“When I joined the company a few years ago, it led to some clashes. My father wanted me to be his successor, but he wouldn’t let me make any changes.” His expression turns frustrated. “We fought a lot. We’d reached a tentative peace when he died.” His mouth twists in a wry smile. “My mother is the controlling shareholder. She didn’t make me the CEO. Arthur Scott, our General Counsel, took over on an interim basis, and when she married Tomas, she put him in charge.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” I ask, even though I already know. Julian told me what motivated Damien the day we had lunch. That was only a week ago. It feels like so much longer. I remember his exact words. Underneath that flippant, devil-may-care exterior, he has a very strong sense of duty.
“I can’t,” he says flatly. “We have thousands of employees. Tomas can’t handle the job. I cannot walk away.” He stares into his glass as if the wine has answers for him. “Last month, I had a health scare.”
Alarm jolts up my spine. It must show on my face because Damien squeezes my hand reassuringly. “It was nothing, just some random chest pains. I wouldn’t have paid attention to it, except we have a family history of heart disease. My doctor tested the crap out of me, and nothing showed up. He figured it was probably stress and told me to take some time off.”
I bought the lake house the year after my father died. None of us saw it coming. One day he was alive and well; the next day, he’d been felled by a massive heart attack.
I’m taking a break. It was either sailing around the world or sitting on my ass by the lake. I chose the lazier option.
“That’s why you’re here,” I whisper. You think that in the process of becoming an adult, I would have learned not to jump to conclusions, but alas, no.
“Don’t look so alarmed, Sophia. There’s nothing wrong with me.” He flashes me a blinding smile, but I’m too worried about his health to fall for the charm. If he’s supposed to be taking it easy, what the hell is he doing working around the clock? “Anyway, with Tomas’ support, I made some organizational changes today. My mother probably wants to chew me out.”
On cue, his phone rings again. Damien makes a face. “If I don't pick up, she's going to keep calling. And then she'll start worrying herself sick.”
“Worrying?”
“My father didn't answer his phone. When she went to check on him, she found his body.”
Oh God, that's awful.
He picks up the phone. “Hello, Mama.”
I expect him to excuse himself and take the call privately, but he doesn't. “I can’t talk now,” he continues. “I'm having dinner with my girlfriend.”
And then he hangs up.
My heart almost leaps out of my chest. I gape at him. “Girlfriend?”
He holds himself still. “Did I jump the gun?” he asks. “We haven't had a conversation about it, I know, but there it is. My intentions, out in the open. I really like you, and I want to keep seeing you. I want this to be a relationship, Sophia.”
“And so do I,” Julian says.
Joy explodes inside my chest. They want to be with me. The universe has offered me a second chance, a miracle I don’t deserve. “I want that too.”
Tell them you want a baby. Tell them you’ve been exploring the idea of a sperm donor.
“Listen, there’s something I need to tell—”
The doorbell rings, a loud clanging that makes us all jump.