Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Refused to Be OwnedDominic spent nine days in the hospital.
Chloe visited every day.
She also returned to work.
That surprised him.
“You’re going back to The Brass Lantern?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because employment is traditionally how people acquire money.”
“You don’t need—”
Chloe pointed at him.
“Careful.”
Dominic stopped.
“What?”
“You were about to say I don’t need to work because you have money.”
“I was.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“I can pay your mother’s medical debt.”
“No.”
“Chloe.”
“No.”
“It’s seventy-eight thousand dollars.”
“I know exactly how much it is.”
“Then let me.”
She sat beside his hospital bed.
“Dominic, I will not move from being trapped by debt into being indebted to you.”
His expression changed.
“I would never consider it a debt.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because I need to know I can stand on my own.”
He studied her.
Then nodded.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not going to argue?”
“I am learning.”
Chloe smiled.
“Slowly.”
He did something else instead.
Without telling her, he connected her with an attorney specializing in medical-billing disputes.
Chloe discovered that several charges were improperly coded.
Insurance appeals reduced the debt substantially.
When she realized Dominic had arranged the introduction, she confronted him.
“You cheated.”
“I introduced you to a lawyer.”
“You paid her.”
“I paid for one consultation.”
“Dominic.”
“She charged six hundred dollars.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I spend more than that on dinner.”
“Which is disgusting.”
“Yes.”
She eventually forgave him.
Mostly.
Vincent Moretti survived and was indicted on attempted murder, racketeering, witness intimidation, conspiracy, money laundering, and several cold-case homicides.
The ledger destroyed him.
It also damaged Dominic.
Federal investigators examined Moretti businesses.
Dominic cooperated.
Not entirely from altruism.
Some prosecutors had leverage.
But he also made choices nobody expected.
Illegal gambling operations closed.
Protection schemes ended.
Several cash businesses were sold.
Men who had spent decades earning money through fear suddenly needed legitimate jobs.
Not everyone appreciated the transition.
Dominic received threats.
Two captains left.
One attempted to organize a rebellion.
Leo handled most of it without Chloe asking for details.
She preferred not knowing everything.
Three months after Pier Nine, Dominic invited Chloe to dinner.
Not a safe house.
Not a guarded office.
A restaurant.
Different from The Brass Lantern.
Small Italian place in the North End.
He arrived early.
Chloe arrived seven minutes late.
Dominic stood when she approached.
“You’re late.”
She stared.
“Would you like to reconsider your opening statement?”
He smiled.
“No.”
He pulled out her chair.
Dinner felt almost normal.
That was strange.
No gunshots.
No kidnappings.
No mysterious photographs.
Just pasta.
Wine.
Conversation.
Dominic told her he hated golf.
Chloe told him she had once been banned from a middle-school spelling bee for arguing with a judge.
“I don’t believe you.”
“The word was accommodate.”
“You spelled it wrong?”
“No. He heard it wrong.”
“Of course.”
“I was twelve and principled.”
“You remain both.”
She kicked him under the table.
After dinner they walked through the North End.
Dominic had security nearby.
Chloe knew.
She had accepted some realities.
At the waterfront, he stopped.
“I have something for you.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“If it’s a check, I’m throwing it into the harbor.”
“It isn’t.”
He handed her an envelope.
Inside was a document.
The deed to her mother’s old house.
Chloe stared.
“What?”
The house had been sold years earlier when Elaine needed money for treatment.
“How?”
“I bought it.”
“Dominic.”
“Before you become angry—”
“I am already angry.”
“Read the second page.”
She did.
The property had been transferred to a charitable trust.
Not Chloe.
The house would become temporary housing for families of cancer patients receiving long-term treatment in Boston.
Chloe stopped breathing.
“It isn’t mine?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you would refuse it.”
“Yes.”
“And because I thought this was better.”
Her eyes filled.
“You named it Elaine House.”
“Yes.”
Chloe looked at him.
“You did this without asking me.”
“Yes.”
“I should be furious.”
“Probably.”
She kissed him.
Dominic froze.
Then kissed her back.
When they separated, Chloe whispered, “That was manipulative.”
“I’ll note that.”
“Do.”
They stood by the harbor.
Months earlier, Chloe had believed saving Dominic’s life meant she belonged to him.
Boston rumors certainly framed it that way.
THE WAITRESS UNDER MORETTI PROTECTION.
MORETTI’S MYSTERY WOMAN.
THE GIRL WHO SAVED THE BOSS.
But Chloe had learned something important.
Dominic did not want ownership.
He wanted partnership.
And there was a difference.
Still, one question remained.
“What are we?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Dangerously underdefined.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“Boyfriend?”
He grimaced.
“What?”
“I’m thirty-four.”
“Thirty-four-year-old men can be boyfriends.”
“It sounds adolescent.”
“Partner?”
“Sounds like a law firm.”
“Lover?”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
Chloe laughed.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
He reached into his coat.
Chloe’s laughter stopped.
“Dominic.”
A small black box appeared.
“No.”
He froze.
“I haven’t asked anything.”
“Put it away.”
“Chloe—”
“No.”
His face changed.
She took his hand.
“I love you.”
Relief and confusion crossed his face simultaneously.
“But I am not ready to marry you.”
Dominic looked at the box.
Then at her.
“All right.”
She blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not upset?”
“I’m devastated.”
Chloe almost laughed.
“But no means no.”
Her eyes filled.
He put the box away.
“What happens now?”
“We continue.”
“And someday?”
“If someday comes.”
Dominic kissed her forehead.
“I can wait.”
That answer made Chloe love him more than any diamond could have.
Six months later, she made a decision.
Not because of danger.
Not because of gratitude.
Not because Dominic had saved her.
Because she wanted it.
She walked into his office at Moretti Development, placed the same black box on his desk, and said:
“Ask me again.”
May you like
Dominic stared at her.
For perhaps the first time in his life, the most feared man in Boston was speechless.
