I’m settling into a routine again and life’s beginning to brighten. My mom’s called a zillion times and although I’ve updated her on a lot of my recent changes I’ve not told her about Darius. Maybe I should let her know we are seeing each other again but I don’t want to get her hopes up. Because really, a lot of what happens between Darius and me has to do with Darius. He’s on my mind as I pass each floor, until the elevator doors open and I see the black wall with the big bold gray letters that read: Bennett, Inc.
I exit the elevator, taking only one step forward when I nearly slam into a tall figure. “Sorry,” I squeak, jumping back. Then I look up, meeting dark familiar eyes, reminding me who this man is, and my mind recoils.
“I’m afraid I don’t have good news for you, Darius,” a man with a fancy suit and stylish salt and pepper hair says. “Your father is creating quite the mess for you.”
I’m sitting next to Allie on the edge of the stairs, totally eavesdropping on a conversation we shouldn’t be listening to. But there’s no way that I’ll leave Allie alone in this house with her half-brother. He’s a stranger to the both of us. I turn to her and whisper, “Who’s that guy with Darius?”
“It must be his lawyer,” Allie whispers back, keeping her attention on the living room we can see from the stairs. “Darius told me he was dropping by tonight.”
The lawyer looks fancy. Heck, so does Darius in his tailored suit. Feeling a little out of place, I glance around the foyer below us, spotting boxes belonging to Allie, and some that I’m guessing belong to her half-brother, too.
When Allie told me that Darius sold his condo in the city and bought a house in the suburbs, she left off the fact that this house looked like it’d been cut right out of House & Home magazine. But, to me, the house feels creepy, like the people who lived here just picked up and left, taking only their clothes and personal belongings with them. Apparently, rich people buy houses completely furnished and impeccably designed.
“What do you suggest I do now?” Darius asks, strain in his voice.
His lawyer moves to the bar in the corner of the room, pours himself a scotch and then takes a seat in the chair. “You used the money from your condo and your trust fund to purchase this house, and you have your car that’s already paid for.” He lifts the glass to his mouth and takes a sip. “The funds belonging to your company are also safe, but your father is pulling out as an investor. I don’t need to tell you that you must find new investors immediately or your company will crash.”
I jerk my head to Allie and whisper, “Seriously? His own father would do that to him?” And especially over Darius
taking in Allie?
Allie half shrugs. “Yeah, I guess so. I met him only once and he was horrible.”
God, Darius’s father is the worst human being I’ve ever heard of. No wonder Allie’s mom divorced him, leaving all this wealth behind for a simple life where people love each other. My heart hurts, as I see the way Allie’s hurting, and it’s breaking me apart, just the same.
We turn again, listening to the conversation happening below us.
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Darius,” says the lawyer. “To keep your company afloat you need to start right from the beginning. The second your investors hear that your father is pulling out, they’re going to walk, too.”
“I’m well aware,” is all Darius says, staring out the big bay window.
The lawyer polishes off his drink and rises, placing the glass on the end table next to him. “What do you want me to do?”
A minute passes, and even I can feel the tension in that room.
Then Darius finally speaks again. “Draw up the documents to dissolve my business relationship with my father. I need to act first and hope this leaves me in a better light.”
The lawyer hesitates. “Are you sure this is the right move? Your father may change his mind.”
Darius turns away from the window, offering his hand. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Once they shake on it, Darius leads the lawyer to the front door and they say their goodbyes. I’m staring at Darius’s back, and even though I don’t know this guy, I read the exhaustion and the strain in his posture. And it all just really sucks. Because this guy is trying to do the right thing by being Allie’s guardian without ever having met her before, and the world seems to be punishing him instead of rewarding him.
Sometimes I just don’t get life. Why did Allie’s parents have to die? Why couldn’t she stay with me and my family? Why was there so much pain? Why did Darius’s father keep Darius from his mother? Why did that same father not tell his son about Allie so they could meet?
My head and heart hurt.
Darius shuts the door and locks it. “Don’t you know it’s rude to listen in on conversations that don’t concern you.”
I gasp. Allie does, too.
Even if Darius’s voice is tight, when he turns around he’s smiling. “You both need to work on your spying skills. They’re terrible.”
The world narrows on him and I feel my body flushing with heat. I can’t help but blush when he looks at me. I know it’s wrong to think he’s cute. He’s Allie’s half-brother. But this guy is really, really cute. Great body, too. But there’s even more to him. He’s not like the boys I know. He’s just so cool.
I smile at him, and he gives me a wink before striding away.
“I feel so bad for him,” says Allie, snapping my attention from her totally smokin’-hot brother and onto my terribly sad best friend. Tears are welling up in her eyes, her chin quivering. “He’s giving everything up for me, Taylor. Everything.”