Chapter Eight
Damien
I step out of the elevator and walk toward my penthouse office.
Through the windows lining one side of the hallway from floor to ceiling, the city lights are dazzling, but they don't compare to the stars I saw on the cruise. And they sure as hell don't compare to the sparkle in Zoe 's eyes.
I can't stop thinking about her hazel eyes, the cute parade of freckles across her nose, or her long, curly brown hair. The feel of her petite, curvy body against mine is burned into my memory, and I can only hope I’ll dream of her when I finally drift off to sleep.
She's like a breath of fresh air in my stale life, but now I have to snap back to reality. Because the cruise is over, and so is the brief interlude of happiness that I felt with Zoe. Whether or not she'll call or text me or not remains to be seen, but that doesn't matter so much as the fact that I'm back here at work.
Any warmth she elicited within me is gone. My mind is locked on my one and only goal: elevate my company at any cost. And right now, that cost is endless work and a cold mentality that allows me to do what needs to be done to get there.
I will stop at nothing to make Black Industries the best company in this city.
“It's so good to have you back.” Felicity seems to appear out of nowhere in front of a side door, and she falls into step beside me as we walk toward my office.
I don't so much as glance at the tall blonde. Her looks often come in handy when I'm navigating tricky deals and negotiations, but she’s not my type. I'm well aware that the tall bombshell of a blonde is almost literally everyone's type. But she just doesn't move anything within me.
“It's good to be back.” Some part of me tugs, as if I wish that I'm still on vacation, but it’s an insignificant part and I tamp those thoughts down.
I reach my office door and swipe my key card, well aware of what awaits me on the other side. Still, I take a moment to prepare myself for what’s coming.
The door slides open and I see Cameron behind my desk, swiveling in my office chair like a Machiavellian villain. Even his smile seems overexaggerated and doesn't quite meet his eyes.
“What's he doing here?” I can feel Felicity’s surprise, and she quickly bolts down the hallway, no doubt on her way to call for security. That's fine; it gives Cameron and I a moment alone.
With slow, sure steps, I make my way toward the desk as he stands. His gaze never leaves my face. “Welcome back, Damien,” he says, but his voice is anything but welcoming. I can hear his disappointment that I didn't fall overboard or simply never return. “How was your vacation? Did you have fun?”
I continue my slow walk, making my way around the desk, but flanking him from a distance in case he decides to lunge at me. I wouldn't put anything past Cameron; he's ruthless, cunning, dangerous, and positively, undeniably, certifiably dumb. But the problem with stupidity is that it's often unpredictable. I won't make the mistake of letting my guard down or underestimating what he's capable of.
He raises his eyebrows and ducks his head. “What? Nothing to say?” He says the words in an almost beseeching tone, as if he's hoping that I'll beg him to reveal his no doubt, poorly-constructed plan. The poor fool has no idea I've already thwarted his best efforts.
“I have work to do,” I say with a dismissive wave of my hand.
“You don't even want to know why I'm here?” The disappointment in his voice is almost enough to put a smile on my face, but I manage to hold back.
“Not really, no.” I continue to make my way to my chair, watching him edge his way around the desk like a gazelle trying to outsmart a stalking lion. By the time I reach my desk chair, he's closer to the door, staring at me with disbelief.
“One day, that cocky attitude is going to cost you everything.” I can hear the smugness in his voice, and it makes me all the happier to know that I've already ruined his plans.
“I won’t hold my breath.” I settle into my desk chair, ignoring him, and disable the mirror profile on my desktop so I can access the real computer without triggering his keylogger.
He's watching me type with an almost sick glee in a moment where I see him glance down at his phone. I see his expression drop as he realizes something's clearly gone wrong with this program because he's not tracking my keystrokes.
I continue working without so much as glancing at him.
“You may have won this round, but you won't win the war,” he says.
I continue to ignore him, pulling up my email and responding to the folder I’d set aside as non-urgent.
Cameron doesn't seem happy with my response and walks toward my deck, rapping on the metal with his knuckles. “You know, you should have stayed on that cruise.”
“Oh, you're still here,” I say without looking up at him.
“You should have stayed gone, because while you were on that ship I made some moves that will change everything. Moves that will make this company mine. And when I get it, I'll run it right. I'll run it in a way that you couldn't.”
“Um-hmm,” I say, still focused on the emails I need to send.
“You know, your luck is going to run out eventually. You'll see.” The door behind him opens and two security guards walk in with Felicity on their heels. “You'll see soon enough. Your days are numbered.”
