“That’s not what she wants, Michael.” Standing behind his chair and clasping the top of it, Mitcham said, “She doesn’t want anyone’s pity. Doesn’t deserve it, either. Yes, she fell into a trap and it led to desperate feelings and actions. And she tried to solve her problems on her own. I give her credit for that. Would I prefer she simply come to me with whatever’s troubling her? Of course. I love her. I want her to be happy. But I also recognize that she’s willing to do whatever she has to in order to stand on her own two feet. She was secretly making jewelry and selling it online in order to make the payments on her loan until the check came. She didn’t ask me for the money.”
Michael’s brow furrowed. “That was a huge loan amount. How could she possibly—”
“She’s very successful. But no one knows. She has an LLC set up with a DBA name.”
“Why?”
“Michael, her friends don’t work. They’re ‘ladies who lunch.’ Their husbands neither expect nor want them to have careers. It would be one more thing for Karina to feel like a misfit over if she actually said she had a job.”
“Mother didn’t work,” Michael mused.
“And that was fine by me.”
“But you don’t mind that Karina has her own enterprise?”
His father grinned. “Not at all. It makes her happy. Again, Michael … that’s all I care about.”
“Right.” He got to his feet. “Well, this has all been very enlightening. I only wish you could have met Scarlet under different circumstances.”
“Me, too. Though … one does have to appreciate her tenacity.”
“Indeed.”
Mitcham tapped his index finger against his chin and asked, “What exactly does this woman mean to you?”
“She fascinates me,” Michael said without hesitation. “In every way.”
“Hmm. And what does she mean to Sam?”
“Fascinates him, too.”
“Interesting.” Mitcham took his seat.
Michael said, “I don’t expect you to understand except … You loved two women within the same year. Probably still do. So it’s not exactly a foreign concept.”
His father’s head snapped back. “Love?”
Michael shrugged. “I’m not knowledgeable enough to qualify whether or n
ot that’s what I’m feeling—or Sam. All I know is that we both want to continue seeing her.”
Mitcham’s gaze drifted to the large windows and he watched the snow fall for a few quiet moments. Then he returned his attention to Michael and said, “I’m not a fan of her accusing this family of a crime.”
“No one is. But you can’t dispute that it’s commendable she takes her job and her responsibilities seriously. She’s a woman with principles and convictions. I find that admirable. And sexy.”
With a soft chuckle, Mitcham said, “I can see that about you. Perhaps now that we’re off her radar screen for committing a felony we can try another brunch.”
Michael fought a cringe. He had no idea if the Vandenbergs were off Scarlet’s radar screen. So he nonchalantly said, “We’ll see how that goes.”
“All right. Well. I have work to finish.”
“Of course.” Michael left the office, not having much more to say. It’d been his first real heart-to-heart with his father. They could probably both use a little time to digest it all.
So Michael returned to Manhattan.
And contemplated what his and Sam’s next move with Scarlet might be.
EIGHTEEN