16. Garrett
GARRETT
One hour earlier
M y feet feel like they’re made of lead as I exit the elevator and practically drag myself toward Dominik’s place. I’ve been nonstop moving ever since I got back from lunch with Paige.
Today had been going so perfectly, only for everything to come crashing down.
I’ve spent the past six hours jumping between calls with my lawyers and Leo trying to figure out how the hell this happened. News was spreading like wildfire and the office phones were ringing off the hook. I was juggling everything, taking calls from my team over at the arena and a couple of my real-estate investments up north asking what they should be doing.
All I had wanted to do was drag Paige upstairs, lock the doors, and turn off all electronics. To not let her leave my sight and to just have her tell me that everything is going to be okay.
But I didn’t have that luxury.
Not only did someone uncover and announce to the world that I’m a billionaire, they shared everything. Articles were dropping in by the hour about my companies and businesses that I invest in, some speculating if my money was rightfully earned and demanding to know where I came from. Countless stories about me were dropping every hour, some even about my relationship with Paige or my friendship with Dominik, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
“People are going to say whatever they want. There’s no controlling the rumors that fly when everyone trusts everything they read on the internet.” Leo had told me once it was just the two of us on the call. “It’s gonna be intense for a while. You’re fresh meat and no one was expecting it.”
I don’t think I would have gotten through today successfully without him or his father. They dropped everything to help me set up an interview with a trusted, reliable source to tackle everything head-on. They also helped put together statements for my companies to hold them over until then.
By the time we’d done all that we could, I knew there was still one more person I needed to talk to before seeing Paige.
I’ve never been nervous to see Dominik. With everything we’ve been through together, it’s always been easy to be around him.
This is different, though.
I don’t think he’s going to be angry at me for not telling him, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be hurt or disappointed. Which is almost kind of worse.
Stopping in front of his door, my knuckles barely make contact and the door swings open.
Dominik steps to the side, holding the door open with one hand, and motions for me to come in without saying anything. I slip past him and head straight for his kitchen.
Hearing him come up behind me, I turn to explain myself. “I’m sor?—”
The words catch in my throat as Dominik pulls me in for a hug. I freeze, my hands awkwardly hanging at my sides for a few seconds before my brain catches up with me. Relaxing, I pat his back and continue, “Sorry you found out like this.”
Dominik pulls away, holding me at arm’s length for a moment while he studies me.
“You okay, dude?” he asks and I shrug. I pull out one of the bar stools at his kitchen island and collapse.
“Honestly? I’m exhausted, confused, and really freaking hungry.”
He hums in acknowledgment and turns toward the cupboard behind him. When he comes back to the island, he drops a mix of protein bars, chips, and a chocolate bar. “This is all I got.”
“Dude, why the hell are you eating like a college freshman?” I laugh but reach for one of the protein bars.
“I’m not, just never over here. I meal-prep with Lilly at her place, so outside of beer and random snacks, I don’t keep food here.”
Nodding, I take a bite of the bar. After a couple more bites, Dom finally speaks up.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I sigh, setting my snack down and giving him my full attention.
“It’s gonna sound lame, but there was just never the right time.” I brace my elbows on the countertop and scrub a hand over my face. “At the beginning, I was always reminded how fickle investing could be and I didn’t want to jinx anything. Then things started really taking off and suddenly I was past the point of needing to worry. I got the idea for SweetHeart Publishing and it threw me into a whole new world. Everything was happening so fast, but I was finally ready to tell you.”
The vice grip on my heart returns and I pause, swallowing past the growing lump in my throat. “And then Sarah died…”
Dom closes his eyes, bracing himself on the counter behind him and nodding, so I continue.
“It felt wrong to tell you then. Everything I came up with sounded crappy. What was I supposed to do? Walk up after calling hours and say, hey, I know we just lost your sister, but I’m loaded!” I shake my head and scoff. “It all felt so…wrong. I had all this money and success, but none of that would change the fact that you lost your sister.”
“We.”
My brows knit together as I try to figure out what he means. Dominik pushes off the counter, standing straight across from me and holding my stare.
“ We lost our sister. They might have been my blood, but you’re just as much my family as they were.”
He reaches up to grab at the back of his neck. “I get it, though. But what about all the time since then? It’s been almost two years.”
“Listen, you throw me in a board meeting, I can run that shit without missing a beat. Buying a hockey team? Easy. But for the freaking life of me, every time I thought about telling you that I was a millionaire, and then a billionaire? Couldn’t figure out how.”
“I’m an idiot.” Dominik groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “SweetHeart Publishing and freaking Hearts Arena? It was literally staring me right in the face.”
Unable to help it, I laugh. “I mean, the writing was literally in giant lit up letters for you.”
“Does this mean that technically you’re my boss? Did you have anything to do with my contract?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“Nope. While I might have mentioned that you were about to be available, I leave those decisions to my team. I try to only step in on matters at the administration level.”
He nods and we fall into silence while I finish off the protein bar and open the bag of chips.
“Did anyone know?” Dom finally asks, turning to the fridge, and comes back with two cans of beer. He slides into the seat beside me and offers a drink to me.
“My friend Leo. He and his father have helped me through all this. Leo and I actually are partners in a few businesses.”
“I’m glad you had someone.”
I spend the next twenty minutes answering every possible question he can think of before he gets to the last one.
“When Sarah died, were you the anonymous donor who covered the whole cost?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. He hits my arm, shocking the hell out of me more than anything. “What was that for?”
“I’ve been walking around assuming it was that asshole who killed her that paid for everything out of guilt. Not someone who loved her just as much as I did.”
“Sorry.” I grimace. “In my defense, if you knew it was me, you would have either refused the help or asked where I got the money and then we circle back to the ‘no good time to tell you’ bit.”
“Fair,” he grumbles just as his phone goes off.
He pulls it out with a smile. “That’s probably…” Dom shoves from his seat, furiously typing out a response.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, following suit and ready to follow him in the next second.
“Lilly and Paige are at the bar downstairs… Apparently, a bunch of reporters just showed up.”
I’m moving before he even finishes talking, beelining for the door to get to Paige.