unsuccessfully rung twenty times in the last two days. That was Jake, calm and professional, even in the storm of hostile takeovers. Nothing fazed the man.
Normally, Dominic appreciated his even temper, but today it grated. Maybe the forty or so hours without sleep were beginning to catch up with him. He fought an impulse to toss his phone over the metal railing. The world wasn’t the orderly, rational place Jake liked to organize it into. It was messy. It was ugly. And, most recently, it lacked justice.
“How is Boston?”
The inane question almost sent Dominic over the edge. “How do you think?”
It was probably too much to hope that Jake’s uncharacteristic silence signaled an end to a conversation Dominic wished he had avoided.
“We need to discuss the China contract. The Minister of Commerce is expecting to meet with you tomorrow to cement the details. This is your dream, Dominic. By next week, Corisi Enterprises will be a major global player. What do you want me to tell the Minister?”
“I don’t know,” Dominic said wearily.
Jake made a sound somewhere between a choke and a cough, then was speechless – a revealing response for a man who handled irate international diplomats without missing a step. He was the fixer and navigated the unexpected with ease. Until now.
Poor Jake. Nothing in their shared history had prepared either of them for Dominic’s sudden desire to withdraw from the world. The creators of financial empires didn’t take sudden vacations and they most certainly didn’t hide, especially not after having laid the groundwork for the single greatest business venture of the century. Bill Gates himself had called last week to discuss the ramifications of the negotiations.
“Jake, I need to drop off the radar for about a week. Why don’t you take over the China contract?”
“O-o-o-k.” Jake said awkwardly. In another situation, Jake’s loss of composure would have been amusing.
“Can you handle it or not?” Dominic challenged. He could barely think past the throbbing of his headache.
Maybe coming to Boston was a mistake. It had been here, at seventeen, that he’d walked away from his inheritance and waited tables to fund the search for his mother. Here, in this very brownstone, that he’d cultivated a hatred for a father who had denied both involvement and interest in the disappearance of his wife.
Jake’s voice slammed Dominic back into the present. “No problem. I’ve followed the progress you’ve made with the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency. They’re eager. I’ll clear my schedule and cover yours. Duhamel will forward all of your calls to me until further notice.”
“Good.”
“Dom-” Jake hesitated. “It’s normal to need time to grieve. You just lost your father.”
A harsh laugh escaped Dominic. “Trust me; I’m not grieving his loss.” He leaned a hip on the metal railing and looked up at the building he had instinctively returned to, searching for the man he’d once been and hoping to find something there that would shake off the immobilizing apathy he felt for all he had done since; high expectations for brick and antique wallpaper.
Jake said, “That’s what worries me. No matter what your plans were or what he once did to you, he’s gone now. You’ve got to let it go.”
Jake was asking the impossible. Of course the past mattered. Sometimes it was the only thing that did. “Just do your job, Jake. If you can’t handle it, tell me and I’ll promote Priestly to help you.”
For the second time since they had met at Harvard, Jake lost his temper. “That’s bullshit, Dom. You want to send Priestly to China? Send him. You’re absolutely right -- you’ve made me a very rich man. I don’t need this. But heed my warning; you won’t be a billionaire for long if we both step away from the helm. A lot is riding on this contract. The lawsuits alone will freeze your assets if you screw this up. You invested too much of your own and you’re playing with the big boys now. Governments are not very forgiving when it comes to last minute walk outs.”
The speech should have shaken Dominic, but it barely breached the numbness that had settled in since he’d received the phone call from his father’s lawyer. What did all the money matter anyway? He’d wasted fifteen years amassing an empire that would allow him to throw down a forced buyout contract on his father’s enormous mahogany desk. Dominic should have taken action years ago, but no level of prior success had felt like enough. He’d choreographed the