head. God, I missed them. Not as much as I missed the man I loved, though.
“How’s your mother?” I asked, forcing myself to stand tall in the face of his palpable resentment. I could literally feel it coming off of him in waves.
“Coping…we all are.”
I nodded, looked away for a beat. “Scott, I––”
“I was going to call you,” his gaze dipped down, “but, um, since you’re here––” Knowing he wanted to talk made my heart ache in relief. I was about to reach out and touch him when he spoke again. “I’m filing for divorce.”
My heart no longer ached because it ceased working altogether. I was on the verge of tears again. I could feel them coming up along with the bile in my throat.
Divorce. Divorce. Divorce. It went on and on in my head as a hollow echo.
“Can’t we just talk before you decide?” I begged. I had no pride left. This was it. Negotiating was my thing and I instinctually knew when the other party was ready to concede as well as I knew when they were getting ready to walk away from a deal. When they’d determined that the cost-to-benefit ratio had tipped in the wrong direction. Scott had the look of a man ready to cut his losses.
“What about? How you lied to me for months?” he calmly retorted. “You must’ve had a real good chuckle at my expense––”
“No,” I cut in. “No, I felt terrible––”
“––what I did to you pales in comparison. Were you waiting for the right moment to stick it to me? Was that the plan?”
“Your father insisted I not tell you!” I shouted, unable to control myself anymore. “I asked him over and over and he kept saying––soon. He said his doctors had given him twelve months. I’m sorry he’s not here to explain it himself. I’m sorry he did that to you, but I couldn’t betray his trust. Frank gave me everything, everything, Scott…I…I couldn’t do that to him.”
Heat infused his cheeks. Color high, eyes hard, he started to walk away, passing me by.
“Scott!”
“Get a lawyer,” he said turning, “and don’t get your hopes up. I’d rather burn it all to the ground than see you walk away with any of this.” Walking backwards, he raised his arms to indicate the office, the dogs jogging after him.
“I don’t want any of it…” I brushed away the tears running down my cheeks as I fought to keep my voice steady. This was my one and only chance, and I was going for broke. “I love you…all I want is you.”
He stopped short. His jaw pulsed, his eyes flashing with barely pent-up fury. “Really? You could’ve fooled me. Oh wait, you did––you did fool me.”
He turned then. Walked away. Never looked back.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sydney
I had nothing left. I was down and out, going through the motions of my life with no taste for it. All that remained was a shell of a person. For the first time ever, my work gave me no satisfaction, no pleasure. He’d taken that from me too.
Without invitation, my nemesis waltzed into my office the following day. He headed straight to the wall of windows that overlooked Fifth Avenue and took a seat in the armchair with his knees splayed apart like he owned the place. This was not new behavior for Hastings, and I bore it as I did every other time––with the patience of a saint who desperately wanted to roll her eyes but refrained.
“Something on your mind?” I said without taking my eyes off the spreadsheets on my computer screen. “I mean, besides being grossly disappointed that you weren’t named CEO.”
In the periphery of my vision, I watched his lips quiver. “From a lesser man, I would’ve taken that as an insult.”
That prodded a smile out of me. Chin tucked, my attention lazily moved over to him. Damon was handsome by anyone’s definition. He was black with light brown skin, sharp cheekbones, a strong chin, and piercing almond-shaped eyes that made you think twice about crossing him.
I just never warmed to him because he’d never warmed to me. Your basic case of one top dog recognizing the other. Frank fostered that kind of atmosphere, pitting employees against each other. He loved that shit. He was convinced it made everyone work better.
“I’ve never liked you, Evans,” he casually admitted, his New York accent barely discernible.
I snorted, on the verge of outright chuckling. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”
Glancing at his gold Rolex, he sighed. With his