deep in his chest.
“We know you’re honest,” Perry continued. “We’re counting on that. I’m not aware of what your past with my client entails, but I’m confident you’ll discover a very changed man from the one you knew back then.”
“Will you excuse me?” Vivi shot to her feet suddenly. Halfway to the door she seemed to remember herself, correcting her posture until her shoulders were high and her steps paced.
What she hadn’t curbed was the flushed appearance of her cheeks or the fists she clenched at either side as she walked out of the room.
Duke stifled a curse. He wanted nothing more than to watch her every move as she strode down the hall, but a protective part of him sensed she didn’t want to be watched.
He looked down at the table instead, a fresh ache tearing through him as he considered the way he and Viv broke up. The hurt he’d caused. The stupid stupid stupid choice he’d made that ruined everything. And ironically, the part Sylvia Sampson—the very woman Grandma mentioned—had played in the whole thing.
Awkward tension pressed at him from every angle of the room. Even as he kept his gaze on the table, Duke sensed the questioning looks darting across the room.
“You heard her,” he said. “She doesn’t want to do it. Let’s go.”
“I don’t think she’s made a final decision,” said Ms. Shay. “Why don’t we give her a day to consider? Let’s draw up the details of the interview, and we can find a replacement if necessary. My daughter Daisy would be a great alternative, but I won’t contact her just yet. How about we see what Vivia decides first and I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow?”
Duke glanced at Perry in time to catch his pleading, puppy dog look.
He didn’t have it in him to argue. Especially since doing the interview would earn him some time with Vivi. Time he desperately wanted.
But she wouldn’t agree to it, would she? He’d probably be the one person she turned down in her whole career. He couldn’t exactly wait around to be rejected in front of the group.
“Duke?” Perry urged.
“Fine,” he said, scooting his chair back and coming to a stand. “You go ahead and work out the details, send them to me once it’s time to sign. I’ve, uh…got to get going.”
He gave the fashion designer a polite nod, then did the same with Ms. Shay as he moved toward the door. Duke wasn’t sure where he was headed. He didn’t want to go home, but he didn’t feel like company.
Sure, he had time to swing by the country club and hit a bucket of balls, but even that didn’t appeal to him. May as well head back to the office instead and check off the list of details he had waiting for him.
Vivi Tripoli.
It didn’t matter that he’d be running from one place to the next in the hours ahead, she would take up the lion’s share of his headspace for who-knew-how-long?
He could hardly believe that well-known journalist Veritå was the feisty Italian who’d captured his heart in his college freshmen year.
She was, in the very least, the first woman he ever loved. And if he were being honest, she was probably the only one he’d loved too. Of all the ladies he’d met and dated since then, of all the attraction he’d felt toward several of those ladies, nothing came close to what he’d felt for Vivi.
Duke had worried over the years that nothing ever would. Not that he could do anything about it. He’d earned every bit of disdain she torched for him, and boy did he regret it.
Perhaps if she did agree to interview him, he’d get something he’d been wanting for the last ten years—something he wanted even more than redemption on a broad and public scale—a second chance with Vivi.
Viv stared at her reflection as a blend of shock and anger pushed through her body. Never had she accepted a job without first learning the subject’s name. So why this time—the one time she’d done such a thing—did Duke Benton have to come striding into the room?
She spun in place and folded her arms. At one side of the restroom was a sitting area with posh lounge chairs, fresh flowers, and a stack of Slipper magazines.
At the other side of the vanities were three bathroom stalls with floor to ceiling doors. Viv hurried over to the closest one, ducked inside, and leaned her back against the door once it