by Kira Ward
Emma smiled despite herself. And then she tugged off his slacks, exposing his beautiful manhood, admiring it before she took it into her mouth and tried to give him a modicum of the pleasure he’d given her on their previous encounters.
Dante groaned as he buried his fingers in her hair, encouraging her to take more of him that she initially couldn’t handle. But she did. She wanted so desperately to satisfy him that she took more than she’d thought she could and then more still. It only lasted a few minutes before he grabbed her and pulled her up onto the mattress beside him, sliding into her the second he was able to get her panties out of the way. She wrapped her legs around him and drew him closer, arching her hips until he touched all those places that drove her insane every time.
Emma cried out, digging her nails into the muscles of his shoulders as he groaned and tugged her hips closer against his. They lay there like that much longer than necessary, taking something from the intimacy that could never be put into words.
***
“You have quite a collection of scars,” he said later as he sat behind her, his fingers moving over the curve of her hip.
“Physically or emotionally?”
“Both, I suppose.”
“Don’t we all?”
Dante kissed her shoulder. “Why did you never ask why I acted the way I did on the diner that day?”
“Didn’t I?”
“Not in those words. I was ready to tell you, but you never asked.”
“I think I was more involved in the whole needing to get a new job and a place to live thing than worrying about why you were in a bad mood that day.”
“I never should have done that to you.”
“Why did you?”
Dante sighed, his breath washing over her flesh. He ran his hand slowly over her belly, his fingers moving dangerously close to her clit.
“I was hurting. And you threw that cup of coffee in my face, humiliating me in front of all those people. In front of Rainy.”
“Was it Rainy?” Emma rolled onto her back, touching the center of his chin with her thumb. “Do you have a thing for Rainy?”
“No. But she was there for me at a time when no one else was.”
“She loves you.”
Dante rolled Emma over and looked into her eyes. “She told me that just a few days ago. I told her I wasn’t in love with her. That I was in love with someone else.”
“Yeah?”
“She didn’t take it well. She hasn’t been to work since.”
Emma thought about her last encounter with Rainy, the argument they had on the elevator. Rainy had insisted that Emma was out to hurt Dante, that she’d gone there to hurt him just as she had on other occasions—when he made his announcement, when Faustina showed up, when…something about his mother.
“When did that happen? Was it before or after the tenant meeting?”
“It was the day before. Why?”
Emma sat up, a feeling of dread washing over her. “Does Rainy have access to something that could hurt you if Drake or his father’s company got ahold of it?”
“Why?” Dante sat up too, deep concern in his voice. “What are you thinking?”
“That Rainy is working with Drake. That she’s getting revenge on you by doing something with him to ruin you.”
Dante immediately climbed out of bed and began to dress, snatching up his cellphone and dialing as he hobbled into the bathroom.
It never stops.
Chapter 9
Emma expected Dante to take her home. Instead, he drove to a building she didn’t recognize until a sign outside announced it to be a DJC, Inc. property. It was the building where the tenants of her building—where she—was soon relocating.
Dante grabbed her hand and helped her out of the car, pulling her into the lobby of the building. Emma stared at the marble floors, the brass trim on the elevators, wondering if there was more to this building than Dante had told her before. They burst into a room situated behind a door marked manager and Dante began searching through file cabinets.
“Shit!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“The construction permits, the tax documents, everything that has to do with the building’s legal issues are gone.”
“What does that mean?”
“You told Drake about this when you were trying to convince him not to fire me, right?”
Emma suddenly felt like she was being accused of something, but she nodded anyway. It was the truth and she’d already told him, so there was no reason to lie.
“She took them. Drake must have put her up to it, must have convinced him that this property is worth more empty than occupied.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. But I’m guessing Drake wants to sell it.”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
“The company owns this building. Drake is the majority shareholder. And this building…” Dante turned round, holding out his hands to indicate everything around him. “…this was meant to be the beginning of a huge, rejuvenation project of the entire neighborhood. We were going to buy all the buildings within a two mile radius and inject new life into this part of town. Bring in new businesses, a new class of people.”
“And drive the rent up so that people like Sophie and I couldn’t afford to live here anymore.”
“It was just another project, Emma. It wasn’t meant to be personal. Besides, it never really got off the ground. We were focused on the smartphone project.”
“But now?”
“It looks like Drake might be using it to undermine the smartphone and drive me out.”
“But they offered you a four year contract.”
“That is contingent on the smartphone project doing well. If not…if something else trumps it, I’m out.”
“And the tenants?”
“My guess is Drake’s already working to invalidate the leases.”
Emma cursed under her breath, suddenly realizing what a habit that was becoming. Dante almost looked amused as he watched her.
“We have to do something to stop them.”
A soft smile touched Dante’s eyes. “You said we.”
