I look away from my window to find Lizzy lifting her head from her phone. I smile. She’s reading, always reading. Her nose wrinkles a little.
“Jacob? Oh, no. I didn’t know he was coming. He said something about bringing over forgotten trays or something. We haven’t rescheduled our date yet.”
“Um.” That’s a little surprising. He keeps sniffing around her. I was sure he weaseled his way into a date by now.
“I’ve been busy. It will happen.”
Not if I can help it.
I’m thrown by my possessiveness and thoughts. Lizzy is free to date whoever she likes. It might be the way he looks at her. As if he’s waiting to taste the menu of the day. I hate it.
“Why haven’t you applied for any of the promotions? I’ve been through a few assistant-executive admins because of Bethany. I’ve never seen your resume for the position.”
She pushes her glasses up her nose. “To be honest, I have a business I run outside of working for your company. I wouldn’t want it to interfere with giving my all to the position. The travel could prove difficult for my business.”
I grunt and nod. Against my better judgment, I did dig into her gaming channel. I watched once. It’s the reason I’m a bit surprised she and Jacob haven’t been on a date. He practically tried to buy a date.
“What would you need to facilitate both?”
“I’m a professional gamer. I work long hours creating content. I’d need to be able to record no matter where I am, and I may not be the most useful some days. My position is perfect for that lifestyle. I’m able to keep you, my fans, and my sponsors happy at the moment.”
I think over her words. I crave normalcy for myself and Bella. Lizzy could help with that in so many ways. It’s only a thought, but I wouldn’t mind promoting her. She works well with Gio and that means he trusts her.
“Think about it. If the position opens up again, I’d like you to at least apply.”
She bobs her head before dismissing me and going back to her book. The SUV falls silent. I slump down in my seat and try to relax.
When we pull up to the gates of a rather impressive home, I sit back up and duck to get a better look. Well, no wonder she doesn’t care about the promotion.
I pay well, but not this well. The gates open and Oliver begins to roll in. I look over to Lizzy, but her face is still in her phone.
“My birth father, he was an engineer and tech genius. He built a multimillion-dollar company before he was killed. Elijah was his partner. My sister and I inherited everything, including Dad’s half of the business. Our gaming business is our third successful venture,” she says without looking up.
“Third?” I say with a smile.
“Yeah,” she says nervously, finally looking up from her book. “We…um…well—”
Her words are cut off by the ringing of my phone. I pull it from my pocket to see it’s Bethany. I can’t help the scowl that comes to my face.
“Thanks for the ride,” Lizzy says as the door is opened. She jumps out before I can respond.
She’s forgotten as I take the call. I know something is wrong from the moment I pick up. I can hear Bethany sniffling.
“Hello?”
“Dante?” she slurs.
“Where are you?” The protector in me comes out.
“Don’t act like you care now. You canceled all of my cards and froze my accounts.” I knew this was coming. I confirmed the process was completed after the scene she made at the restaurant. “You turned him against me. You turned everyone against me.”
“I told you to stop running to my father in the first place.”
She laughs manically. “Your father? I’m not talking about your father. You know what’s the worst part? I should have married him, not you. My father was so hell-bent on a marriage between us and the sex was amazing, but I never loved you. Not like him.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“The man I was forced to give up, the one I should have had a child with,” she slurs. “He was going to help me. I told him everything about you and your family. He was going to make sure you all went to jail, and I could be free.
“Now, he won’t even take my calls. I’m ready to leave and he doesn’t want me. Don’t act stupid, Dante. You know what you did.”
“Listen to me, I don’t give a fuck about who you’re fucking. And I have no clue what the hell you’re talking about, but you’re done fucking me and my daughter over, you self-absorbed bitch.”
“Your daughter, what about me? I’m so tired of everything being about her. You know that’s what sent me back to him, that little girl.”