Page 121 of Indecent Obsession
“Hey, Peabody. Did you have a good walk?”
He curls up in a ball on her and gives a little huff.
“I wouldn’t let him chase a squirrel.” I hang up his leash and kick off my shoes before joining her on the couch.
She smiles at me before looking down at her book. I have a few spreadsheets to review for work. Tom left us a hell of a mess to dig out of. Even with the three of us, we can barely keep up with our own clients, and with Tom’s on top of ours, we’re struggling.
“Let me know when you’re ready for bed, pip.” I reach forward and grab my tablet, opening the file I need to review. One of Tom’s clients.
I also need to research the other clients Beth told me about. Searching the files turned up nothing. Maybe they’re on Tom’s cloud drive. I make a note to ask Theo to look for those specifically.
As soon as I finish with the spreadsheets, I glance at Sara. She’s moved so she’s leaning against my arm, curled up, reading. At least she was the last time I looked. Now she’s asleep. For a second, I just absorb the fact she’s here with me.
I’m tempted to carry her to my bed and just hold her as she sleeps. But I’m aware that, at some point, Tom will return and this arrangement will all end. We’ll end. Tom would never approve, and while his approval might not mean much to us, Sara adores her older brother, even with his faults.
Releasing a breath, I open my browser. I’ll get some research done before I carry her to bed. Where I will definitely fuck her while I have her.
I start with Galvin Banking Group, which is a financial institution. The website is fairly basic, but it has a customer login and shows the different deposit and loan instruments they offer.
It’s a fairly small bank with only a few locations, but nothing seems out of place.
They don’t list officers or employees on the website. But that’s not unusual.
I look through the federal bank regulators’ websites and nothing seems off. There are no enforcement actions listed. Without looking at their financials, I can’t get any additional information on them.
If they are a client, Tom would have obtained the most recent financial statements at the least. If he followed protocol, we’d have a minimum of three years of previously audited statements.
When I search for Casino Caper, I find a website that wants me to download their app. Yeah, that’s not happening. I do a little more research before Sara squirms next to me.
I set my tablet down and rub the bridge of my nose. Access to the files would tell me so much more than an internet search. But it’s better than nothing, which is all I currently have.
Beth gets back tomorrow. I’ll have her bring me everything she has on the new clients.
“Did I fall asleep?” Sara blinks up at me with her pale green eyes.
“Yes, pip.” I stroke my hand over her hair. How I resisted touching her before now is beyond me. It seems impossible I was satisfied with just diverting her attention from Wyatt. Now I want her attention for myself.
She pushes to sit up and stretches. “I’m not sleeping as much as I probably should.”
Her soft smile makes my heart stop. There’s something about Sara Morris that has always grabbed me. When she was a child, I wanted to help protect her. I didn’t think much about her when I was a teenager. I was too busy chasing girls my age and hanging with my friends.
I don’t know when the shift happened. But I remember the summer we came home from college to find Sara wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was still off-limits, but she was softer and more shy around us.
The shyness didn’t last long. But every now and then, I’d see a glimpse of that girl in the woman in front of me. I couldn’t let myself feel more. I shut off my attraction and shoved it deep inside.
She reaches out and I hold my breath, waiting for her touch. She cups my jaw. “Is it time for bed, boss?”
I glance over at Finn, working at the table. He’s going to get locked out tonight because if anyone is waking Sara, it will be me.
Before she can get up, I scoop her into my arms and stand with her. Her arms wrap around my neck.
“Night, Finn,” she says.
Finn winks at her. “See you later, flower.”
“No, you won’t.” I meet his gaze. “Not tonight.”
He leans back in his chair and nods. “Fine.”
