Her fingers stilled on his back. “I love you, too.”
A slow smile pulled at his lips a moment before he kissed her again.
They broke apart a few moments later, and he carried her things inside. Bradley was standing by the kitchen island, waiting for him. “Dad, can I talk to you?”
“I’ll take this to our room,” Ali said, lifting the box of her things out of his arms.
Once she disappeared down the hall, Daniel turned on his heel and headed toward his study. Bradley followed, closing the door behind him. “Did Ali lose her job?”
Ever the observant one, his son. “She turned in her resignation.”
“Did you find something out about her boss in the file?”
Daniel walked to the other side of his desk and sat down. “He’s been having an affair for at least the last seven years. Every time he gets a new job, he hires her to fill a recently vacated position.”
Bradley processed that information. “How did you figure that out?”
Removing the papers from his briefcase, Daniel laid everything out for his son.
“So that’s why he was treating Ali like shit? To get her to quit so he could give his mistress a job?” Bradley asked.
“Yes.”
Bradley tucked the papers back into the folder. “What are you going to do?”
His son knew him well. There was no way he was going to let this go. It was bad enough what Jacobson had done to him years ago, but after treating Ali the way he had and leading another woman to feel as if suicide was her only option, he was feeling the need to make the man pay. “I have plans.” Then he steepled his fingers together as he sat back in his chair. “Now, tell me what’s been going on with Zelda today?”
Bradley shared how his morning had gone keeping track of Ali’s mother, including how she’d made herself very much at home.
After they were finished, Daniel went to find Ali. The work he needed to do could wait and he wanted to make sure she really was okay.
It wasn’t hard to locate her. The raised voices coming from her old room carried throughout the house.
Or, should he say one raised voice. The only one yelling was Ali.
The door to the room was open when he approached, which helped the sound to carry. Bradley was a step behind him, also taking in the women's conversation.
“I told you, I don’t know, Mom. It just happened. Daniel and I will figure it out,” Ali said.
Zelda laughed. “There’s nothing to figure out, honey. He’s loaded. You just need to dress yourself up a little nicer and before you know it, you’ll have a nice ring on your finger. You’ll be set for life.”
“Mom, it’s not like that.”
“Of course it’s like that. Men like him expect to be used. They get it. It’s part of the deal.” Zelda paused. “I mean, you must be a decent lay. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Ali gasped. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“Why not? It’s true. You have that man wrapped around your finger. Now, all you need to do is make it all legal so if he loses interest somewhere down the line, you’ll get a nice paycheck out of it.”
He heard a loud smacking sound followed by a shriek from Zelda. He rushed into the room. Zelda sat on the end of the bed, a hand cupping the left side of her cheek. They both looked up at Daniel’s and Bradley’s entrance.
Daniel didn’t wait for an explanation. He'd heard all he needed to hear. “I think it’s time for you to pack your bags and leave,” he said to Zelda. He’d tried to give her the benefit of the doubt because she was Ali’s mother, but this was too much. Ali didn’t need this.
“I’m not sure what you heard, but—”
“I know what I heard.” Daniel moved to Ali’s side, placing a hand on the small of her back. “I also know you had no qualms asking me about my finances last night after knowing me for less than three hours.”
“What?” Ali stiffened under his hand. He hadn’t shared the conversation he’d had with her mom the night before when he’d gone into the kitchen.