The security guards walk over, and Cameron grabs the lapels of his jacket, yanking them taut as if that’ll spare him from the humiliation of being dragged out of my office.
“That sounds like a threat,” Maxwell, one of my security guards, says as he grabs Cameron’s arm.
They continue to focus on my computer as the security guards guide Cameron out of my office and Felicity’s stare stays locked on me.
Everyone but she and I are gone. She walks toward my desk, dragging the tip of her index and middle fingers along the edge of the metal before bending forward to speak with me in a low voice. “You didn't seem surprised that he was here.”
I don't so much as meet her stare. “Have you ever known me to be surprised, Felicity?” I ask in a bored tone as I continue working my way through emails.
“No, but I've also never known Cameron to just show up in your office.” She stands up and seats herself on the edge of the desk, her smart black pencil skirt seams straining with the motion. “If you know something I don’t, now would be the time to share with me.”
She seems to have forgotten that I don't answer to her or anyone else.
“I'd never tell, but I'd hate for someone on the board of directors to find out that potentially proprietary information was leaked from your office.” Her words warn me that she has some idea what Cameron is planning, even if she doesn't know the details for sure.
“I guess I'll face that bridge when - or if - I come to it.” Ever since my father's death at this very company, I haven't trusted anyone here with my secrets. I have no way of knowing who was on his side and even new hires since he’s been gone don’t feel safe. If I don't watch my back every second of every day, I might wind up the same way he did - six feet under after an accidental death that looked anything but.
It kills me that someone got away with murder, but it's worse knowing that the person who lost their life was my dad.
Maybe he wasn't the best person, but he certainly didn't deserve to die without justice.
And I don’t deserve to live without him because someone extinguished his life prematurely.
“Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm happy to be an ear.” Even though her statement seems final, I sense she's not done having this conversation. She stands up and I watch her smooth her hands down her skirt, which has ridden up her thighs. But she doesn't pull the material back down.
“I appreciate the offer.” Not that I'd ever actually take her up on it. The one person that I want to talk to, I have to wait on to call me. I close my eyes and see her hazel eyes, her pretty, hesitant smile, the way her face lights up when I show her the most basic human decency. Zoe.
I open my eyes and hit send on the final e-mail I need to reply to today. As I open a profit margin report, I’m very aware of Felicity's presence as she moves around my office. She stands near the window, arms crossed, watching the city move far below like tiny ants rushing to and from the colony.
“Have you ever wanted more from your life?” she asks, turning to face me as she leans against a metal support pillar. “More than just work, I mean.”
Up until very recently, I wanted nothing more than just this: sitting behind the desk, controlling my company, and making profits.
“You never told me how your vacation went.” She makes her way back over to my desk, her gaze roaming my office as if she’s never seen it before.
“It was a distraction.” I mean the words, and I have no desire to tell her anything personal about how things went or that I've met someone. I learned a long time ago that the less someone knows about you, the less they have to use against you. And I don’t trust her or anyone else at this company. Hell, I don’t trust anyone.
Except maybe Zoe.
She's the one person in my life that I can be fairly certain had no ulterior motive behind anything she did. Maybe she was attracted to me and that's the reason we started talking, but I sensed that she was completely willing to let me walk away. If I hadn't given her my number, she would have walked out of my life for good.
Hell, she might still be out of my life for good. The ball is in her court. If she doesn't call or text or look me up, then nothing between us will continue.
I'm not sure why that thought aches, but it does.
“I see you’re very talkative, as always. I hope you had a chance to decompress on your trip.” She lets out a husky laugh that would no doubt drive most men mad with desire.
“It seems like everything ran well in my absence,” I say, sitting back in my chair.
She shoots me a surprised glance. “Perhaps because you're excellent at micromanaging, even when you're not physically here?” Though the words sound like an insult, I sense they're not meant as such.
I steeple my fingers together, plant my elbows on my desk, and study my computer past my fingertips. “Perhaps.” The memory of seeing Cameron on the security cameras, so certain he’d thwarted me, brings a slight smile to my lips. He was so sure he'd won. The silly fool hasn't realized we've both lost.
“Now that your vacation of the decade is over, what do you plan to do next?” Felicity asks, her tone curious.
“Business as usual,” I say, lowering my hands and opening up a report.
But as I work, I can’t stop thinking about her .
I wonder if she misses me.
I wonder if she’s thinking about me.
I wonder if she’s rescuing her pitiful ex right this moment.
And I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.