“So a complete transformation of the entire block?”
“Exactly.” I nodded.
“That property has held our family name since it was built in the mid-eighteenth century. Even if I was to sell, I’d want that name retained in relation to the building.”
Despite being related by blood, I’d never borne the Dawnay name. It had never been an option for me, having been disowned by my father. I was damn sure that as soon as I bought the building, its name would be the first thing to go.
I didn’t need constant reminders of who I wasn’t.
“The entire block will be one large complex that will have a brand-new name,” I said.
“Well perhaps you can work the Dawnay name into a wing or something?” Henry asked.
“I’d definitely look at doing something,” I replied, deliberately being noncommittal.
“We’d have to agree on what exactly it was that would carry the name,” Henry said. “Perhaps a plaque in the lobby explaining the family connection would work?”
Over my dead body.
“What do you think?” Henry continued.
“You want this incorporated into the contract?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” Henry replied. “Selling the building is not . . . Liquidating assets is not something I generally like to do. And that building has been part of our family estate for generations.”
I could tell him, explain how I might not have the Dawnay name but I had the Dawnay blood in my veins.
But there was no way I’d use my connection to my biological father to get anything in my life. He’d never given anything to me. And I wasn’t going to take anything. I’d worked hard for everything I’d ever had and that wasn’t about to change.
“I understand that it might be easier to transfer it to a family member. But in my experience, Henry—and forgive me if I speak out of turn—sometimes family members aren’t the best people to take care of a property like the Dawnay building. I want to tend to it, nurture it—bring it to life for another generation.” I glanced over at Stella, maybe hoping to feel some of the confidence she had in me and recharge myself. This was clearly important to Henry, and I didn’t want to misstep.
She was facing me, but she wasn’t talking to Florence. Stel
la’s head was bowed and her eyes were fixed on the floor as she spoke to a man whose back was to me. It almost looked like she was going to cry. Was it Gordy speaking to her?
Before I could figure out who was with her, Henry replied. “I see what you’re saying but—and you’ll have to forgive me this time if I speak out of turn—I don’t know you. I’m sure you’re a completely honest person who does what they say they’ll do . . .”
My attention should have been one hundred percent focused on Henry, but all I could see was the way Stella flinched when the man she was standing with tried to grab her wrist.
“Is that Matt with Stella?” I asked without thinking. I was interrupting when Henry should have all my attention.
“I believe so,” Henry replied.
What the fuck was he doing, grabbing her? She took a step back and then he stepped toward her, menacing and threatening, and his voice was starting to increase in volume.
I half stood, hovering over my chair. Should I go over there? Stella wasn’t mine to protect, but she didn’t deserve anything Matt was dishing out.
I should be closing this deal with Henry, fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition but— “Henry, I’m sorry, but please excuse me.”
All I could think about was making sure that Matt had hurt Stella for the last time. He didn’t deserve her time, her conversation, or anymore of her tears.
I might have walked away from closing a deal I’d been working toward my entire life.
But some things were more important.
I’d never moved so quickly, and my hand was on the small of Stella’s back in a second. Two at the most. She gasped as I touched her, and when she looked up at me, I saw a sadness in her eyes that I remembered from the first time we’d ever met.
I glanced at Matt. He’d done that.