The loyalty in her words was disarming. She was a daddy’s girl, and I found it charming. “And your stepmom?”
She smiled pleasantly, but it was empty. “He loves her very much, too.” There was so much weight in what she wasn’t saying, it nearly crushed the table.
“Why was your sister in the papers?”
Her expression turned serious. “It was a misunderstanding. She’s young, and her mother spoils her, and like I said, she’s taking the separation hard. She was a mess when she came over to my apartment in a cab, and got into an argument with the driver when he recognized her. He thought she hadn’t tipped him enough.” She glanced down at the menu, then her eyes flicked back to mine. “That happens a lot. People think money means nothing to us, just because we have some. Everybody wants something. That’s part of why I didn’t tell you my name, or . . . where I live.”
I studied her critically. “I don’t know where you live?”
She shook her head, looking guilty. “Becca was arrested for being combative and intoxicated while underage, right outside my building. My dad kept it out of his papers, but the picture was in the Trib. You didn’t recognize me the night we met. But Becca and I look alike and I thought if you saw my building, you might put it together.”
I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. “Put what together?”
“That I’m Becca Rosso’s sister.”
My dad kept it out of his papers. Her last name was Rosso.
Holy, fucking, shit.
chapter
TEN
My body turned to stone. “You’re Anthony Rosso’s daughter?”
Noemi Rosso, my newly-minted sub, nodded back. She stared at me with concern. “Is that a problem?”
Yeah, it was a problem. It was huge fucking problem, so enormous I couldn’t get my stupid head around it. I’d fucked Mr. Red’s daughter. I’d asked to be her Dom. The Payton issue I’d recovered from and been able to salvage my relationship with Mr. Red, but this? My empire would be gone in a blink of an eye. He could destroy me. He would, if he found out.
How had I not seen it? I couldn’t find any words, and Noemi’s worried expression grew.
“Joseph, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, but it wasn’t convincing. “I’ll be right back.” I rose from my chair, needing to find some air. All of it had evaporated from the room.
“Should I order for you?”
“That’s fine,” I mumbled, hurrying from the table and down the staircase to the main floor. My heart raced, and I didn’t notice a damn thing as I blindly stumbled to the restroom. I had myself locked in the stall before I felt the panic begin to ebb.
What the fuck was I going to do?
My hands balled into fists. Less than ten minutes ago she’d accepted my offer, and I’d been thrilled. Fucking excited. I’d wanted to race through the meal and get her back to my place so I could start executing my plans. There was so much I wanted to explore with her.
That couldn’t happen now.
It wasn’t like I could explain. Maybe down the road, I’d let Noemi know about all of my clubs, once I knew how she’d react, but now? I couldn’t tell her that I knew her father because he bought pussy once a week from my brothel. I could be cold and ruthless in business, but I wasn’t about to destroy a family.
Perhaps I could fake being sick and drive her home right now. Erase her number from my phone and just be done with it. It wouldn’t be a lie, I did feel sick to my stomach, but the thought of erasing her number intensified the feeling.
You can’t have her, the logical part of my brain warned.
What if she was worth the risk?
No, forget it. I made up my mind. Get through the dinner, drive her home and tell her that it isn’t going to work. I’d fought too hard to have everything taken away from me a second time. It fucking sucked, but I’d have to get over it. Nothing lasted forever.
I washed my hands at the sink and pulled in a calming breath. By the time I’d returned to the table, I’d told myself a dozen times I could do this and act as if nothing was wrong.
“Sorry about that,” I said, slipping back into my seat.