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Taking one of the chairs in front of my desk, he rested his forearms on the glass top and steepled his fingers. Fingers that distracted me. I’d much rather have his hands on me than have this conversation with him.
“What’s really going on?”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” I told him. “I can handle it.”
Wow, I was doling out a few whoppers today.
He regarded me closely for several seconds, then nodded his head. “If you say so.”
It was my turn to eye him curiously. “And that’s that?”
“If you needed my help, you’d ask for it, right?”
I smiled, despite knowing I wasn’t on par with my mother’s wily ways. She was much more cunning—which meant I had to either resort to Dane rescuing me yet again or step up my game. Because I didn’t want him involved any more than I wanted my dad tormented further.
“She wants money,” I confessed. “But it’s my problem and I’ll figure it out.”
He hedged. I saw the wheels churning in his brain, caught the hint of alpha in his eyes.
“Dane,” I warned. “This is a family thing I need to deal with—not something for you to fix.”
“But you know I can.”
“And you hear me asking you not to,” I challenged.
His jaw worked rigorously for a moment. Then he said, “If you insist.”
“I do.” And I meant it.
Luckily, a knock on my opened door saved me from continuing this discussion.
“Hey,” Kyle said. “We have a meeting in the conf—” He frowned. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.” I swept my hands over my face to erase any evidence to the contrary.
Dane stood and faced my friend. “Everything’s fine, according to Ari.”
“According to Ari.” Kyle stepped into the room. “But not you?”
I got to my feet as well and rounded the desk, standing between the two men.
“It’s just a little family drama,” I said. “Let’s go to our meeting.”
Behind me, Dane scoffed.
Kyle simmered. “You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you? Ever since that day in the bar when the guy with the tattoo grabbed you, you’ve been living on the edge.”
“That’s not fair,” I bit back. “I didn’t ask for him to—”
“Wait a second,” Dane interjected. “Kyle has a point.”
I whirled around and glared at Dane. “You’re siding with him? What sort of alternate universe did I just wake up in?”
With a grim look that conveyed displeasure with my glib comment as much as it revealed a new level of consternation, Dane said in a gruff v
oice, “That guy in the bar had a diamondback tattoo. There are no snakes on this property. I have people who make sure of it. There isn’t an infestation of scorpions, either. And yes, your office was bugged.”
“Holy shit,” Kyle said. “Okay, am I the only one who thinks this is all jacked to hell?”
