“Not all of it, but some. I try not to stay involved. The less I know, the better.”
“So the firm, it’s... is it an illegal business that belongs to your family?”
“No. Not anymore. When my father was alive, he was laundering money through it for my Zio. When he died, Luca and I invested our personal money to keep things afloat while closing accounts of all the fake businesses and people who were involved. It took a lot of work with Dante to make it happen, but we did it.”
“But Dante is still a client.”
“He is, but the money we invest for him is his own personal money that he has made from investing in real estate. I won’t touch anything else. Without his patience through the process and Luca’s help, we wouldn’t have made it.”
“So the older clients...”
“Some of them know, I’m sure of it. They just turned a blind eye. But if I couldn’t tie them to any of the illegal accounts, I let them keep their business with us.”
“Now I see why you can’t stand so many of them.”
“They are quick to judge me for a bunch of people who were a step away from financial crimes.”
“I don’t understand how your dad didn’t get caught… how we haven’t.”
“There is nothing to catch any more. I cleaned up what was needed. As for before... bribes. I’m not proud of it, but Dante helped. Everyone has a price.”
“Micah, we have over a billion dollars in assets at the firm. Do you know what would happen if anyone found out about this?”
“I do.”
“But you told me.”
“I trust you, and you deserve to know. A shitty man doing shady business took advantage of you in the past. I don’t want you to think I’m like him when I’m not. I worked really hard to rebuild what my father loved to call The Corsetti Empire, and you helped me with that. Without you on the front lines with our clients over the years, I’m not sure we’d have made it.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I’m sure you need some time to think about everything. Not just the things between me and you, but the mess that my family really is. If you want to leave the firm, I understand. It would kill me if you leave, but I support whatever decision you make. Aside from the firm you need to know I would never intentionally hurt you, Izzy. You mean too much to me. I know how important commitment is to you. I never would have promised I'd be faithful if I didn't intend to be.”
Holy shit. Isabel’s head was spinning. An hour ago, she was trying to plan out a new life in a new city where no one knew her name. Some place far from Miami, the press, and Micah. Now sitting with him while he shared his family’s darkest secrets, she didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t be mad at him over Sofia. That would be crazy. Obviously she wished he had just told her that night rather than causing her so much heartache and confusion, but it kind of made sense he didn’t.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
“Why did you stick by me when I told you about my past? You could have let me go and washed your hands of me back then, and everything would have gone back to normal. Disclosing to our clients and facing the ridicule could have brought all this stuff about your family into the spotlight.”
“I considered that, but I decided then that you were more important than the business.”
“And now?”
“Nothing has changed. Izzy, you are still worth it. You will always be worth it.”
Isabel stood from where she was sitting on the bed. The overwhelming need to touch him controlled her actions as she leaned over and placed her lips on his. The fire that slowly burned inside her ignited. She felt his arms reach behind her as he pulled her onto his lap, leaning back in the bed, holding her close. The passion between the two of them couldn't be stifled by the emotional toll the last two days had taken on her. Isabel's heart was jumping to every conclusion she had been trying to avoid while her mind kept telling her she was important to his business and that was all.
Suddenly, she felt his phone vibrate underneath her and pulled back, breathless and wanting more.
“Ignore it.”
“It might be important.”
“I don’t care.”
She shook her head and gave him a smile as she reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out to see that Jenny was calling.