46. Dominic
46
Dominic
M y heart fucking stops when her double-texts appear on my screen.
I got your voice memo... willing to meet... tomorrow at 12:15pm... sorry you were hurt during the break-in... you okay?
She’s concerned about me. Even after everything I did, she’s asking if I’m okay. The twist of guilt in my gut is swift and brutal.
I reply immediately: I’ll be there. And yes, just a graze. I’m fine. Thank you for asking. And thank you for agreeing to hear me out.
I set my phone down on my desk, my hands shaking slightly. She’s giving me a chance. Forty-five minutes in a public café. It’s more than I deserve, and I’m not going to waste a single second of it.
I call Arthur Sterling.
“I need that proposal we discussed ready by noon tomorrow,” I tell him. “The full partnership offer.”
“It’s nearly finished,” Arthur says. “I’ll have a final draft to you by 9 AM.”
“Make sure it’s airtight,” I tell him.
“Understood, Mr. Rossi. And, sir?”
My brow furrows. “Yes?”
“Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?”
I smile wanly. “More certain than I’ve been about any billion-dollar deal I’ve ever signed.”
“Very well, sir,” he replies, then disconnects.
I buzz Eleanor. “Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day. And I’ll need the morning clear tomorrow as well.”
There’s too much to do before I see Tatiana, and none of it involves sitting in boardrooms pretending to care about profit margins.
First, I call Garcia into my office to formalize his new role overseeing the Costa Rica project.
“I meant what I said in the meeting,” I tell him as he takes a seat. “Full autonomy. Your vision, your execution. You report to me only for major directional shifts.”
Garcia studies me skeptically. “Why the sudden change, sir? You’ve never been one to delegate control of your projects.”
“Because I’ve realized my way isn’t always better,” I admit. “My need for control has cost me... more than you can imagine.”
He nods slowly. “I appreciate the opportunity. And the trust.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” I say, but there’s no real threat in my voice.
After he leaves, I do something I’ve been putting off. I call Nico.
“Well, if it isn’t my big brother,” he answers. “Calling to check if I’m nursing my wounds after our little scuffle?”
“I’m calling to follow up on what we discussed,” I say firmly. “The therapy options.”
“Jesus, Dom, you really were serious about that shit?”
“Dead serious. I have names of three top trauma specialists in the city. All discreet, all exceptional.”
Nico is silent for a moment. “And what if I tell you to fuck off?”
“Then you tell me to fuck off. But the offer stands. And will continue to stand.”
“And this isn’t tied to money or some other bullshit condition?”
“No conditions,” I tell him. “This is just me, trying to be a better brother. Take it or don’t.”
“I’ll... think about it.”
It’s not a yes, but it’s not the immediate rejection I expected either. I’ll take it.
“Text me if you want the names,” I say. “No pressure.”
“Yeah, whatever. How’s your side?”
Despite everything, the question takes me by surprise. “Healing. Hurts less each day.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want you dying before I get the chance to beat your ass again.”
I laugh, hearing the ghost of the brother I knew before everything went to shit. “You got lucky.”
“Bullshit. I was going easy on you.”
After we hang up, I sit with the strange feeling in my chest. It’s not resolution. Not yet. But it’s a start.
I spend the rest of the day and most of the morning finalizing everything for my meeting with Tatiana. The partnership proposal arrives from Arthur, and it’s exactly what I wanted. Fair, generous, but not excessive.
When 11:30 AM arrives, I’m already in the car with Ric behind the wheel. Jake is seated beside me today, while the rest of my security team is in the follow car behind us.
“I need the team to be practically invisible today,” I tell him. “She values her independence. I won’t compromise that again.”
“Understood, sir. We’ll maintain maximum distance while ensuring adequate coverage.”
“And Jake,” I add, “thank you. For everything these past few weeks.”
He meets my eyes briefly, surprise evident in his usually impassive face. “Just doing my job, sir.”
“You’ve gone above and beyond. I notice it, and I appreciate it.”
We arrive at the Neue Galerie museum thirty minutes early. I position myself at a quiet corner table in Café Sabarsky, the elegant Viennese café on the first floor. The museum crowd is thin on a Tuesday, just a handful of art lovers wandering through the collection of Austrian and German art upstairs.
I check my watch approximately four hundred times before I finally see her walk through the door.
Fuck. She’s beautiful. Professional in a tailored navy dress that hugs her curves, her blond hair pulled back in that precise low ponytail she favors. Her brown eyes scan the café, and when our eyes meet, my heart hammers against my ribs.
She hesitates for just a moment before walking toward me, her posture perfect, her expression carefully neutral.
I stand as she approaches.
“Thank you for coming,” I say, resisting the urge to pull her into a hug. She wouldn’t appreciate the gesture right now.
She sits across from me, placing her purse beside her on the banquette. “You’re early.”
“I didn’t want to risk being late.”
A server approaches, and Tatiana orders a coffee. I ask for the same, though I’m already wired on caffeine and adrenaline.
When the server leaves, Tatiana looks at me directly, her gaze falling to the small cut on my lip.
