18. Damian
CHAPTER 18
DAMIAN
I bring flowers to the gallery. Not roses. Nothing dramatic. Sunflowers. I know it’s the kind of bouquet that says “I see you” instead of “I’m sorry” or “forgive me.”
She answers the door in paint-streaked leggings and a sweatshirt with the collar stretched wide from wear. Her hair’s twisted into a knot on top of her head. She looks effortlessly beautiful.
“Hi,” I say.
She blinks then smiles. “Hey.”
I hold up the flowers. “Peace offering. Or… continuation offering.”
She laughs under her breath. “You didn’t mess anything up. Yet,” she teases, stepping aside to let me in.
The air smells like linseed oil and fresh citrus. Her canvas stands half-finished in the corner—brilliant and chaotic, like she poured something painful into it just to get it out of her.
Not an hour later, we’re eating on the couch, takeout from the Thai place she loves. She leans into me when she laughs, her leg pressed against mine, and for a little while I let myself breathe and allow myself to believe that we’re going to be okay.
But the messages don’t stop.
My phone buzzes again and again. I try to silence it when she isn’t paying attention and do my best to keep my face relaxed.
“You can check it,” she says gently. “It might be important.”
“It can wait.”
“Can it? You didn’t even check.”
I glance at her, and she’s not angry. Just aware .
I sigh and rub the back of my neck. “There’s pressure right now. A lot of it.”
“Vincent.”
“Not him actually. Veridian Holdings. They’re circling like a shark.”
Her brow furrows. “They’re pretty big, aren’t they?”
“And always looking to get bigger.” I nod. “They’re strategic and calculated. They’re not emotional at all which makes them harder to outmaneuver. They want the structure, not the name.”
“Not the name…”
“Not my name,” I confirm. “They want to erase me.”
“What can you do about that?”
I run a hand through my hair. “There are nights I can barely sleep. Days I’m walking through walls trying to hold the seams together, and I know it’s not fair to bring that into this?—”
She touches my arm. “You’re allowed to bring your life into this. I know how hard you work and how many hours you put into it. I just don’t want to be the afterthought again. That’s all.”
The words gut me.
I turn to her, my voice rough. “You’re not. You never were.”
She leans back, folding one leg beneath her.
I hang my head. She could argue with me, and she would be positively right.
“Then let me in,” she insists. “Don’t lie to me by pretending you’re fine when I can see the pressure in your shoulders and the way you haven’t touched your food.”
I look down at my plate. I hadn’t even realized that I mostly shoved my food around instead of eating it.
I take a breath, my throat tight. “I’m trying, but I’m not used to this. I’m still trying to balance work and you, and now this… It’s not like Vincent and now Veridian Holdings is the first time someone’s come after me. I’ve managed before, but there have been stumbles along the way, and if things were rocky, I would always fall alone.”
“I can’t help with your business, but I’m here, for whatever it’s worth.”
“It’s worth everything.”
She smiles again, but her eyes are said. “What else?”
“What else?” I parrot. “Now… Now, I’m scared of falling and dragging you with me.”
She’s quiet for a beat. Then she says, “Maybe you don’t have to fall. Maybe you just have to let someone catch part of the weight.”
I don’t even know how, but just like that, the tension softens.
She’s not asking me to be perfect. She’s asking me to trust her, and even though there’s nothing she can do for my business, just knowing she might remain with me despite all of this helps.
I take her hand in mine, and I feel like I can breathe despite the Veridian Holdings threat.
* * *
The city hums outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, but inside the conference room, everything is still except for Naomi Bellerose.
She paces slowly in front of the projection screen, her heels silent on polished tile, her tablet tucked beneath one arm. She’s dressed in charcoal and silk, her dark hair twisted into a sleek knot that gives away nothing, not even movement.
She’s been in my orbit for less than a week, but she already acts like she’s lived here.
“Veridian Holdings doesn’t make mistakes,” she says, her voice smooth and measured. “They test and measure, and then they absorb. The Nexon acquisition wasn’t about data. It was a pressure test. They wanted to see how you would react.”
I lean back in my chair, arms folded. “And what do they think they’ve seen?”
Naomi offers me a cool smile. “That you’re reactive. That you’re stretched thin. That your board is too diversified and your infrastructure too siloed to pivot quickly.”
Clara shifts beside me, but I don’t look at her. I keep my eyes on Naomi.
“And your suggestion?” I ask.
“Centralize communications,” she says immediately. “Create an internal response task force. Reassign some of your mid-level execs publicly. Make noise. Look cohesive even if you’re not.” Her tablet lights up, and she taps a few times, casting a new slide onto the screen. “Our job isn’t to reassure the market,” she continues. “It’s to rattle Veridian Holdings. Make them second-guess whether the fight is worth it.”
I watch her for a long moment.
She’s smart and sharp. A little too polished, maybe, but she knows the landscape, and right now, I need every weapon I can get.
“Run with it,” I say.
Her smile widens just slightly. “Pleasure,” she says, and slides her tablet back under her arm. “I’ll start pulling names by morning.”
She leaves the room like she’s gliding.
Clara waits until the door closes before speaking. “She’s certainly effective.”
“Agreed. You wouldn’t have done anything differently, would you have?”
“No. I wouldn’t have even thought about reassigning mid-level executives. It could help, though.”
“We need every edge we can find.”
She nods. “Let me know what to do.”
“I will.”