Page 26

26

MICHAEL

The fact that I wanted to talk to Mia about my personal issues was surprising. It wasn't something I desired to do with many. “I don’t usually talk about things…” I began.

“I know,” she replied softly as she settled back on top of my desk.

“It wasn’t a problem with work. It was my father.”

She blinked, and her eyes widened slightly. “Oh…”

“I guess we have that in common… asshole fathers.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “What happened?”

I rested my head on the back of my chair and rubbed my forehead because every time this shit with Dad came up it gave me a headache. “Things haven’t been great between my dad and I for a while.”

“Your aunt hinted to that when we visited her.”

“A while as in about a decade. When I started Hayes Global Equity, it was supposed to be a father-son thing.”

Mia shuffled, bringing herself closer to me. She was so close that when she crossed her legs, one touched my arm. I had to admit, I liked seeing her on my desk, so comfortable and ready to listen to me vent. Maybe our actions lately didn’t reflect a casual relationship, but hell, I reveled in every moment we shared. She was easy to talk to.

“Really?”

I nodded. “After I graduated college, I didn’t have the confidence that came with experience. My dad was in finance for decades. He was good at what he did. He ran the Ireland branch of a successful company for two years. That’s how he and mom met. I thought it would be great to do something with him because we weren’t close when I was growing up.”

Mia tilted her head. “Why’s that? You two seem so much alike personality-wise.”

“You mean the lack of smiling and talking?” Although, I thought I was chatty enough with a few people in my life.

She chuckled. “I think the strong silent and serious type is attractive. Not too silent and serious, though,” she added with an amused twinkle in her eyes. “ Too silent is creepy.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll be sure to chat more then.”

Her giggle floated around my office and brushed my ears like butterfly wings. The sound was comforting after another tense conversation with my father. “I think that’s the problem. Dad and I are too much alike. Imagine two brooding, introverted, stiff-necks in a room together.”

“Yikes.” Mia frowned. “Yeah, that is not the recipe for bonding.”

I chuckled because I’d long gotten over my inability to get emotionally close to my old man. “It isn’t. I was disappointed when Dad and I didn’t go into business together, but I had to cut him loose from the very beginning.”

“Why?”

Mia watched me with curiosity, and her genuine interest made me feel comfortable to continue. “He’s a liar,” I said flatly.

She watched me closely. “And you’ve said many times that you don’t like liars.”

I held her gaze, wondering if I should tell her exactly why that was. My jaw tightened almost to the point of pain as I recalled the incident that worsened my ingrained skepticism about most people… especially the ones I slept with. In the end, I decided not to go that deep. Talking about the disaster of my past so-called relationship with my current lover probably wasn’t a good idea right now.

So, I stuck to the topic of my father. “I like when people are straight with me. How hard can that be? Not only is Dad a liar, but he’s a criminal. He didn’t leave his prestigious position in Ireland because his contract ended as he told everyone. He was let go for some unsavory business practices.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “Oh…”

I nodded, sadly, because to this day I was still disappointed in Dad. Although we were never close, I looked up to him. I always thought he was so smart and business savvy. I even modeled my entire life after his. “Realizing that my old man was a con artist was a hard pill to swallow. Instead of learning from his mistakes and staying clean, I discovered that he was still up to his old antics, trying to get rich without going through the appropriate avenues. Needless to say, having someone like that at a company that manages billions of dollars isn’t a great idea.”

“It’s not.” Mia frowned. “So it was your dad who you were on the phone with? You sounded so irate.”

In an effort to get rid of my rising tensions, I blew out a long breath. When that didn’t work, I reached for Mia and slid her over so that she sat directly in front of me. As I eased her legs apart, she smirked. “What are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Trying to relax.” Mia was still trouble… in that teasing, whimsical way that I’d come to appreciate. However, she brought out my fun side—a side I didn’t even know I had—which helped me unwind when I got riled up. She chuckled as I rolled my chair closer so that I was between her legs.

“I’m not sure this is the best way to ‘relax,’ Michael.”

“I find that I relax significantly when I’m between your legs.” Her cheeks instantly glowed pink, and I smirked. “Maybe it will still work with you fully clothed.” I started to run my palms along the sides of her bare legs, savoring the feel of her silky skin. She wore a pair of the tiny shorts she often wore to bed. I fucking loved those tiny shorts. I enjoyed removing them even more. Sometimes, to my delight, she wore nothing under them…

“You’re getting sidetracked,” Mia said, her voice sounding breathy. “You were telling me about your dad.”