“How are you really?” she asks. “After the break-in?”
“The stitches in my side itch like hell,” I admit. “But otherwise I’m fine. Nothing serious.”
“And this?” She gestures to my lip.
“That’s from a different fight. With Nico.”
Her eyebrows raise slightly. “You weren’t kidding about it getting physical...”
“No. We broke a glass coffee table, a couple of vases, and a picture frame.”
The ghost of a smile flickers across her face. “And then what?”
“Then we got drunk on forty-three-year-old wine and sang old Italian songs for the rest of the afternoon.” I shake my head at the memory. “It wasn’t a resolution, but it was... something. A reset, maybe.”
The server returns with our coffees, and I wait until she’s gone before continuing.
“I meant what I said in my message, Tatiana. I confronted him. Really confronted him. Told him he wasn’t getting anything from me. Least of all you . That I wouldn’t let guilt control me anymore.”
She takes a sip of her coffee, watching me carefully. While she’s drinking, I notice that her left hand is bare. No wedding ring.
Of course there’s no wedding ring. Why would there be one? We’re mid-annulment, for Christ’s sake.
Yet the absence of that band hits me with unexpected force, like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Funny how a tiny missing circle of metal can feel more significant than the million-dollar deals I sign daily without blinking. I rub my own ring... just like I couldn’t bring myself to sign the annulment, I couldn’t take off the ring.
“Dom?” she asks.
I blink, my mind coming back to the present moment. I realize she’d just asked me a question... “Sorry, what was that?”
“I said, how did that feel?” she replies. “Telling all of that to your brother...”
“Terrifying,” I admit. “But necessary. Long overdue.”
She nods slowly. “I see you’ve been making other changes too. The article about Rossi Developments was... surprising.”
“Good surprising or bad surprising?”
“Just surprising. I never thought I’d see the day when Dominic Rossi voluntarily gave up control of anything.”
“Neither did I,” I say quietly. “But I’ve realized that control is an illusion. One that’s cost me dearly.”
Our eyes meet, and for a moment, neither of us speaks. Then I reach down and retrieve the slim portfolio I brought with me.
“I have something for you,” I say, sliding it across the table. “It’s not what you think.”
She eyes it warily. “What is it?”
“A business proposal. A legitimate one.”
Her eyebrows raise as she opens it, scanning the first page. “Dominic, what is this?”
“Funding for your own independent consulting company,” I explain. “With a significant contract to oversee community engagement and sustainability verification for Serenity Shores.”
She looks up sharply. “My own company?”
“Yes. You’ve proven your capabilities beyond doubt, Tatiana. The way you handled the supplier crisis, your insights on the project... you’re exceptional. This recognizes that fact.”
She flips through the documents, her expression unreadable. “And what’s the catch?”
“There is no catch,” I say firmly. “This offer stands regardless of what happens between us personally. It’s not conditional on anything. It’s yours if you want it, period.”
I hope she sees it for what it is. That I’m acknowledging her true value without trying to buy her forgiveness.
She studies me for a long moment. “Why are you doing this?”
I take a deep breath. This is it. The moment of truth.
“Because I believe in you. Because you’ve more than earned it. And because I want to prove that I see you. The real you. Not just as my temporary wife or as an asset, but as the brilliant, capable woman you are.”
I lean forward slightly, holding her gaze. “I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, Tatiana. What I did was unforgivable. But I needed you to know that I’m trying to change. Really change. Not just in words, but in actions.”
My voice drops lower, and I fight to keep it steady. “I also needed you to know that I love you. Not because of some contract or arrangement, but because of who you are. Your strength. Your intelligence. Your resilience.”
She starts blinking rapidly, and I continue before I lose my nerve.
“I know what it means to face physical danger for you, Tatiana. Even when you weren’t there, I fought because I thought I was protecting you. But at that dinner with Nico, I failed to protect you from me, from my past. That’s the real protection you deserve. That’s the promise I’m making now. To be the man who protects all of you, always, especially from the ghosts I carry.”
I pause, watching her face carefully for any reaction. She’s stopped blinking, but otherwise, I’m not getting anything from her. She always was good at throwing up her poker face at a moment’s notice.
Like me, I suppose.
“I understand you were left at the altar before. That trust is something earned, not demanded. I know I’ve shattered any trust you might have had in me. But if you give me a chance, Tatiana, just a chance, I’ll spend every day earning back that trust.”
I sit back slightly, consciously giving her space. “I don’t expect an answer right now. I know you have another meeting soon. I just needed you to hear this face to face. To know how deeply sorry I am, and how much I love you.”
The silence between us stretches, full of everything unsaid. Her brown eyes are unreadable, her beautiful face still as she processes my words.
Whatever happens next, whatever she decides, I’ve laid my heart bare. For the first time in my life, I’ve been truly honest about my feelings without hiding behind control or manipulation. Or walls.
And as terrifying as it is, it also feels like freedom.
Yes, I’m free now.
Free.
No matter what happens.
God, I love her.