live here? Why?”
“It’s finally time,” Salazar said matter-of-factly. Brianna stared at him with a confused expression. He clarified, “For you to officially set Hector up.”
“I know my role at the firm, but once I’m done with Hector’s case, I’m free to work at any firm I want, right?” That’s what her father had told her—do this one favor for him, and then he would give her some freedom.
Salazar replied, “Phillip will be retiring next year. You will replace him.”
She must have misunderstood her father. Phillip’s position was the most vital one in the organization. He was the family’s attorney, confidant, and advisor. Didn’t her father just call her a disobedient slut? Surely he didn’t want Brianna, a female, working for him in such an important role. Not only that, but she didn’t want to be involved so intimately with the business—if you could even call it that.
Brianna’s entire life had been shadowed by a dark cloud that she acknowledged as her father’s business. It’s not like he sat her down one day and explained things. He always told her he owned his own company, and it wasn’t until the eighth grade that she started to understand the reality of that business. Growing up, Brianna knew there was something different about her father. Every family had secrets, but hers seemed to be beyond the realm of most. No one else had bodyguards like she did. Nobody had secret meetings behind closed doors, with men armed with guns. And none of her friends had black credit cards or multiple identities.
There was an invisible wall she needed to maintain not only to protect herself, but the people she came in contact with. Perhaps that was why she was able to graduate from high school an entire year early, complete college in three years, and get her law degree in two. Of course, she also acknowledged it was because this was what Salazar wanted her to accomplish, and not simply because she excelled academically.
Brianna had no idea what to say.
Salazar grinned as if reading her thoughts. “We’re family—if you can’t trust family, who can you trust? Besides, I think you’ve learned your lesson and won’t disobey me again. If you do, well, you know the consequences are great.”
“Why do you want me living here with you?” she asked, distrustful of his real motivations.
“It’s lonely here without you,” he said. Brianna knew he was lying. It was probably easier for him to keep an eye on her from under the same roof. “Oh, and one more thing,” Salazar continued. “I’ve decided to look toward my future retirement as well—not that I’m going to re
tire anytime soon, but there’s a lot to be done before then. I must bring in my replacement and train him. You know how important family is to me. You understand that the business must stay in the family. Obviously my replacement will be your husband, in order to make this happen.”
Yes, Brianna had heard all of this before. She didn’t really think her father was serious until now. “You want me to get married?” How could she marry when her father didn’t even allow her to date?
“Yes, and I have chosen your husband,” he said, smiling.
Brianna didn’t reply. Dumbfounded, she got up from the table and began to leave the room. As she passed Salazar, a small tear escape from her eye. His smile widened and he returned his attention to his newspaper.
There was a knock on Dominic’s bedroom door. “Are you up, honey?” Marie asked.
“Of course Mom, don’t worry.” Dominic had managed to make it to his classes in college on time. You’d think his mother would trust him to get to an interview.
Marie entered. “Good luck today. I’m sure you’ll do great.” She stood in front of Dominic and adjusted his tie. “You’re lucky the brokerage firm is close by in Mission Valley.” He heard the concern in his mom’s voice and knew she didn’t want him to have to look in L.A. for a job.
“Thanks, Mom.” Dominic kissed her cheek. “Shouldn’t you be at work already?”
“Oh,” Marie seemed confused by her son’s simple statement. “I’m going to the bank first.”
Looking at his mom, Dominic saw her forced smile. “Why are you going to the bank? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Marie shook her head. Dominic folded his arms, waiting for an answer. “I have a meeting with a loan officer,” she finally said. “For some reason, the terms on our loan have changed. It must be some sort of bank error. Our mortgage payments have doubled and there’s no way we can afford to make them. I’m sure we can get it straightened out.”
“Are you certain it’s a bank error?”
“Yes,” Marie said. “I double-checked all the paperwork last night.”
“Isn’t the house almost paid off?” Dominic asked. His parents had bought the house right before Dominic was born.
“Unfortunately, with a large family and your father’s salary, we’ve been forced to refinance many times. So, no, it’s not even close to being paid off.” The coloring under Marie’s eyes was darker than usual.
Dominic knew money was tight. His parents drove older cars and he and his sisters took out loans for college tuition. They’d never been able to travel or go on vacations. Dominic’s father worked at The Home Depot and his mother was a secretary for an accounting firm. But they always made ends meet.
“How can I help?” This was the house Dominic grew up in—he couldn’t imagine his parents living anywhere else.
“Don’t worry about the mortgage, I’m sure everything will work out.” Marie adjusted Dominic’s tie one last time. “Good luck on the interview.” She left his room, closing the door behind her.
Although money had always been an issue, his parents were financially responsible. It didn’t make any sense that they would be in a mess like this one. Hopefully Dominic would get the job today, then he could give his parents money to help out.
If he wanted to get the job, he needed to focus on himself and answering the interviewer’s questions. What qualities best describe you? What is one of your character flaws? Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your career goals? Dominic practiced his answers as he put on his jacket. However, he couldn’t help but wonder what his goals even were. Before Claire broke up with him, it all seemed so simple—he planned to get a job to support his family. But now, with Claire gone, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.
