“No. Not that I know of.” She really believed if her mother saw Hamilton again it would break her heart.
She wanted to delve deeper, to know the man under the skin. He may not admit it, but there was much more to Tobias Bennett.
“Do you love your work?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I love everything about architecture. The different moods of each person who designed a building. How they all seem to have that one element that’s like an artist’s signature. It’s a passion that I think I got as a child going from different apartment buildings, fancy homes, and of course the apartments that were made cheaply. Your work, does it fill you with excitement, with passion?”
“I work for the family company, Adora.”
“What was your passion growing up? What did you love more than anything else?” she asked.
She saw that she’d stumped him.
He smiled. “I don’t know if you’d call it a passion, but I loved music.”
“Did you sing?”
“I liked listening to different kinds of music—soul, country, rock, pop, you name it, I wanted it. It was an escape from the pressure.”
“Why didn’t you pursue it? The music industry has more than just singers. It has people who manage, own companies, distribute.”
“My life and what I’d do was set out before I was born, Adora. Music is just something I enjoyed.”
She sat back and rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling a chill. They were going to have a baby. There was no doubt in her mind that they were. She couldn’t resist him, and he wouldn’t let her resist him. What she didn’t like was the fear that he’d be exactly like his parents. That he’d expect their son or daughter to work for the family company. To learn all the ropes, and never follow their own passion. She couldn’t speak. So much anger and fear swamped her, that she grabbed their plates, and headed into the kitchen.
“What have I said now?”
“Nothing.”
“Clearly, I’ve said something to upset you, and doing that is not my intention.”
She put the dishes in the sink, and turned toward him. “You really don’t see it, do you?”
“See what?”
She laughed. “I haven’t even met your parents yet, and I know they’ve got one hell of a control lock on you. It’s not even funny.”
“You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“You’re good with numbers, great at it, I bet. You seem to know when to spot an amazing deal and one that’s little shady. You have all the mechanics of a fantastic businessman. You’ve taken the Bennett name from strength to strength.”
“You researched me.”
“Why not? You pursued me. You threatened me. I
had to find out what I was up against, and what I found out was exactly that. But your work is not exactly thrilling to you. You don’t find a rush, do you, when you enter that boardroom? There’s no real excitement over what you do. You’re just going from one motion to another.”
He didn’t say a word.
“And that’s what you want for our child.” She placed a hand on his chest. “Think about that. Think about what you’re going to want for our little kid. Will our child end up like Maximus?”
He stepped away.
Before she could say anything else, the ringing of the telephone stopped her. Biting her lip, she watched as he left to answer it.
Finishing the dishes, she was drying them up as Tobias rounded the corner, looking really pissed off.