AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bastard needs to be pushed. “If you’re going to insist on keeping me in the dark, then you leave me no choice.” I drop his hand, push back my chair, and rise from my seat.
His eyes bulge, and his hand lashes out to snag my wrist. “Don’t go, please. I just got you alone.”
“I’m not wasting any more of my time. I deserve the truth. And here I thought I’d give you another chance—”
“You deserve the truth,” Trent blurts quickly, interrupting me. “I’ll tell you everything. Stay.”
I make a big show of dropping back into my seat with a disgruntled grunt. “You have five minutes. If I feel you’re holding back or being untruthful, I will leave with Chase.”
He reaches for my hand again, and I reluctantly give it to him. Trent closes his eyes, shutting me out for a few heartbeats. When he opens them back up to look at me, they’re full of conviction.
“I’m sure you’ve heard from your biker how Luca Amato forced me at gunpoint to create an account for his mob boss, Lorenzo Bianchi, to hide a portion of his wealth.”
“I have,” I answer, waiting for him to continue.
He licks his dry lips before continuing. “Luca approached me when you were away in Virginia for business. Do you remember how quiet I was when you returned? You asked what was wrong, and all I said was I was stressed with work.”
I nod, recalling last June, when he seemed morose. I worried he was upset with our relationship, since Cynthia had me traveling for work constantly. Concerned, I confronted him. He insisted all was well with us, said his workload was affecting his demeanor.
“It was so much money. No way to hide it from the firm without the board of directors inquiring as to how I landed such a wealthy client. Luca was specific in his instructions—the account had to be kept a secret, or I was dead.”
I squeeze his hand, encouraging him to continue. “You poor thing. How terrifying.”
“Naturally, I feared the account being discovered. There were nights when you were away on business, where I worried I’d fail the Bianchi mob and you’d come home to find my dead body. You need to understand, it stressed me out of my mind.”
I imagine it did. Speaking from personal experience, the Bianchi mob has a way of fucking with your sanity.
“Cynthia had a thing for me for years. I was never interested. You were all I wanted, and once I had you, I saw no one else. She could have spread her legs for me, and I wouldn’t get a tickle of excitement from it.”
Uncomfortable with his crassness, I squirm in my seat. It’s one thing to have a man talking dirty to you while intimate, but it’s another to hear a man talk crudely about another woman.
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes for his language. “But it’s true. I loved you—still love you.”
“Then why?” I ask flippantly, playing on old emotions to sell my act.
“Every account created crossed her desk,” Trent explains anxiously. “There was no way to hide it from her. You worked in her department, you know this. In order to keep the account from going public in the firm, I had to get Cynthia on my side. I never meant to start an affair. I assumed harmless flirting would keep my client safe. She agreed to stay out of my business and not poke around. However, Cynthia pushed for more than idle flirting.”
Trent looks away, swallowing loudly before returning his attention to me. “Sleeping with her was the fastest way to win over her loyalty. Do not assume this was a decision I took lightly. I hated it. I despised every moment I spent with her when it betrayed you.”
Though he seems sincere, I truly don’t give a fuck if he enjoyed himself while he was with Cynthia or not. I have no love lost for the man before me. Nothing he says is a confession of thieving, only a confession of weak morals.
“After a couple months, Cynthia grew restless. She wasn’t satisfied with quickies and one-nighters while you were off filling in for business trips she should have been attending. She saw a moment to expose our relationship and took advantage of it.”
“Your birthday,” I answer.
“It’s like Cynthia knew I couldn’t be forthcoming if she was present when I talked to you. I swear that’s why she never gave me a moment to be alone with you.”
“She was there every time you tried to talk to me,” I admit.
“I couldn’t get you alone, and Cynthia found every excuse to not leave me alone. You were gone before I explained why I was sleeping with her.”
His shoulders slump, a grimace on his face. “You wouldn’t return my calls or text messages, and I couldn’t come after you without risking Cynthia informing the board about my client.”
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” I muse aloud.
“Exactly,” Trent murmurs, clasping my hand.
I raise an eyebrow, holding his gaze. “Trent, you’re not one to let someone hang something over your head. You had months to figure a way out of this situation. What else aren’t you telling me?”
