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It didn’t feel good to me. I didn’t take his business just from him—but Scarlett as well. Her ambition was to run it herself one day, to earn her own millions, to carry on her father’s legacy with pride. I knew he had plenty of money to support her if she needed it, but I still felt like I’d stolen from her.
“Shouldn’t you be happier about this?” Theo asked after he took a drink.
“The look on his face—fucking priceless,” I said. “But the look on hers…makes me feel like shit.”
“You spared his life for her.”
“But she doesn’t know that.”
“She must. Why else would you let him live?”
I shrugged. “Because I’m a nice guy.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Well, she thinks I cheated on her and ghosted her, so it doesn’t make sense that I did it for her.”
“Then maybe you should tell her.”
“I’m sure she wants to speak to me even less than she did before.” I’d emasculated her father right before her eyes. She probably loathed me.
Theo regarded me for a while. “He got what was coming to him. Scarlett will be fine. She’s smart and sexy. She’ll have no problem bouncing back.”
My eyes narrowed on his.
“Sorry, but she is.”
I took a drink and let it slide.
My butler entered the parlor. “Sir, Dante has arrived and wishes to have a word with you.”
“Ooh.” Theo set down his glass. “The plot thickens.”
My heart spiked when I heard what he said.
“You think he’s here to beg?” Theo asked. “Or to try to kill you?”
“He almost shot me at the restaurant, but Scarlett reasoned with him.” I still wondered if she’d done that for her father’s benefit…or mine.
“Yeah,” Theo said with a smirk. “I noticed that.”
I turned to the butler. “Bring him in.”
My butler gave a quick bow then walked off.
Theo slouched farther in the armchair. “Oh, this should be good. Vengeance—it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
A moment later, Dante entered the room, wearing an olive-green jacket and dark jeans with loafers. His shoulders were sprinkled with drops of rain because the winter storms hadn’t abated. He glanced at Theo, and the disdain on his face indicated he hadn’t anticipated his presence.
“Just counting our coins.” Theo raised his glass and took a drink.
Dante said nothing, but it was clear he had a lot to say.
I remained in the armchair, my chin propped on my knuckles. “What do you want?”
Dante eyed the unoccupied armchair before he took a seat. “Can we speak in private?”
I glanced at Theo.
Theo swirled his glass.
I shook my head. “I don’t keep secrets.”
A hint of frustration moved across his eyes. “Very well.” His arms rested on the leather, and he crossed one leg over the opposite knee, making himself comfortable, like he’d been invited to this meeting. “I’m here to negotiate.”
“Negotiate?” Theo was about to take a drink but snorted into the glass. “With what? You have nothing, Dante.”
Dante kept his eyes on me. “This is why I wanted him gone, because he doesn’t know when to shut his damn mouth.”
Theo squeezed his glass before he downed the rest of the contents.
I knew what was about to happen, but I didn’t stop it.
He threw the glass hard, hitting Dante right in the temple.
Dante grimaced as the glass hit the floor and shattered. A cut was immediately noticeable, but he didn’t reach up to dab the blood.
I didn’t like Dante, but I admired him for taking the hit without a squeal.
“Little bitch,” Theo said. “Comes into our house like he’s fucking invited…” His nostrils flared as he stared at Dante, who now had a streak of blood down the side of his face. “The only reason you’ve alive right now is because your daughter is your fucking guardian angel.”
Dante looked at me, the blood dripping off his jawline onto his pants.
I grabbed a napkin from the table and tossed it at him. “Don’t get blood on my shit.”
He dabbed the cut then wiped up the side of his face before he crumpled the napkin into his closed fist. “Is that true?”
I thought that answer was obvious. “You’d be dead if you were anyone else.”
He looked at the balled-up napkin soaked in blood in his hand for a moment before he dabbed at his temple again. “I built that business with my bare hands. I was a single father with no wealth, and all I wanted was a better life for my daughter. I built that empire to pass to her someday, and now I don’t have that. Without it, I have no purpose…or worth.”
“You have billions, Dante,” Theo said. “With a B.”
“It’s not the same.” His eyes remained on me, appealing to me and ignoring Theo. “I don’t expect you to give it back to me entirely?—”
“Or at all,” Theo said. “There’s nothing you could offer?—”
I raised my hand to him. “Let us speak.”
