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“Father… Jeni is none of your business. She stays.” Aiden exhales.
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. That woman’s no good for you. She’s a distraction, son.”
“I’ll see you on Monday,” Aiden dismisses, sounding further away now.
“Right,” Niall replies.
The elevator chimes, Aiden exhales loudly, walking toward the bedroom doors. I jump up quickly and run to his bed. Lying down, I pretend like I wasn’t listening. He slides the doors open, and I glance up at him with a smile, pretending not to be completely pissed off about his father, and more importantly, about the fact that Aiden’s keeping some investigation, or whatever it is, away from me.
“Hey, babe,” I try to sound upbeat.
“How much did you hear?”
“Nothing,” I lie to him, shaking my head slowly.
“Jeni?” He narrows his eyes on me.
“Okay… everything.” My tone is high-pitched as if I’m unsure, but I’m not. I heard it all.
He runs his hand through his hair, a move I notice he does when he’s frustrated. “First of all, I want to apologize for my father and the way he talked about you. Fuck! I want to hurt him so bad right now.” His face twists with rage as he lashes out and slams his fist on the desk, which makes me jump, then he rushes over to the bed and sits next to me.
I rest my hand on his knee. “Are you okay?”
“He yells at you like that, and you ask me if I’m okay? I should be asking you that question. Are you all right?”
I shrug. “Someone once gave me some great advice regarding your father. I was told that insults and intimidations are his way of communication, and to take anything he says with a grain of salt.”
Aiden tilts his head slightly. “Very wise words.”
“She is a very wise woman, your nana.”
He nods. “Ah… yes, she is.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Let me guess… what’s the investigation about?”
“Yeah. It’s not the first time someone has mentioned it... and, I’m curious.”
He inhales sharply, and his face scrunches. He closes his eyes, breathes slowly through his nose, and then opens his eyes again. “Father believes someone within O’Connell Finance is embezzling money from company funds.”
Shock runs through me as a sinking feeling settles in my gut. “Do they know who?” I ask trying to sound unaffected by this news.
“No. But everyone is under investigation, including me,” he divulges, looking at me intensely.
“Do you suspect anyone?” I ask, looking at my hands in my lap.
“I have my suspicions, but I can’t be sure.” He shifts one finger to my chin and raises my head to meet his eyes. “It’s not me,” he clarifies, staring right at me.
I shake my head quickly like he’s being ridiculous. “I know,” I reassure him, but not entirely reassuring myself. I wish I didn’t have these horrible trust issues.
Are they raising their ugly head again?
He kisses me gently on the lips. “All that bullshit he said about you, that’s not how I feel. You know that, right?”
I smile in an attempt to ease his growing angst. “Yes, babe, I know, and I’m not after you for your money, either,” I tell him in all honesty.
“I know. The thought has never once crossed my mind.”
“Now that we’ve sorted that out, what are we having for dinner?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“Can we skip to dessert?” he asks cheekily as he pounces, pinning me to the bed and kissing me like he means it.
