“Yes, Sir.”
“You call me whenever you deviate from your normal routine, so I know where you are, and I don’t have to go to your work looking for you.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He took a moment to prepare himself for the next conversation they needed to have. “Tell me what happened today with your boss.”
She jerked, but then began to speak. “He gave me a project and said he needs the report on his desk first thing tomorrow, but he’d already given me five other large tasks that needed my attention. Then, he forwarded his phones to me for most of the day. I brought everything home with me, thinking I could work on it after dinner.” She gasped. “I left everything in my car. I—”
“You’ll get it in the morning.”
“But.” She stopped herself. “Sir, I can’t lose my job.”
“If you lose your job, we’ll find you another one.”
Ali bit her bottom lip. He knew she wanted to argue with him, but also knew it would only land her in more trouble.
“I know you saw the files in the car earlier. I had a private investigator look into Jacobson.”
She didn’t say anything.
“Even if I don’t find anything on him, you won’t be working for him much longer.”
Her head came up, and then she forced it down again. “Sir, I—”
“Allison, I will not have you working for someone who abuses you. No one deserves that.”
He could feel the tension radiating off her. “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
“If I lose my job, I won’t be able to support myself,” she said.
“That isn’t a problem. You’re already staying here. You have no real need for your apartment. That should free up enough of your funds until you find a new position.”
“Then Bradley will hate me even more.”
He was going to kill his son.
Taking a calming breath, he lifted her chin, so she was looking at him. “This isn’t about Bradley. Or your mom. Or anyone else for that matter. I’ve told you before. I want you in my bed. Not occasionally. Every night.”
She held his gaze. “What if you get sick of me or need your space?”
Something pulled at his gut. She thought he’d get sick of her? “Sweetheart, I’ve yearned for you for two years. If I need some space, or you do, this house is huge. You can keep the other room if you want, so you have a space that’s your own.”
Something flashed in her eyes. Guilt? Fear? Maybe a mixture of both.
“Tell me.”
“My mom. She—she agrees with Bradley.”
It took him a moment to process what she was saying. “She thinks you’re after my money?”
Ali pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. He gave her chin a gentle squeeze, letting her know it was okay. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be as bad as she thought it was.
She didn’t open her eyes. “Mom thinks I’ve landed myself a sugar daddy.”
He dropped his hand, and she opened her eyes to look at him, all her emotions clear on her face. Her mother was a piece of work. “What your mother, or Bradley, or anyone else thinks of our relationship doesn’t matter. What matters is how we feel about it.”
She lowered her head to his lap. “I don’t know what to do.”