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She bites her lip for a moment before asking, “So do you still think my father is involved?” Natalie doesn’t look at me.
“It doesn’t make sense for him to be a part of this, so no. Especially considering the money is being sent to duplicate accounts overseas,” I tell her as we stop in front of the elevator.
She looks at me now. “Overseas,” she echoes.
“That’s what Steve and Terry found, yes.”
“Wild,” she says. Then the doors open and she steps inside. I follow, the door closes, and it’s quiet.
“Is something bothering you?” I ask after a couple seconds, unable to avoid scratching the itch any longer.
“You mean besides the fact that someone is stealing an alarming amount of money from my family?” she asks.
“Yes,” I frown. “Besides that.”
“Why do you ask?” she asks as casually as she can manage while staring at the descending numbers on the small screen.
“Because you’re standoffish,” I tell her.
“Am I?” she asks, and I’ve just about had enough.
I shift my body to stand in front of her. I’m close enough that she would have to look completely sideways to avoid eye contact with me. Close enough that she is touching the wall behind her.
“Natalie. What is going on?” I ask sternly.
Her mouth opens, closes again, her jaw setting stubbornly. She blinks, her gaze flutters around, then she looks at my chest. Not my eyes, just my chest.
Sigh.
“Jamie saw a picture from the gala this morning,” she says with a stutter before pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “A child at school asked if you were his father. He asked me the same thing, and I didn’t know what to say. So I think we need better boundaries.”
I arch one eyebrow very slowly. “Okay?” I draw the word out. “Meaning what?”
Her eyes roll a little. As if to say You know what I mean, why do I have to say it? But I do need her to say it. Whatever it is, I need her to explain it. Because I don’t think we are on the same page here.
“I just…what happened the other night was…” she trails off again.
“Great? Earth-shattering?” I try to offer her one of the words I would use to describe that night.
“Dangerous,” she says, and her eyes slowly trail up to meet mine.
“Dangerous?” I echo.
“Ash…Marcus…you’re my boss,” she says.
“And?”
“And it’s not appropriate,” she states, and I scoff.
“I am the CEO of a billion-dollar corporation. Other people do not get to decide what happens between us in private. But you do. If you want this to stop, say it plainly and I will respect it.”
“Not even me?” she snaps back, and her words suddenly have teeth.
I stare at her. “It was your idea to go back to my place that night,” I state. “Avery was on his way to your house and you rerouted him. You instigated everything that happened that night.”
“I know,” she says. “And…it was wrong.”
“Why was it wrong?” I ask as the doors open. She is ready to walk out, but I hold her there.