Emma stepped back, watching him with caution. “Tell me why I should trust you. I’m still not sure…”
“Because I’m not that man you met in the diner. My mother had just died, Emma, and I was lost. She was always the best part of my life, the one person who always told me the truth, who never let me get a swelled head or try to be someone I wasn’t. I would have done anything for her, but all the money in the world couldn’t save her.”
“I’m sorry.”
Dante shook his head. “It was a habit, hurting you that way. When that company tried to take my parents’ bakery, I bought out their houses, I bought out their businesses, I ruined them. And I didn’t regret it. And then you…we’d just come back from the funeral and the whole ordeal of helping my father dispose of her things. I needed an outlet for my anger and you seemed so convenient. But you wouldn’t just take it. You had to fight back.”
“You were being a real ass.”
“I know.” He smiled again. “I admired your spunk. If you’d just let me walk all over you, I would have forgotten it the moment I left the diner. But you…you had to fight, you had to stand up. And that was impressive.”
“So you ruined my life.”
“I guaranteed I would see you again.”
“You could have just asked me out.”
“Would you have gone?”
She laughed. “No…I would have forgotten you the moment you left.”
He came to her, pressed his fingers into her head and turned her so that he could look directly into her eyes. “You are like no one I have ever known. Whatever your mother did to you, whatever hell you survived, it made you who you are. And that person is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
He kissed her, a gentle, lingering kiss that she could feel all the way to her
toes. And then he sighed.
“Fuck this. Fuck Rainy and Drake. What do you say we get out of here?”
“What about the tenants?”
“Do you trust me?”
Emma studied his face for a second. “Yes,” she whispered. And she meant it more than anything she’d ever said before.
***
Emma lay in Dante’s bed and listened to the timber of his voice as he spoke to someone on his cellphone in another part of the room. She didn’t want to open her eyes—she was so tired—but something was nagging her and she knew she should be getting up. She slowly rolled over and reached for her own cellphone only to realize it was still tucked into a pocket of her skirt. That was when she realized it was morning and she should be back home dragging Sophie out of bed.
She jumped out of bed and started to dress.
“Sophie’s already at school.”
She turned. Dante was watching her from the doorway.
“How? Did you…?”
“Tina, my secretary, swung by and took her.”
“What did she tell her? I mean, Sophie doesn’t…”
“Don’t worry. She was discreet.”
He crossed the room and tugged Emma into his arms as he settled back on the bed. “I’m thinking the Bahamas are really pretty in December. What do you think of Christmas on the beach? Or are you more of a snow at Christmas kind of person?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’d like to take you and Sophie away for the holidays.”
Emma twisted in his arms. “What about everything that’s going on? What about the tenants? What about my mother?”
“Oh,” Dante said, lifting her off his lap and crossing to the door. He stuck his head out for a second, then came back with a cellphone in his hand. “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“A new cellphone. It’s one of ours.”
Emma studied it for a second, impressed by the clarity of the screen. But she didn’t understand. “What’s it for? I have a cellphone.”
“But your mother and her lawyer don’t know the number to this one. They can’t find out unless they call your carrier, and I’ve pulled a few strings to guarantee I’ll be notified the moment that happens.”
“What about Sophie?”
“She was thrilled to get hers. Oh, and there’s a program on this one that will allow you to monitor Sophie’s blood sugars throughout the day—it’s connected wirelessly to her CGM—and you can send her a message if she needs to do something to take care of it.”
Emma looked up, tears burning her eyes. “You did this for us?”
He inclined his head slightly. “After that trip to the hospital with you and Sophie, I asked some of the software guys to work on it. Turns out, one of them has a wife with diabetes, so he was already working on something like it and was thrilled to have his private project funded.”
“Thank you.”
He touched her knee lightly. “And there’s a lawyer in town that’s looking into your mother’s demands for visitation. He assures me she had no case, but if it goes any further, he’ll be more than happy to represent you. Pro bono.”
Emma nodded, the phone still clutched in her hands. “You are…I don’t know what to say.”
He sat back down on the bed beside her and took her hand in his. “I’m not a perfect man. I should have told you about Faustina the moment I realized there was more between you and I than just this adversarial thing. But I want to make things right now. I want…I want to make you happy.”
Emma laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Chapter 10
Emma stood behind the counter at the department store where she worked, reading a textbook as she waited for a customer to need her attention. She was finding it hard to concentrate because her thoughts kept jumping to this evening. Dante was taking her and Sophie to dinner. It was the third time this week, but this time they would be dining at his house. He was cooking. He assured Emma that he was a good cook, thanks to his mother, but she worried that he might be exaggerating his skills.
Only time would tell.
“You do work hard.”
Emma looked up and found herself face to face with Rainy.
“Hello,” she said politely, picking up the two garments Rainy had set on the counter.
