ONE WEEK LATER
“This is about to be some bullshit,” I grumbled as Creed pulled up to the tall chrome building.
“Just hear the man out. Best case scenario, you’ll walk away with a win. Worst case scenario, you’ll walk away having been entertained,” Creed replied with a shrug and a smile.
“Yeah, whatever.” An attendant rushed to the car and pulled my door open. He held an umbrella up and smiled.
“Hello, Mr. Blackwood. Welcome to Lewis-Fox Communications Company.”
“Thank you,” I replied as he gave the umbrella to me.
A valet attendant took the keys from Creed, and Creed and I walked to the door. The way the rain poured down around us had me in a horrible mood.
“I hope this rain isn’t an indicator of the way this meeting’s about to go,” I grumbled as we headed for the elevators.
“It’s all about perspective, boss. You can look at it as a gloomy day, or you can look at the rain as peaceful, relaxing, and cleansing. This meeting may be a fresh start to putting some of the other stuff behind you.”
Creed shot a smile in my direction again as we stepped onto the elevator. I glared at him and shook my head.
“What?” he asked.
“I think I like pre-Dawn Creed better.”
He had recently met a girl named Dawn and fallen in love. The formerly brusque bodyguard had turned into someone who spouted affirmations and looked at the glass as half-full all the time.
We stepped off onto the sixteenth floor and were immediately greeted by a tall, cinnamon-brown woman with a trim figure, but big breasts. She had honey-colored eyes and long auburn hair.
“Hello, Mr. Blackwood. My name is Iris, and I will be escorting you and Mr. Evanston to your appointment today,” she greeted, smiling widely at Creed. He barely even noticed her. His eyes bounced all around the office, taking in the photos of celebrities that graced the walls.
We followed her down the hall, and the woman put an extra bounce in her step. I glanced at Creed, and he still wasn’t paying her attention. He truly only had eyes for Dawn. I prayed that she didn’t hurt him, but from what I had seen, she only had eyes for him as well.
I had a meeting with Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Lewis-Fox Communications Company and Camilla’s father, to discuss an acquisition of one of Mr. Lewis’s smaller companies.
Despite the fact that Camilla was estranged from her parents, I was still wary about the meeting. Had it come prior to meeting Camilla, I wouldn’t have been so hesitant. It was ironic that the request to make this merger happen only occurred after I had pushed her out of my life.
If she had run home to Daddy Dearest, she was in for a rude awakening, because I didn’t march to the beat of anyone’s goddamn drum.
I didn’t care how many companies and dollars Daddy Warbucks shoved in my direction.
That shit wouldn’t make me welcome her back into my life.
Once you betrayed me and lost my trust, it was too late to turn back.
We walked down a long hall with gray plush carpet, and damask silk, cream and gray wallpaper on the walls. The office spoke of old money, but that didn’t sway me either.
The moment that we stepped into the conference room that Iris showed us to, I saw my M&A attorney, Colton Webster.
“You have no idea how you just saved me from a panic attack.” I could tell by the redness in his face that he was serious about that comment.
“Why is that?” I asked, shaking his hand as I set my phone on the conference table.
“I didn’t think you would show up,” he replied.
“Would you gentlemen like anything to drink? Coffee, tea, whiskey, bourbon, water, or juice?” Iris asked, looking at the three of us.
“No. I’m just fine,” I replied. I noticed that Colton was already drinking coffee, and Creed mentioned that he would take some hot tea. I wanted to hear what Camilla’s dad had to say, and then I was ready to move on with my day.
Colton and I discussed the business that Mr. Lewis was proposing I take over.
It was a small rental property business that fell under his company.
They mostly used it for their PR arm of the company, to ensure that high-profile clients had temporary safehouses when a scandal broke out.
They also used it for traveling execs, and he wanted to offload that particular resource because it wasn’t bringing him money in.
He wasn’t sure how to leverage it in a way that would be profitable for his company.
I would come in to assess if it could be profitable for his company or better off sold to another corporation, including my own. Colton and I were looking over the numbers, and Creed stood quietly in one corner when the door opened.
I glanced up at the tall, cappuccino-colored man with hazel eyes and thick, gray hair.
Except for the eye color, he and Camilla looked just alike.
When he moved to the side, I noticed that he was not alone.
He had a female attorney with him, a brunette woman with raven-colored hair and a white streak down the side like a skunk.
Was this another signal that today’s meeting wouldn’t go well?
“Mr. Blackwood, glad you and your attorney could make it,” Mr. Lewis greeted, extending his hand across the table to shake mine.
“Thank you for having me. I’ve been looking through these projections that you have in this folder, and I think you’re on the right track.”
