“Listen, I may be younger than you, but you are a dumb fucking shit if you don’t claim that bitch as your own.”
“Dante, you are on thin ice right now.”
“I’m serious. I only met her once, but she’s crazy about you. Too bad you are too stupid to see it.”
“Fuck off.”
“Keep Anton and I will.”
“You owe me 1.3 million to fix what he did.”
“Fine, I’ll have it wired in the morning.”
“Not your dirty blood money, either.”
“I know Micah, I know. I promised you when I pulled the family money out of the firm that all I’d invest with you was honest cash. That’s what you’ll get.”
Micah didn’t need to hear anymore. He ended the call before Dante had a chance. Now he had to go explain to Izzy why he wasn’t firing some idiot who he never should have hired in the first place. This was a perfect example of why he could never be with her, even if she was crazy about him. He could never tell her the truth about his family. Corsetti Financial may be on a straight and narrow path now, but it was built and run on dirty money until the day his father died.
Izzy was fading fast. The first few hours of work weren’t terrible. When Micah came back from getting dressed, he put a plain bagel, two aspirin, and a tall glass of orange juice in front of her. He wasn’t very talkative after his conversation with Dante, but she had expected that. He had walked in, told her Dante was wiring funds for a trade and Anton wasn’t going to be fired. When she opened her mouth to argue, he gave her a stern look and shook his head. The look wasn’t new. She had seen it before and the fact that it dampened her panties, wasn’t lost on her. Micah let her get away with a great deal of things, but when he put his foot down, there was no point in fighting him. Besides, it didn’t seem as if he agreed with not firing Anton and she wasn’t sure what Dante’s connection was, so it was best if she just stayed out of this one. Now hours later her headache was gone, but she was exhausted. The numbers on her screen blurred together and suddenly her head slipped from her hand, causing her to jolt back into an upright position.
Micah was watching her over the top of his monitor and smiled. “Why don’t you take a break?”
“I can’t. I have to finish these reports for tomorrow’s presentation.”
“Taking a break won’t keep you from finishing them. Go get a snack and coffee. I’ll be here when you get back.”
Isabel didn’t feel like arguing, and the mention of coffee made her desperate for some. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m good. If I get hungry, I’ll come out and get something.”
She saved what she was working on and made her way to the kitchen, then started the coffee pot and sat on the couch while she waited for it. Micah was right, she probably should eat something, but it would only make her more sleepy.
The penthouse was a huge open floor plan. The floors were a dark gray marble that was too fancy for her tastes, but the soft stone felt wonderful on her bare feet. She had slipped her shoes off earlier and left them under her desk in the office. One nice thing about working there on the weekends was that Micah had set up the office space up perfectly. He had a huge home office and had rearranged it years ago to accommodate a second desk for her. It was little things like giving her space to work and making sure she had something to eat that always made her wish the two of them were different people, with less complicated pasts. It didn’t take long for her eyelids to feel heavy. Not even her phone was keeping her awake, so she gave in and closed her eyes to rest until she heard the coffee pot beep.
“Iz? Izzy honey, wake up, you need to have some dinner.”
Is he could hear something that sounded strangely like Micah’s voice. But why in the world would Micah be trying to wake her up to eat dinner? Wait, dinner?
Suddenly she popped up into a seated position only to feel something hard bump her head and she heard a yelp of a man in pain. Once her gaze focused, she realized what had happened. Micah stood with both his hands over his nose and blood gushing down his arms.
“Oh god, Micah, I’m so sorry! I had no idea you were that close. Here, take this blanket,” she said while trying to thrust a soft cashmere blanket into his hands. He looked down at her, shaking his head, and then made his way over to the kitchen. She followed close behind, trying to figure out what she could do to help. She turned the water on at the sink as soon as he got there. Isabel gasped when he pulled his hands away and went to wash them and his face. She grabbed more paper towels, handing them to him, fussing over everything that was going on.
“I’m gonna call your doctor. I’m sure I can get him to come over at this hour. Oh God. What if it’s broken? I can’t believe this. What terrible timing! I mean, really, we have our largest presentation ever tomorrow, and I’ve likely broken your nose.”
Isabel turn to grab her phone, but was stopped by his hand on her arm. She looked up at him to find that he had a towel up to his nose and his head tilted towards the ceiling.
“Izzy, I’m telling you it’s fine. Stop freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out.”
“You are. Now sit down and eat. Dinner is getting cold. I’m gonna go to the bathroom and get cleaned up.”
“But...”
“Isabel, sit and eat.”
Her back straightened at the command in his voice. He lowered his gaze enough to make his way into his room. Instead of sitting, she filled glasses with water and sliced some lemons. On the table she saw he had prepared her favorite meal. Chicken cutlets and pasta with his homemade red sauce. It made her heart melt at how considerate he could be sometimes. Ironically enough, he was an Italian who loved Cuban food, and she was a Cuban who loved Italian food. Every once in a blue moon when they were working late, he’d cook something amazing for her. Tonight was one of those nights and she’d likely ruined it.