Free Hidden Heart by Camelia Miron Skiba Page B

mon—”
    “ What? And you believe it?”
Tessa took a step towards him, flames threatening to shoot from her
eyes.
    “ Can you just let me
finish?”
    She rolled her eyes and
continued to stand, tapping her foot and crossing her arms on her
chest, but didn’t say anything.
    “ An investigation had
started right away. We don’t have any proof other than this letter,
not even handwritten, no return address, nothing. We were
apprehensive whether to believe it or not, but to clear the
situation, we had to investigate what happened and if the complaint
was true.”
    “ And you couldn’t tell me
earlier?”
    “ Please, let me finish.
I’ve tried to keep it a secret, hoping it was just a false alarm
and I could take care of it without dragging you into
it.”
    “ How could you make such a
mistake? If someone accuses me of something, I have the right to
know right away, and most importantly I have the right to defend
myself. How could I do that when I don’t even know?” Her arms swung
wide open then she slapped her thighs. She paced the room, one hand
on her waist the other on her neck.
    The lion in the cage had
been released.
    “ If I remember correctly,
you’ve been going through some tough times, sorry for trying to be
considerate,” Victor said, impatience rising in his voice. He went
for more whiskey and poured a second glass. He returned to the
sofa.
    “ Look, kiddo, I feel guilty
for not telling you sooner, but truth be told I didn’t believe for
one second you took the money.”
    “ You didn’t?” She stopped
in her tracks and turned to face him.
    “ Of course not, what do you
take me for?”
    She marched to the bar and
with trembling hands, poured herself a drink. A strong one. She
needed it. After the first sip, her throat and stomach turned in to
fire almost instantly. Maybe strong emotions can’t be controlled
with strong drinks; at least it didn’t work for her.
    “ Tessa, I have no idea who
is behind this. We sure work in a cutthroat market; you probably
pissed off someone so bad that they want you out. But never once
did I believe you stole the money.”
    “ Why haven’t you said
something when you called me in your office? You called that awful
man in and you crushed me like a bug. Do you have any idea how much
you’ve hurt me?” She finally came to sit on the sofa next to
him.
    Victor sighed, placed a
hand on her shoulder, softened his voice and said, “Believe me, it
hurt me and I hate what I’ve done to you. I never was one to be
very, how should I say it?” He stopped as if trying to find the
right words, and then continued, “Let’s say diplomatic or
considerate; never knew how to say things without hurting people.
How many times have I hurt Dina? but let’s not talk about me. What
I’m trying to say is that you have my support in this. We’ll clear
this mess up. I don’t want to lose the best employee I’ve ever had.
I believe in you and there is nothing out there that could convince
me differently.”
    Tessa narrowed her eyes and
tilted her head. She looked at him trying to decide if she could
trust his words.
    “ How about the Santinelli
guy?” She feared what Victor might say about Alessandro, but she
needed to know.
    “ Well, I can’t speak for
him. Nor was I able to read him. He is not an awful man as you
think he is; he behaves very professionally, comes across as a
rough guy, keeps to himself and asks direct questions. I took him
for dinner the other night and the tough guy image was gone; he is
actually very funny. He made it very clear work is work and private
is private. Not once have we discussed your case or the
office.”
    Tessa’s heart made a leap.
Alessandro had been tight lipped about their adventure. She’d have
to fight her case and prove her innocence, but would she have to
face him again?
    “ Okay, so now that we’ve
cleared the air, let’s move on. Change of subject.” Victor went for
a third glass, but Tessa moved faster and removed the