“This is the best way to figure out if she’s the one trying to get into the system and why she would want to access that information.” He needed to bring Finn in because it was obvious Julian wasn’t tough when it came to his guy and his girl. Julian was more of a softie than he’d envisioned, and part of this job was client management. He needed Finn on board for this to work. If Finn went to Danielle, then the whole op could explode, and Tag would be offering him more than his patented lecture on safe sex practices. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to think about it. If this was happening at your law firm, what would you do?”
Finn sat back, his shoulders slumping. “Obviously we would investigate because we would need to see how far the problem went. What we wouldn’t do is set the person up to get his or her heart broken. That’s what is happening with Vanessa. What the hell was that, Mr. Malone?”
He was the problem? He’d actually changed up his initial plan, which had been to go in as a hard-core top. He’d been kind of nice. “I thought Ms. Jones and I got along well.”
“I was talking about how well you played your role.” Finn stared at him directly. “Hell, I was half in love with you by the end of it.”
Julian’s brows came up. “Really?”
“You know what I’m saying,” Finn argued. “He could have easily gotten through the first few weeks without touching her sexually. He could have done this without a physical relationship.”
“That was very unlikely, and nothing he did was done without her consent,” Julian countered. “He was careful about it. I thought he did quite well. After that performance, I would hire him to take trainees through the initial sessions.”
“Would she consent if she knew why he was here?” Finn asked.
“She won’t ever have to know if she’s done nothing wrong.” Michael didn’t honestly understand the problem. “If she’s clean, then I will perform my duties as her training Dom and allow her to explore what she’s plainly stated she wants to explore. She’ll continue her employment here, and I suspect Julian will change his mind about her. She’ll find a powerful ally in him, one she wouldn’t have had before. The situation is complex, and my firm investigating her is the best way to handle it. This way Julian gets the information he needs and protects his family, business, and clients. He’s protecting Vanessa as well since he doesn’t have to dismiss her if she’s innocent.”
Finn stood, pushing his chair back. “All right. I have to get back to my office. I’ll keep my mouth shut and trust in my husband. But Michael, you’re playing a dangerous game with her. She’s fragile. If you’re here to investigate her, then do it, and not simply by reading the headlines. Get to know her for the woman she is, and then I think you’ll understand why I’m worried.”
Finn nodded and walked away.
“I did not mean to offend your husband.” He wasn’t sure what had gone wrong. He had Vanessa right where he wanted her. They were going to meet tomorrow for coffee to talk about what he expected from her when they went to play night later in the week.
“I’m afraid he’s mostly worried that Danielle is going to get hurt.” Julian stared at the doorway Finn had disappeared through. “He also feels for Ms. Ha…Jones. He knows what it’s like to have people judge him. He grew up in a small town, and he didn’t hide his sexuality as well as some. I think he feels some sympathy for her. I view her differently.”
“She’s everything we were taught to watch out for.” He knew exactly what Julian was saying. They came from the same world, and in this case it wasn’t something Finn could understand. “I was raised in a laid-back family for the kind of money we have. My dad preferred to relax by working around the ranch rather than going to hot spots and partying. But I still understood that there was a type of woman who would only be interested in me for my family money and name.”
“Did you ever meet such a woman?” Julian asked.
“Oh, yes. Many times. I think the worst was one summer when I was home from college, and my brother and I started dating these two young women we met at a rodeo. JT especially loved to rodeo. I think it called to his cowboy nature. Also, when we were with that crowd almost no one knew who we were. They didn’t care. They gave a shit about a man for how hard he could work and how fun he was to have a beer with. So when we met a couple of beautiful sisters, we thought it would be the perfect way to spend a summer.”