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“Her father. I trust him. He trusts her.”
The Tabiqian way. Family trust. Family loyalty. Great. Another reminder of how I was in this alone. I just hoped that all that loyalty wasn’t misplaced. “Are there any pieces that she approved still here?” He nodded. “Lead the way,” I said to Almi. There was only one way I was going to find out. See it for myself.
For the next hour, I looked over each piece more closely than I normally would. They were perfect. And the ones she had rejected, were because of things that I even might have missed.
Damn it, Ovi. Is there anything you can’t do?
As I headed back to my office, Dean’s words flooded back to me with the answer. She can’t forget that I fired her father.
CHAPTER 8
Ovi
Surprisingly, I got some sleep last night, but I hadn’t expected to sleep so late. It wasn't even my alarm clock that woke me up. I woke up hearing knocking on the door. At first, I thought it was my father tapping on my bedroom door, but as I sat up, I realized it was the front door.
Shit!
I flung the covers off, grabbed my robe, and slipped it on as I rushed to answer the door before my father did. When I opened it, sure enough, it was the last person I wanted to see standing there.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I asked, “What are you doing here, Niko?”
“I’m checking on you. You didn’t show up for work today. Is everything alright?”
Was he for real? Didn’t he remember our little confrontation yesterday? “I’m fine. Didn’t know I still had a job,” I stated honestly.
“Did I fire you? Because that would be something I’d recall,” he smirked.
“I just assumed that...that after I...I intruded on your meeting, you might prefer finding someone who...”
“Didn’t eavesdrop or wasn’t so outspoken?” he asked.
Placing my hands on my hips, I snapped, “I had good reason to speak to you like that.”
I saw his eyes lower, and I remembered my attire. Quickly, I grabbed the belt and tied my robe close. It wasn’t as though I was wearing anything provocative. Heck, I lived with my father. But still, I didn’t want him seeing me in my cotton nightgown either.
He smiled as he raised his eyes to meet mine. “I’m listening.”
Now I couldn’t remember what I had been trying to say. So, I turned this back on him. “You could’ve saved yourself a lot of time by calling. But as you can see, I am well. Now you can go.”
“I’ll wait and we can go into the office together,” he stated.
“You serious? You still want me there?” He nodded. “Why?”
“I told you before. Your reporting is very good.”
“But the rest of the package isn’t,” I replied.
His eyes roamed over me as he said, “I wouldn’t say that.”
The way he looked at me made me feel scared and excited, both at the same time. It probably was my imagination, but for a split second, I could’ve sworn his eyes darkened as he looked at me. It was different from how I’d ever been looked at before. As though he...desired me. That was impossible. He could barely stand me.
Gripping my robe closed even tighter, I said, “I don’t think my working for you is a...a good idea.”
“Why? You don’t need the money?”
“Money isn’t everything.”But it sure helps when you don’t have any.It had been almost four years since I had earned a paycheck, and my funds from when I had been employed at New Hope were starting to run low. I didn’t regret leaving my job.Caring for my mother took all my time and energy. Keeping her as happy and comfortable as humanly possible had been my sole focus. With her gone, I needed to find a job. Not sure working for Niko was the right choice, even though the pay was extremely generous.
“No. It isn’t. But I don’t think the other employees feel the same way. It was your father who let his duties slide. I thought you agreed to help me fix it, so others didn’t suffer.”
