Page 9 of The Mogul: Leonard

“Who’s working on it?” Raphael puts on his problem-solving pants and looks me dead in the eye.

“I’m handling it.”

His brows shoot up in surprise. “And even you can’t find a solution?”

I nod, knowing how much I failed this week.

“Have you tried asking Oliver for his opinion? He’s a smart guy too.”

I thought about it, but I don’t know if I want to put this burden on him too. He’s already reluctant about the acquisition. I don’t want to worry him about this mess.

“He already has his hands full with the merger. He doesn’t have time to look into this.”

“You should ask Roxanne if she can help. She’s a tech genius,” Silver suggests, and I feel an uncomfortable sensation sneaking into my stomach.

Tech genius is an understatement. She is known in the industry as one of the best hackers in this country, if not the entire world. The problem is, I don’t want to work with her.

“I can’t give this job to a kid. It’s a delicate matter. If anyone gets a whisper of it, I’m done,” I say firmly.

Silver tilts her head and studies me. “She is twenty-five, far from a kid. And she’s damn good at her job.”

“She has pink hair. She acts like a kid,” I point out.

“Just the tips,” she counters.

“She does illegal things. I wouldn’t count that as a ‘job.’”

“She uses unconventional methods to obtain results, so what?”

“You talk like a lawyer.”

“I am. Sort of.” She grins.

I can’t stop smiling. She is good at it, and it’s a shame she can’t work as a lawyer. She’s one of the few people I know who had a really messed-up life before meeting Raphael.

“You know, Silver is right. When was the last time you saw Roxanne? Four years ago at our wedding? She’s not the same kid. God only knows, I’m trying to keep the FBI away from her. They want to recruit her because they can’t catch her.” He sounds almost exasperated.

I chuckle in spite of what they’re trying to do. There are a lot of reasons why I should stay away from Roxanne, and her being all grown up is only the tip of the iceberg.

“The answer is no, no matter what how hard you try to convince me.” I stubbornly defend my position.

“Why? She’s good and can help you!” Silver doesn’t give up.

“Because I don’t want to mix family and business.” I come up with an excuse.

“Technically, she isn’t family. Not yours, at least.” Raphael raises an eyebrow, challenging me.

I would put that on the ‘cons’ list, but I can’t tell him that.

“The answer is still no.” My tone is so adamant they give up trying.

My life is already complicated as it is. I can’t add a sexy sister-in-law to my never-ending list of problems.

4

Roxanne

“Jesus, what are you wearing?” I ask my sister when I meet her in front of the fountain at The Grove.