“Right…” I reined in my wayward thoughts. “See? It is working. I’m relaxed. Now, where was I?”

She rolled her eyes, but I saw the flicker of delight in them, and her cheeks were still flushed. “Your phone call with your dad.”

“Mmm-hmm.” I continued to caress her thighs. “Dad called asking me to bail him out again. Mind you, he has resented the hell out of me for years for deciding against partnering with him to start my company. He barely speaks to me when I visit him and Mom, yet he has no problem talking to me when he wants money.”

“Bail him out how?” Mia asked.

I sighed heavily. “He gets himself caught up in these get-rich-quick schemes, which usually turn out to be criminals duping people out of money. He calls me for cash every time he gets in too deep, and for the sake of my mother, I give it to him… like clockwork. It’s getting tiring. I shouldn’t have to keep paying to get someone out of trouble when it’s their imprudence that got them into it.”

Mia sucked in a breath that made my eyes snap to her face. “Are you okay?”

Her blush had completely vanished, leaving… nothing . She was so pale I was afraid she might faint. Her eyes darted away from mine, and her knuckles turned white from the way she gripped the edge of the desk.

“Mia?” I leaned closer. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and smiled, but I could tell it was forced. “N-nothing.”

My gaze narrowed on her face.

“I’m fine, really,” she insisted. “I just…” She blew out a loud gust of air that ruffled the tendrils of hair that framed her face. “I hate that your father does that to you. It isn’t fair. He should pay his own way out of the trouble he gets himself into…”

I tilted my head and frowned as I continued to study her. I got the strange feeling that there was much more she wasn’t saying. Suspicion raised its ugly head, and I immediately got thrown into the past. I knew when someone wasn’t telling me something important. Or perhaps it was that overly skeptical part of me making me see something that wasn’t there.

Mia wasn’t like the harpy I’d gotten involved with years ago. Sure, she’d lied to me once about her age and name, but I told her I didn’t like it, and we had moved past that. She was an open book now. So, I let it go when she repeated, “I’m fine, Michael.”

I nodded and relaxed again. Settling back in my chair, I resumed my exploration of her legs and continued venting about Dad. “Sometimes I entertain thoughts of ignoring him and leaving him to dig his way out of trouble, but then I think about Mom and Poppy. They adore the old bastard, and if I hang him out to dry, he might very well end up behind bars or, god forbid, dead.”

“ Michael , don’t call your father an old bastard . ”

I lifted an eyebrow.

“He’s just… troubled, that’s all,” she said.

I snorted derisively. “Troubled? Teenagers are troubled . The man is pushing seventy. He should have his shit together by now.”

Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she swallowed hard. “I guess you’re right. Maybe some people have a harder time than others getting their shit together.”

“Maybe,” I murmured, my eyes glued to her face. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Positive.” In true Mia fashion, her gaze slid back to me, and she perked up… so fast, I started to doubt the misery I thought I saw flicker across her face just now. “I think it’s time you took a break from brooding.”

I grunted my amusement. “Is that so?”

“Uh-huh. I need to get you in a better mood. You know, like I did the last time I was in your office.”

Just like that, I perked up too. Memories of the last incident she spoke about had a permanent residence in my head. Even now the erotic images played out like a silent film in my mind. Mia spread wide on my desk, naked from the waist down. Us intertwined in a passionate, sensual dance on the floor. I wasn’t even sure how we’d ended up down there…

“How about you work on getting me in a better mood in bed?” I asked. There were some things I wanted to do to her that required a more comfortable surface than the carpet.

Interest sparked in her eyes. “Yours or mine?”

“Yours is closer.”

Wearing the most sinful smirk I’d ever see, she shuffled out of my hold and hopped off my desk. “I’ll be waiting. Don’t be too long, Michael.”

I stared at her as she sauntered to the door, hypnotized by the sway of her hips. I blew out a long, audible breath, hoping to rein in the excitement that flared whenever the possibility of sex with Mia arose. It hit me for the hundredth time how deep I was in with her and sometimes I didn’t want to think about it. There was always that fear lingering at the back of my mind of things completely blowing up in my face.

However, as the sound of her footsteps retreated down the hallway, I dismissed the thoughts and got up to follow her.