“Very nice,” he said, walking around the circular office. It was unique, if anything.
“You like it?”
“I can appreciate a good design. You’ve worked on a few of my buildings, or have you forgotten?” Tobias asked.
Hamilton leaned back in his desk chair, a pencil to his lips. “I appreciate all the business your family has given me. Your mother, especially, has excellent taste.”
“And your daughter?”
William groaned, sitting straight. “What do you want from me, Tobias?”
They were close in age, both big players in the business world. Their paths were probably on the same trajectory until Adora changed Tobias’s.
“My mother’s been here a few times in the past two weeks. Why is that?”
He chuckled. “It’s not my place to discuss private business matters.”
Tobias massaged behind his neck, looking out at the view of the city. “Don’t fuck with me, Hamilton. Your little girl’s warming my bed, and a few whispers in her ear and you’ll be looking at a paternity lawsuit so big you’ll wish you’d never met Maria Garcia.”
William exhaled. “It’s not what you think. They don’t even know she’s my daughter. I’m the one who requested the face to face.”
“Why?”
“Your parents went to the faculty and requested Adora be cut from all the elite lists. I put two and two together.”
“I’m listening.”
“Look, Adora doesn’t deserve to be punished because of you … or me. I’ve done a lot of shit in my life, and I have regrets, but that doesn’t make me a monster,” he said.
Tobias wasn’t buying it. “You’ve had twenty years to make amends, and that night at La Ballezza was the first time she’d seen you in the flesh.”
“I didn’t know about her.”
“Bullshit.”
“Does it matter? The past is the past. I can’t change it,” he said. “When the college contacted me, I wasn’t about to let your parents ruin Adora’s career. We both know how ruthless they can be.”
“Don’t tell me they actually listened to you.”
He scoffed. “Not likely. They mentioned a baby, and wishing Adora would disappear. They said she was a gold-digging little whore.”
Tobias ground his teeth together. “She’s your daughter. You own up to that? The kid they want gone is your grandchild.”
Hamilton had no balls. He always hid behind his women and money. Tobias wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily.
“Since when have you wanted to settle down, anyway, Tobias? It seems unusually cruel to force Adora to live the same life as her mother.”
“Don’t compare me to you. I don’t shirk my responsibilities. I’m with Adora because I … want to be with her. I want the best for that girl.” He realized he was about to use the “L” word but quickly stopped himself.
“Then tell her to take her professor’s offer to apprentice at my company. She won’t even have to see me.”
“She’ll never agree to that. She hates you with the intensity of the sun, and I’m not sure anything you can do will change that.” Tobias wasn’t on top in business for being gullible. He had a sense when someone was screwing with him, and he didn’t trust William.
“It would be in her best interest.”
“What about your sons? You going to tell them about their sister? Think they’ll like the idea of splitting the family inheritance four ways?”
William’s face dropped. “I want to do the right thing by Adora, but I’m not willing to bring my own family down in the process.”
“Of course not.”
“Look, people make mistakes. Nobody needs to know about any of this except you and me. I feel bad about what happened to Maria. No need for Adora to suffer.”
Tobias cracked his neck to each side, his hands clasped behind his back once he reached the edge of the office. He watched the cars driving far below from his vantage point. William Hamilton was fueled by guilt, nothing genuine. Not love. Tobias wouldn’t allow him to hurt Adora. If she needed a job, Tobias could give her one.
“Let me know if my parents contact you about Adora again. Otherwise, don’t lose any sleep over your dirty little secret.”
Tobias left the office, feeling sick to his gut. He’d take care of William’s responsibility.
Once he arrived back at the Bennett Corporate headquarters, he took the elevator up to the penthouse. As he walked toward his office, his secretary rushed over to him. “Sir, I’m so sorry, I was about to call security.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a woman in your office. She insisted on locking herself inside.”
He knocked on the door, “Adora?”
The door opened a few inches. He smiled because he knew it had to be her. Tobias turned to his secretary. “Adora Garcia has full access to my office. In the future, don’t try to stop her.”
“Yes, sir.”
He entered the office, and locked the door behind him.
“That was a long lunch,” she said.
“I had some errands to run. You’re off early, no?”