Page 4 of Brazen Obsession

He releases Sara and guides her to the sitting area, not to his desk. If he wanted to make me feel less than, he would have chosen his desk. “Come, sit. We should talk, get to know each other.”

I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t as I take over moving Sara and pull her to the couch with me.

My father settles in the chair across from us. His hands loose and his demeanor relaxed. His smile is easygoing. This whole thing smells like a trap.

“I hear you ran into a little trouble with my competitor.” My dad gives her a smile like it was nothing.

Sara looks at me, but doesn’t say anything.

“Peter Sokolov took her, but we’ve got it covered.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and draw her into me.

My father shakes his head, but he’s still smiling even though he’s not happy about it. “My inside man got made. That’s how you handled it. Do you know how long he was embedded in that group?”

I take a breath. “Frank was very helpful.”

“When do we get to plan the wedding?”

Sara’s mouth opens and closes and her frantic green eyes meet mine. She’s probably wondering how long I’ll let this go on. The problem is, I’m not sure. After all, her being pregnant protected her then and it’s likely to do the same now.

Natasha being pregnant makes her a pawn in my father’s schemes. While I might be upset with Tom, I’m not about to let my father loose on his new wife.

“We’re not planning on getting married any time soon.” I smile to ease the blow.

My father shakes his head, leaning forward with his hands between his knees. He looks up at me like I’m playing with him. “You always made things difficult, Finnigan.”

“We’re just finding our footing as a couple.” I shrug like it’s no big deal.

My father laughs, but there’s a coldness to it. His eyes pin me in place, narrowing on me, before he turns to Sara with a much nicer look.

“I’ve known your parents for years.” Dad rests against the back of the chair. “I had them looked into before I’d let my only son play at Tom’s house. You’ve always been a part of his life. I can’t see why you would wait to get married. It’s not like you just met.”

Sara draws in a breath. Her gaze goes to mine before she looks my father in the eyes. “Weddings are a lot. While we’ve been friends forever, it doesn’t mean we really know each other like true partners need to for marriage.”

Ah, very diplomatic. I’m curious what my father will say about it.

He chuckles and puts his hands palms up on his legs, watching her with an intensity only I would notice. “You’re a very smart girl, Sara. I’m sure you realize the world you’re stepping into.”

I clench Sara’s hand to reassure her.

“I have a lot of friends and even more enemies. While they believe Finn won’t be the heir to my empire, the minute they realize you have something important to me, it’ll make you a target. The easiest way to eliminate that threat is to make you family.”

She clears her throat. “And if I weren’t pregnant?”

His eyes narrow like she’s threatening his kingdom. Maybe he’s worried she’s talking about terminating the pregnancy.

“It’s been stressful and it’s still very early on,” I rush out. “Things happen and some pregnancies don’t make it full term.”

His face softens again and he smiles. “You’re a strong woman. But if something unfortunate happened, then you would still benefit from being his wife.”

He focuses in on me but his words are for Sara. “Rumors won’t get out that could hurt your reputation.”

“This isn’t fifty years ago.” I laugh, hoping he’s talking about Sara and me and not all the guys too. “Just because she’s having my baby doesn’t mean she needs to be married off.”

My father smirks and leans back. “You’re right. This isn’t years ago. Her being pregnant isn’t the rumor I was speaking of.”

My heart stops at that calculating look in his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” My father stands and walks over to the scotch on a side table and pours two glasses.