We sat down and commenced a discussion about the rental property business and what his options were. I was satisfied that his intentions were legitimate as it related to business, and Colton had just made a proposal.
Mr. Lewis’s attorney came back with a counteroffer after they had a whispered session.
“Mr. Lewis, I didn’t come here for a negotiation battle.
I think you’re mistaken about my presence here today.
I’m not in need of this service or your business.
In fact, you seem to need mine, and I almost might say that you desperately need my assistance.
This negotiation process would be a joke if—”
My comment trailed off as the door opened again, and she stepped inside. It was just like the first time that I saw her. I had trouble focusing. She took my breath away, and I wanted to be close to her. Except this time, I knew that she was dangerous, and there was only trouble in her presence.
My jaw clenched, and I pulled myself up to my full height of six-five. I could feel all the eyes in the room on me.
“Please don’t go,” Mr. Lewis stated, noticing that I had grabbed my phone and that Creed was moving in my direction.
“Did you lie to bring me here, Mr. Lewis? One thing I don’t play about is my money or my time.”
“No, I did not. I definitely want to offload the business as discussed, and I do believe that you could do a lot with it and turn it into a profitable venture. Camilla’s presence here is a side note, if you will,” the older man explained.
“A side note? There are no fucking side notes in business. This isn’t some college paper, Mr. Lewis.”
“Please, take a seat and hear what we have to say.” Mr. Lewis’s tone was pleading, and looking at the way the two of them sat side by side, it was hard to believe that they had been estranged.
Maybe that was a lie too. It was all just a lie so that she could get me to let my guard down and trap me into telling her my story.
“If it’s not business-related, we have nothing to discuss,” I argued.
“When it comes down to it, it’s all related to business—yours and hers,” Mr. Lewis stated.
I slowly took my seat, but anger fired through my veins.
I couldn’t look at Camilla, and I damn sure didn’t want to see the sorrow or the tears pooling in her big eyes.
My heart couldn’t take the damage that I did to her when I looked at her face.
Not being in her presence was much easier, because I could pretend that the way she felt didn’t impact me—that I didn’t care.
“Mr. Blackwood, like you, I’m a businessman, but first and foremost I’m a father.
My greatest investment and my most important assets are my daughters and their hearts.
I haven’t always put that into perspective, nor have I always put them first. Don’t get me wrong, they were always important, but I thought I was doing what was best for them.
It wasn’t until it was almost too late that I realized the grave mistake I made.
“Jumping to conclusions and taking people for granted in any circumstance can result in disappointing outcomes. I understand that people like us have to be carefully guarded because people are always taking advantage of us and trying to leverage their knowledge of us to further their gain. My daughter knew better than to do that, but it seems that she did the same thing. I realize that it came from her pursuit of trying to understand me as her father. You shouldn’t have been the victim of that, and for that I apologize to you and her for failing to be what she needed. ”
He turned away from me and faced Camilla and nodded at her.
Her gaze was on me. I could feel it in the way she devoured me, as though she had been hungry to be in my presence, to touch me, to see me, and to be seen and touched by me. Although I didn’t look at her directly, I sensed it. The reason I knew that was that was exactly how I felt.
“Jabari, my father may have apologized, but I don’t place the blame anywhere.
Not at his feet or Mike Sullivan’s. My actions were my own, and I never should have used you for a story.
At the beginning, I was focused on doing whatever it took to get your story to elevate my magazine and leverage an opportunity for expansion.
I was wrong, and I apologize. I will not apologize for continuing to pursue you, because the more we got to know each other, the more I cared for you as a person—for your heart.
It didn’t matter to me what you did for a living, where you came from, or what your name was.
The only thing that mattered was who you are and the condition of your heart.
I love you, Jabari, and that has nothing to do with a story.
I’ve lost everything, but that pales in comparison to losing you.
I want you, Jabari, not some story or expansion of my company, just you. ”
She set her phone in the middle of the table and pressed something on the screen. I stood. “If you all are done now, I have another meeting to attend—one that’s actually lucrative and not a joke.”
Colton lightly grabbed my wrist, and I scowled down at him, baring my teeth.
He gave a brief nod and then turned his gaze back to Camilla.
I was prepared to walk out anyway despite Colton’s plea when I heard Mike Sullivan’s voice coming from Camilla’s phone.
I listened to the entire recording, and I was growing angrier by the moment, but my heart was softening toward her.
When the recording ended, she pushed the bank records of the small investments Mike Sullivan had made.
She hadn’t touched a dime. I looked everything over and then pushed it all away.
“I need some time,” I declared as I stood and left the conference room.