“Sorry you missed out on that job,” she said. “Drake thought you were pretty qualified, but I assured him you weren’t. At least, not as uniquely qualified as I was.”
Emma rang up Rainy’s purchases, carefully laying them in bags when she was done with the price gun. “I’m sure you were.”
“Dante never saw it coming.”
“You have to admit, it’s pretty cold, trying to take his company away from him just because he didn’t return your affections.”
“Of course you would think that’s what it was about. But there was a lot more to it than that.”
“Yeah? Like what? Greed?”
Rainy studied Emma for a second. “You wouldn’t know anything about it.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“What does that mean?”
“You…” Emma said, handing Rainy back her credit card. “You’re the one who won’t see it coming.”
Rainy hesitated a moment, but then snorted, dismissing Emma with a look. Then she walked away, a confidence in her step that once intimidated Emma. But not anymore.
***
Dinner turned out to be homemade pasta and meatballs, one of the best meals Emma had ever had. They played the board game, Taboo, afterward, Jill and Sophie on one team, Emma and Dante on the other. It was a hoot, the things the girls came up with as they tried to convey words to each other without saying whatever was on the forbidden list. Emma had to give it to them, however. They knew each other well enough that they eased through more cards than she and Dante managed to cover.
The girls went upstairs to hang out in one of the spare bedrooms while Dante and Emma moved to the living room. Dante had a couch delivered at some point in the last few days. It was microfiber—so very comfortable. They curled up together and snuggled for a few minutes. Then Emma pulled a letter out of her back pocket that she’d been waiting to show him when they were alone.
Dante didn’t say anything until after he’d perused the whole thing. “This is…awesome.”
Emma smiled. It was from the court. Her lawyer petitioned for a restraining order against her mother. It was granted.
“Does Sophie know?”
Emma glanced toward the stairs. “She hasn’t mentioned her in over a week. I…I know I should talk to her about it, but the idea of destroying everything Sophie thinks she knows about her mother just doesn’t sit easy despite the fact that I know it’s a false belief.”
“You just want to protect her.”
Emma nodded.
Dante pulled her back into his arms. She snuggled there, her eyes closed as she felt the weight of the day just wash away. But then Dante glanced at his phone and said, “It’s time.”
“We’re going,” Emma called up the stairs as she and Dante grabbed their jackets and walked out the door.
The conference room at Dante’s office building was overflowing. A dozen voices were raised all at once as they walked through the door, but the moment the owners of those voices recognized Dante, they went silent. In seconds, the room was covered by a heavy blanket of silence.
“You weren’t invited,” Drake announced as he turned to find Dante standing behind him.
“I’m aware of that. But as the majority stockholder of this company, I felt like I should be here.”
“Majority stockholder?” Drake laughed. “You know that my father’s company owns the majority stock in this company.”
“Not anymore.”
Emma handed Dante a stack of papers that he turned and shoved against Drake’s chest. Then he tossed a stack of papers on the table in front of him and gestured for those seated to help themselves.
> “As you can see from the top sheet, there was a run on DJC stock this week with the majority of the shares being sold by Foster Inc and picked up by several, small companies that I own. DJC is, once again, in my control. And the rest of the packet you were just handed is my plan for the next four years of productivity at this company. You will note that we will be going forward with the smartphone along with a line of apps that can be used on any Android phone currently on the market, including a prototype for a diabetes app that will help caretakers monitor their loved one’s blood sugars.”
There were murmurs as the shareholders checked out what Dante had handed them, but it all sound positive to Emma. Drake, on the other hand, was still studying the stock sheet, trying to figure out how he lost his majority.
“This is some sort of joke,” he finally decided. “I’ll get to the bottom of this and then you’ll regret your actions.”
“You do that,” Dante said.
“And that building? The sale went through this morning, so there’s not much you can do about that, either.”
“Thank you for that,” Emma said, moving up beside Drake as he stood. “The tenants are thrilled to finally be allowed to move in.”
Drake paused. “Tenants?”
“Yes. The people from my building, the condemned building a few blocks away? Dante is allowing them to move in to the new building.”
Drake shook his head. “The building was owned by DJC and it was sold this morning.”
“It was,” Emma agreed. “And, if you’ll look at the contracts, you’ll see that it was sold to Allman, Ltd.”
Drake was clearly confused. “It was. I remember.”
“A company Dante formed in my name just for the purposes of buying that building. Because, you see, Dante is a wealthy man. He can buy and sell anyone, including you.”
Emma was pretty sure Drake was going to be sick. That fact shouldn’t have made her gleeful, but it did.
Chapter 11
Two years later.
Emma tossed one last book into the box and then taped it up, using a magic marker to write library on it.
“That’s it,” she said, rolling back on her haunches to stretch out sore muscles.