Dominic Vale: I was born into a wealthy family. My father had a wildly successful jewelry business, with stores all over the East Coast. Then an old friend of his moved East. He was a very close friend of my fathers. I called him ‘Uncle Seb’. Well, it turns out that Sebastian Goodfellow convinced my father to invest heavily in a new overseas jewelry venture, using his existing businesses as collateral to take out a massive loan. You can guess the rest.
Izzy: There was no new venture?
The tightness in my gut squeezes with more urgency.
Dominic Vale: He was a goddamn traitor. He betrayed my father, ghosting him after leaving him penniless. My father drank himself into an early grave. Six months later, my mother had a brain aneurysm. All because of that bastard.
Tears leak from my eyes. I angrily wipe my puffy, sore cheeks.
Izzy: I’m so, so sorry, Dom. That’s just awful. I can’t believe you have to carry that.
Dominic Vale: My father trusted him, loved him. And he betrayed us all. On his deathbed, all my father could talk about was how I should never trust anyone. He couldn’t think about anything else.
I grind my teeth so hard I hear the scrape in my skull.
Dominic Vale: I’ve got work to do. See you tomorrow.
Izzy: See you tomorrow.
My fingers feel numb as I send my last text.
CHAPTER 10
DOMINIC
It’s late when my West Coast operator calls. His voice is tight and anxious. “A few of our boys went swimming last night, boss. Got some infection from the water and they’re laid up in bed. Doctor says they won’t be good to go for at least a week.”
“Fuck,” I groan, massaging my forehead. “You’ve got the assessment in five days, right?”
“Yeah, and there’s still loads of work to be done. I need at least three guys. Good guys, boss, not any riffraff I can get off the street. I needourguys, men who’ve been through the Vale Construction program.”
There’s an upside and a downside to heavily investing in training workers, and this is one of the downsides. Every Vale site has a particular flow. Plus, the work ethic is much higher because we reward long-term effort. Bastards like Aaron, for example, treat his workers like shit and then act surprised when they get shit results.
“I’ll call around some of the East Coast guys,” I tell him. “See if any of them want a free ride on the Red Eye.”
He breathes out a sigh of relief. “I’ve got to be honest. I was hoping you’d say that.”
“I’ll get started. Let me get back to you.”
I hang up the phone, then leave my office. Most of my employees have already gone. I glance at my watch, it’s six PM, much later than I realized. In the pit, I find Ethan at the coffee machine, filling up a to-go cup. He’s got his bag slung over his shoulder.
“All good, boss?”
I quickly fill him in. I’m not even done talking when he takes off his bag and claps me on the shoulder. “I’ll start calling around. We need to check what projects we can spare men from too. Maybe we could put the low-income on the back burner for a week or so.”
“I’d rather take it from the commercial in the city.”
“Dom,” Ethan says. “The low-income project is ahead of schedule. We need to finish up in the commercial district to fund the next round of projects. Trust me, a few days won’t hurt.”
I sigh, nodding. “You’re right. Let’s get started?—”
A door opens. I turn, and my throat tightens. It’s Izzy, her hair messy and beautiful, honestly, sexy asfuckaround her shoulders. She’s wearing a white blouse and a hip-hugging black skirt. My manhood shifts and my chest twinges. Last night, I shared with her. More than I have with any woman.
“Another hand,” Ethan says, clapping his hands together.
“What’s going on?” she asks, refusing to look at me.
Perhaps she thinks I resent her for not telling me that Pike is her uncle. But she didn’t choose her family. In my head, my father laughs cruelly.You’re letting her blind you. Or maybe I just don’t want to be so damn cynical all the time.
