Page 164 of By A Thread

His pissed-off vulnerability snuck up on me and gripped my heart. I reached for him, intending to put my hand on his shoulder, but he rose. “I’m taking the dog out,” he snapped and disappeared out the back with Brownie, who was still carrying his underwear around like a trophy.

An awkward silence descended.

Dalessandra took her tea to the window that overlooked Dominic’s backyard. “He cares very much for you,” she mused.

I snorted.

“I hope you can see beyond his high-handed actions,” she continued. “There is no one in this world I would rather have on my side than my son. He’s fiercely loyal, protective.”

I’d seen both those sides of him.

“I hope you don’t see him trying to resign as him choosing me over you.” The bonds between parents and their children shouldn’t be so fragile.

She turned to face me, a smile playing on her lips. “Darling, I think this is the first time that Dominic chose himself. I’m ecstatic.”

I joined her at the window. “I don’t want him to have to walk away fromLabel. Not for me,” I told her.

“I have a potential solution in mind that I will present to the powers that be.”

“Are you firing me?” I’d understand. I’d caused a lot of unnecessary drama for an admin. And I’d seduced my boss in direct disregard of company policy.

“No.” She laughed. “But if you’re open to being reassigned within the company—at your current salary level, of course—I believe we can minimize the fuss.”

A flicker of hope lit inside me. “As long as I don’t report directly to Dominic?”

“Precisely.”

I blew out a breath and nodded vigorously. “That would be great.”

“I don’t know if they’ll allow it. We could have been destroyed by what Paul did, and this might stir up memories amongst the staff. There will still be talk and speculation. There is always interest in any woman Dominic dates, but this situation is rather salacious,” she said, choosing her words carefully.

“I can handle it,” I assured her. “It’s better to be honest about it anyway. Makes whispering about it harder.”

“I suppose we’ll find out,” she said quietly. “Not everyone can face the whispers.”

Something tickled at me. Some of her previous comments gelled into something nebulous. Dalessandra was hinting at something.

“I think the Russos have paid enough penance, don’t you?”

She glanced my way and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I mean, you both have worked hard to clean up your ex-husband’s mess and to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

“We’ve made strides,” she agreed. “But I’m not convinced it’s enough.”

“If anyone owes a debt, it’s Paul. He committed the crime, but it seems like you and Dominic are the ones who paid the price.”

“My son doesn’t deserve to carry the burden of his father’s past mistakes.”

“Maybe you should start thinking about the future instead of the past,” I suggested.

She gave me a quizzical look and then turned back to the window.

We watched Dominic pick up a tennis ball and toss it across the frozen yard for the joyful dog to chase.

“Would you have let him hide it? If that’s what he wanted to do?” I asked her.

She sighed. “I’d told myself I was done lying for the Russo men. But Dominic is not his father.”