Dominic still couldn’t fathom why Claire broke up with him. Her reasoning didn’t make any sense. There was no way she had met another guy—unless it was the doctor at the hospital who’d been treating her mother. But Claire wasn’t that type of girl, she wouldn’t do that to Dominic. After all, she was the one who had already picked out her wedding dress in a magazine. Maybe it was cold feet. There weren’t any warning signs though. In fact, she had just made him dinner two nights before they broke up, and they couldn’t even make it through the meal before they were making love right there on the kitchen table. It was always so good with Claire, so natural, easy. Dominic was driving himself crazy thinking about her and trying to make sense of everything. He knew he had to move on, and the easiest way to stop thinking about Claire was to devote himself to work.
But what job did he want? He’d like to feel important and make a difference in the world. He majored in business because that’s what his mother wanted, all the while not being sure exactly what he would do. Dominic knew he should be excited for the next step in his life, yet he couldn’t help but feel trapped.
There was a knock on the front door. When Dominic answered, a guy he didn’t recognize stood there, dressed in a black suit.
“Mr. Dominic Bennett?” the man asked. Dominic nodded. “I’m here to escort you to your nine o’clock interview with Austogen Pharmaceutical.”
Dominic had totally forgotten about it. The guy who showed up last week didn’t leave a business card or phone number so Dominic could cancel. “I’m sorry, but I have another interview.”
“My employer won’t accept that.” The man’s face became dark and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you fully understand all that this job entails.”
“Sorry, I can’t.” Dominic reached for the door, about to close it.
The man’s hand shot forward, stopping the door. “Do you realize that the starting salary is over ninety thousand dollars?” Dominic froze. That was a lot of money. The man had his attention. “There is also a signing bonus—all of your student loans will be paid in full.”
Holy cow. Ninety thousand dollars and his loans paid off! It sounded like a dream come true and it was exactly what his family needed right now. If he got the job, he would be able to help his parents keep their house and perhaps get Claire back. Dominic knew that none of his friends had been able to land such a good job, and he would be a fool to let something like this pass him by.
But his mom didn’t want him to go on the interview. Of course, she didn’t know the kind of money he’d be making. If she knew, she’d probably change her mind. And it was only an interview. It wasn’t like he was accepting the job.
Entering the impeccable office, Dominic noticed a sign next to the door that read Antonio Salazar, Founder and CEO. He sat in one of the chairs before the large mahogany desk. Along the wall to his right, floor-to-ceiling windows revealed the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course and the Pacific Ocean directly beyond it. Dominic glanced around the room, looking for clues about Mr. Salazar. The office seemed like it could belong to anyone—there weren’t any family pictures or anything to personalize the space.
A door behind the desk, that Dominic hadn’t noticed until now, flew open. A man in his fifties with thick dark hair walked in. He wore a smug expression that sent a chill through Dominic’s body. The man took a seat at the desk, staring directly at Dominic.
Feeling both uncomfortable and nervous, with a high paying job on the line, Dominic decided to speak first. “My name is Dominic Bennett. I’m here for the interview.” He tried to sound confident.
“I know who you are. You look just like your mother.”
“You know my mom?” Dominic asked, shocked by this revelation.
“Yes, we go back a long way.” The man smiled.
“I assume you’re Antonio Salazar?” Dominic held out his hand to shake Salazar’s, but Salazar sat there, giving no indication of moving. Dominic awkwardly put his hand back down.
“My mom never mentioned knowing you. How exactly do you two know one another?”
Salazar angled his chair sideways, toward the window. Leaning back, he crossed his legs. “Your father and I were once best friends. We went to middle and high school togethe
r. After we each married, we slowly grew apart and became very different people. Unfortunately, we haven’t stayed in contact, and I fear your parents may hold a prejudice against me.”
Turning his attention back to Dominic, Salazar gave no clue he wanted to continue the conversation. Dominic shifted in his chair, feeling awkward as Salazar’s eyes dissected every inch of Dominic’s face, studying it. Dominic wondered what Salazar was so interested in. Why hadn’t his mom mentioned she knew Salazar? Maybe she didn’t want Dominic to go on this interview because she knew there was something wrong with this man.
Dominic began to wonder if Salazar planned on asking him anything. After what seemed like several minutes, Dominic said, “Do you have any questions?” If Salazar wasn’t going to interview him, he might as well leave.
Folding his hands in front of his face, Salazar said, “I want to know what your goals are.”
Finally, an interview question. Dominic gave the textbook answer. “Now that I have my Bachelor’s Degree, I plan to obtain a job and work my way up.”
“Not career goals. Your personal goals.”
It was surprising that Salazar questioned Dominic about his life instead of his qualifications. Dominic had taken a course on interviewing so he knew interviewers weren’t allowed to ask personal questions. He had no idea how to respond. However, feeling the interview was already shot to hell, he decided to answer honestly. “Family is important to me. I want to find someone to marry, settle down and have kids.”
Salazar grinned and looked back outside. “Family is the most important thing. My grandfather started a business from the ground up. My father eventually took over and now I run it. Blood is thicker than water, and family members are the only ones you can trust and rely on in this world.”
“My dad always says that—family loyalty.”
Salazar’s eyes sliced over to Dominic. “Exactly, family loyalty.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why do you think I’m a good candidate for the job?”
The Power to See Page 3