I laugh as I watch him mutter a few choice curse words before he pushes the bed linens aside and stands up, completely nude.
"Will you look like that when I see you?"
"Like this?" he asks as he holds his hands out in front of his semi-erect cock. "You like me best when I'm naked, is that it?"
I like him best at any moment. "I'll call you tomorrow and we can find a time to meet."
"You can stay with me tonight?" He waves his hand over the bed. "You can fall asleep right here in my arms."
It's so tempting but I have work to do before I see Gabriel and I want to prepare myself for the tentative dinner I have planned with Gianna tomorrow night.
"I just want to listen to you fall asleep, Tess." His hands leap to his chest. "I'll let you go first thing in the morning."
I drop my purse on the floor. "Can you help me out of my dress?"
Chapter 14
––––––––
"A private investigator your father's attorney hired contacted my mother. She wasn't prepared for that."
Your mother was sleeping with my father. I sure as hell wasn't prepared for that, Mr. Foster.
"Gianna was very forthcoming," I say sweetly. "She's been a big help."
"Is that so?" He cocks both brows. "She wasn't comfortable sharing the details of her discussion with the investigator with me. I assumed that was because she didn't have much to offer."
"On the contrary," I stop myself before I say it but it's so close to the surface that it just comes spilling out of my mouth. "Apparently she has a lot to offer."
"Was she able to offer anything to help your father?"
I'm going to need a shower after this discussion. I never once imagined my parents behind closed doors. I don't want to conjure up a mental image of my father and Gianna.
"I believe so." I open my tablet. "I was hoping we could go over some of the finer details for the pop-up shop event."
Gabriel adjusts the cuff link on his left wrist, taking time to straighten it completely. "If your attention needs to be on your father's legal situation, Tess, I have a replacement in mind."
It's hard not to take that personally. I can't though. The man is only looking out for his company's best interests. I'm doing the same for mine, which is why I’m here, and not in Boston helping to plan the celebratory party for my father's release tomorrow.
"You have my full attention, Mr. Foster." I slide my finger across my tablet's screen. "I'd like to start with the list of models I've hired for the event."
His eyes fall to where my finger is perched. "Very well, then. Let's get started."
***
"Frederick Beckett would like to see you."
"Me?" I touch my left ear wondering if I misheard what Everett just said to me. "Landon's father wants to see me?"
"His attorney called me this morning." He shifts on the small chair in the crowded café we're sitting in.
He'd called just as I was leaving Gabriel's office. He told me that he had something to talk about that was better discussed face-to-face. Since I haven't spoken to anyone in my family yet today about my father's upcoming arraignment hearing tomorrow, I'd panicked.
When I asked him point blank about my father, he had assured me that everything was on track. He didn’t anticipate any hiccups. He simply wanted to go over something with me in person before he left for Boston in the morning.
"Why would he want to see me?"
"I can think of any number of reasons," he says calmly. "Your lives have intersected on many levels, Tess."
"Am I allowed to talk to him?" It's a genuine question. I've thought about going to see him myself more than once. It's never been about lashing out at him over what happened with my father, or Landon. My pull towards him has always been to understand more about the man who single handily ruined so many people's lives only to return on a whim.
"I don't see why not." He glances at the silver wristwatch on his arm. "Do you want me to arrange that for you?"
I answer before I have time to consider the far reaching consequences of what I'm agreeing to. "Yes. I want to see him. Make it happen."
Chapter 15
––––––––
"I thought you'd bring Landon with you." My father pats my shoulder. "I want to meet him."
I feared when my father walked into his favorite pub in Boston with a grin on his face from ear-to-ear that it would disappear as soon as someone brought up Landon's name.
To avoid it, I'd gathered my siblings and my mother together near the bar before he arrived. I'd prefaced my confession with tender words about how cherished and adored I feel when I'm around Landon. I explained that he's a pilot and has only been kind and considerate to me.