Infatuation (Club Destiny 4)

“And people want to know about whether I keep toys in my dungeon?” He still had a hard time believing that one.

“Women lust after sexy, successful men. And you fit that profile, so yes. They want to know your dirty secrets.”

“It doesn’t bother you to share people’s personal information with the world?”

“Well, technically, my reach isn’t quite that far. And it’s not as if I share all of the information I receive.”

“No?”

“No,” McKenna stated firmly but didn’t elaborate.

They were interrupted by the waiter stopping by to refill the wine and let them know the food would be out shortly. He got the feeling McKenna was a little defensive about her career choice, and Tag’s goal was not to piss her off on their first date.

First date? What the fuck? Did he just pull that out of his ass or what? This damn sure wasn’t a first date.

Obviously Tag was quiet for too long because McKenna took the opportunity to throw out a question of her own. “And what about you? What made you want to be a lawyer?”

“My father’s a lawyer. It seemed like an easy path to take, to make him happy.”

“Did you spend your life trying to make him happy?”

Ok, so apparently he needed to carefully word his answers from here on out because he’d clearly given her too much information in just that one sentence.

“Not necessarily, no. My father didn’t have it easy, and I realized at an early age that he gave everything he had just to raise me on his own. I figured this was an easy way to give back to him for all he gave up for me.”

Again, his mouth was clearly not getting the signals from his brain.

“What about your mother?”

“My mother passed away when I was in high school.” This was a conversation Tag had no intention of having with her, so he quickly changed directions, “What do your parents think about what you do?”

“They pretend not to notice.” McKenna grinned. “They both know exactly what I do, and if they enjoy it, they don’t tell me. But, they aren’t against it either. My parents have always been extremely supportive of me and my sister.”

“Is your sister older or younger?”

“Older.”

When the waiter approached, bringing their food, the conversation slowed and they managed to eat while talking about much less personal topics. He found it relatively easy to talk to her, which was another thing that surprised him. She was smart, witty, and just as aggressive with her quest for knowledge as he expected her to be. For some reason, that didn’t bother him like it normally did.

Once they finished their meal, they ordered dessert and shared another glass of wine while they waited.

“What happened to your father that made you not want to work for anyone else?” Tag asked the question he had put off earlier.

The way she shifted her jaw as she stared back at him, he knew she was debating on whether she was going to answer him.

“So that’s how this is going to go?” she questioned.

“What? I’m interested in you, McKenna. Is that too hard to believe?”

“Yes. It is.”

Tag knew she was deflecting, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. “You know more about me than I do about you, so I figure it’s only fair.”

McKenna paused for a moment, sipping her wine as she stared back at him. Just when he thought she was going to blow off the question entirely, she answered, “Let’s just say my father hasn’t been dealt a promising hand throughout his career.

“He’s one of those men who can sell ice cubes to an Eskimo, but due to his salary, he was always one of the first to be let go when a company decided to cut back. He’d already done what they needed him to do, so as far as they were concerned, he was expendable.”

McKenna took another sip of her wine before continuing, “I didn’t want to be that person. I didn’t want to bust my ass to make my employer money only to be tossed out if they needed to make budget cuts.”

Tag wasn’t about to question her logic. As far as he was concerned, she made perfect sense. And by owning her own company, she knew what she was getting into and what she would get out of it day after day.

“While we’re getting personal...” McKenna smiled as the waiter set their desserts down in front of them. “Why do you choose to give so much money to charity?”

The question caught him by surprise, although he knew it shouldn’t have. If McKenna had been digging for information on him, she would’ve found the couple of mentions related to his sizable charity donations. “I don’t need the money,” he stated simply.