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“I will. Also, I’m going to D.C. tomorrow,” I inform her.
“When will you be back?”
“Tomorrow,” I reply. I don’t plan to be there for long. Just one quick conversation with my father.
“You’re going to fly there and back in one day?” Isabella asks.
“Yeah. I have this thing called a private jet, darling. Makes traveling so much easier,” I drawl.
“I know you have a private jet. That’s the problem,” she states before going off on a tangent about how the emissions from private jets contribute to climate change.
I listen attentively as she scolds me for exacerbating the problem and there’s a smile on my face the entire time. Fuck, I love her.
The knowledge settles deep within me. There’s no denying it. And I’ll be damned if I let anyone ever keep me away from her.
My father doesn’t blink as I stride into his office the next afternoon. Sure, he was informed I was around, and I was only allowed to see him because he gave permission that I could. But still he could at least pretend to be curious about why I’m here.
I take a seat in front of his desk, trying to affect some calmness that I really don’t feel. The more I think about what he was trying to pull with Taylor, the angrier I get.
“Well?” he asks, when I continue to be silent. “You’re here for a reason, Graham, spit it out.”
I clench my fists. “I’m not like you, Father,” I begin. He raises an eyebrow at the statement. “I’m not going to sleep with a woman simply because she’s my secretary.”
He’s unfazed by that pronouncement.
“I didn’t expect you to sleep with her because of that. I expected you to begin a relationship with her because she’s young and beautiful and available. And even better, she comes from a family that building an alliance with would be extremely beneficial to our empire. Not a family that could only endanger it,” he states, leveling me with a cold, hard look.
I glare at him. “You know about Isabella.” It’s not a question.
My father scoffs before withdrawing an envelope. He starts to pull out several pictures, placing them on the desk between us. My jaw tightens as I stare at Isabella and me at different moments. The two of us on a date at a restaurant, me seeing her off the next morning after she spends the night at my place. Several shots of us during our happiest moments.
“You had me followed?’ I growl.
“I had you watched. Because I couldn’t trust you to make good decisions in New York. You couldn’t even try to hide your relationship with this girl. Do you understand how hard it was for me to prevent it from leaking to the press?”
“It can leak, I don’t care,” I state.
My father slams his hand on the table. “Be careful about what you say, Graham. You’re already on thin ice. The woman is in the mafia! Do you not understand the implications of that?! First, your brother pulls this shit, and now you? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I’m momentarily taken aback by his use of the word “fuck.” Only momentarily, though.
“We can choose our families. And let’s be honest, I’m in an infinitely better position than Xander was in. Isabella’s not a member of the outfit. We can’t choose the families we’re born into.”
“Do you really think that matters? As long as she has the last name Russo, people will make assumptions of her and cast judgment on her. How do you think the board will react to you dating a woman like that?”
“I don’t care,” I say stubbornly.
“Don’t be stupid, Graham. You can still turn this around. I had no choice but to accept your brother’s wife because he already had a child with her. You’ve known this woman for a few months. It’s not too late. End your relationship. As soon as possible.”
My jaw grinds. “I’m not going to do that, Father.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love her,” I answer easily. “Isabella’s not going anywhere because I’m in love with her.”
His eyes flicker with rage. “If you go down this route, you’ll lose everything, Graham,” he threatens. “You worked so hard this past year and you’re going to throw it all away for a woman. If you insist on continuing this relationship, I’ll have no choice but to fire you from your position as vice president.”
I knew it was coming, but my stomach still hollows out at the pronouncement nonetheless.
