“I love you,” I sighed, my own orgasm still humming through me.
“I love you,” he said, rolling over and pulling me close to spoon his body around mine.
Relaxing against him, satisfied beyond words, it wasn’t long before we were both drifting off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
Stefan
Chapter 25
Striding down the hall of the KZM building toward my father’s lavish corner office, I straightened my jacket and tried to keep my breathing calm and even. What I really wanted was to kick the door open and drag him out of his chair by his tie, but I knew losing control around my father was the last thing I should be doing right now. There was too much at risk. I couldn’t afford to give him any indication that an investigation was happening or that I was a true threat.
Not that I expected this to go pleasantly, regardless of my attitude.
Amidst all of the overwhelming circumstances of the past week and the logistical and emotional intensity of the before, during, and after of Senator Lindsey’s memorial service yesterday, I’d barely had a chance to think about my own father. There was no way I could let his actions slide, though. And now that I was back at work at KZM, I was finally ready to confront him about the fact that he’d gone behind my back and tried to break up my and Tori’s marriage. Call him out for the way he’d manipulated Anja and used her and Max as his pawns.
My adrenaline was pumping. Far from being nervous about speaking with my father, I was eager. Spoiling for a fight. It was time to let him know once and for all that he didn’t get to control my life—that nothing he said or did would keep me from the path I had chosen. Just as I had done at the family dinner at our condo, when I’d reaffirmed my commitment to Tori.
Despite everything that was happening with my father, and everything that had happened with hers, I was beyond grateful that the two of us were finally on solid ground. We were a team. I was confident that after we survived whatever was coming next with the investigation into KZ Modeling, we would be unbreakable.
I was ready to put this dark chapter of my life behind me.
When I reached my father’s suite of offices, I didn’t even bother to check in with his assistant. Why give him the opportunity to turn me away, knowing he viewed every interaction with me as a dick-measuring contest? Instead I breezed right past her, despite her protests, and flung open the door to my father’s inner sanctum.
He looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk, projecting an air of annoyance.
“I’m busy,” he barked, the very picture of self-importance.
“Good to see you as well, Father,” I said formally, shutting the door behind me and walking toward him. “I think we need to have ourselves a chat.”
Unsurprisingly, he made a big show of ignoring me until he’d finished looking through the file in his hand. I’d bet he wasn’t even reading it—just wanted to make me wait, and drive the conversation himself. Finally, he set it aside and looked up at me, his expression bored.
“Well? Are you going to lurk over me all day? Sit down and speak up!”
“I’ll stand, thanks,” I said flatly. “I’m here to let you know that your attempts to break up my marriage are going to stop now.”
The bastard actually laughed. “Is that what you think?”
“It’s what I know,” I said.
He folded his hands across his wide stomach and looked up at me, a smirk spreading across his face. I was glad I had been forced to stay away for a week, because if he had smiled at me like that right after I’d discovered that Max wasn’t my son, I doubt I could have been held accountable for my response.
“You’ve expended a lot of time and effort trying to cause tension between me and Tori,” I told him, “and I know you brought Anja and the kid back thinking you had an ace in the hole. But I gotta tell you…you didn’t just fail. If anything, my marriage is stronger than ever now.”
“Bullshit,” he shot back, his cool demeanor cracking.
“I should be thanking you, actually,” I said, unable to resist needling him. “Without Max showing up, I’m not sure Tori and I would have started talking about starting a family of our own so soon.”
“How about that,” my father said nonchalantly, rising from his chair to stroll over to the window. Looking out at the million dollar view of the cityscape, he went on, “You think I regret any of it? I don’t. And I don’t know why I should. I’d do it again a thousand times over.”
“And you’d fail a thousand times,” I said, moving closer. “Again.”
He shrugged. “Now that Senator Lindsey’s dead, the poor bastard, my only regret is that I ever introduced you to Tori to begin with.”
My fists clenched at my sides, but I refused to take the bait. “The way I see it, I lucked out.”
“Don’t be cute,” he snapped, looking me full in the face. “This whole situation’s turned into a damn shit show.” He shook his head, calming back down. “No matter. The fact is, without the senator in our court, Tori is useless to us. Worse than that, with everything she knows, she’s aliabilitynow. I know your heart’s in the right place—god knows you’ve never been smart when it comes to women, Stefan—but it’s time to let her go.”
It was my turn to smirk. “Not likely.”
