Chapter 15 Enzo
Enzo
Remy has been living with us for one week, and she’s driving me insane in ways that have nothing to do with attraction.
However, that is definitely part of it. But the irritation mainly stems from the fact that she keeps to herself and maintains professional boundaries.
It’s like she’s a guest instead of someone we want in our lives permanently.
But we all agreed to go at her pace, and after Ansel told us about what happened between them, we are following her lead.
The security protocols we set up for her are strict. She doesn’t leave without one of us accompanying her, and we have armed security on standby. The whole office got new badges, new access codes, and cameras monitor every entrance and exit.
And still, we have nothing on Stanley Trent. No location, no sightings, no digital footprint. The man’s a ghost.
I’m heading to Remy’s office to check on her when I hear voices. Raised voices.
I stop outside her door, hand on the handle, when I recognize Damon’s tone.
The security team materializes at the end of the hallway.
I wave them off. Whatever’s happening in there, I’ll handle it.
But I don’t enter right away. I forgot that Damon was returning to work today, and I want to listen to what transpires before I intervene.
Maybe this conversation will give me the information I need to forgive him or fire him.
“—not asking for much, Remy. Just a chance to explain—”
“Explain what?” Remy’s response is sharp. “How you lied to your best friends about me? How you tried to blackmail me into quitting? Or maybe you want to explain why you’re in my office when I know you are supposed to stay away from me?”
“I love you.” Damon’s declaration stops me cold. “I’ve always loved you. I fucked up, Remy. I know I did. But I can fix this. We can fix this.”
Remy laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “You love me? That’s fascinating. Tell me more about how you show love. Was it the cheating? The lies? The professional sabotage? I’m dying to know which part was the romance.”
Damon’s tone shifts to something pleading. “I didn’t mean any of it. You know I didn’t.”
“Do I?” Remy’s voice goes cold. “Let’s review, shall we? Am I a gold-digger?”
“No.” His voice is smaller now.
“Did I use you for your connections?”
“No.”
“Did I stalk you after we broke up?”
“No.” Each of Damon’s answers sounds weaker than the last.
“Did you cheat on me multiple times while we were dating?”
His silence stretches too long. “Yes, but none of those girls meant anything.”
“Did I make up lies to get sympathy from your friends?”
I hear him exhale. “No. I made that up. All of it.”
My hand clenches into a fist against the door. Everything Damon told us was a lie.
Remy continues. “And even if I had feelings for you anymore, which I don’t, how do you expect me to forgive you when I walked in on you fucking another woman in our bed?”
White-hot anger replaces the shock.
She caught him fucking someone in their bed? That’s fucked up.
He lied about the entire relationship to make himself look like the victim. How the fuck do you cheat on someone like Remy Ray? She’s… perfect.
“I regret being unfaithful to you.” Damon’s response is rushed. “It was a lapse in judgment. I was scared of how much I loved you. How serious things were getting…”
“Do you hear yourself?” Remy cuts him off.
“You fucked other women because you were scared of how much you loved me? Now who’s playing the victim, Damon?
Don’t make excuses. You cheated. You destroyed what we had.
And then you spent months trying to destroy my reputation, because you couldn’t handle that I left you. ”
“I know. I know I did. But I’m different now. I’ve changed. Remy, please forgive me.”
For one horrible second, I feel sorry for him. He sounds like a kid who’s lost everything.
Footsteps. Movement. Remy’s voice goes sharp with warning. “Back away, Damon.”
“Just listen to me!”
“Back. Away.”
More movement. The sound of something falling and hitting the floor.
“You don’t understand what you do to me.” Damon’s words are coming faster now. “How much I need you. We were good together, Remy. We can be good again. Just give me another chance. Please. I’ll do anything!”
That’s it. Any pity I had for him evaporates. I shove open the door.
Damon has Remy backed against her desk, hands on either side of her, caging her in. She’s pressed as far back as she can go, one hand braced against his chest, trying to create distance.
Damon’s head whips toward me. “Enzo. This isn’t what you think.”
I cross the room in three strides, grab him by the collar, and haul him away from her. He stumbles, catching himself against the couch.
My fist is already cocked back. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“We were just talking!”
“You cornered her.” I advance on him. “She told you to back off.”
Remy moves away from the desk, putting more distance between herself and Damon. “Enzo, don’t worry. I’ve handled worse than an ex with a grudge and zero self-awareness.” She straightens her blouse. “Though I appreciate the dramatic entrance. Very superhero. But really, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine.” I don’t take my eyes off Damon. “You’re fired. Effective immediately.”
Damon’s face goes white. “You can’t fire me!”
“I just did.” I pull out my phone with my free hand, still keeping Damon in my line of sight. “You put your hands on an employee after she told you to back off. That’s grounds for immediate termination.”
“Enzo, come on. You’re my best friend. We’ve been friends since we were eighteen!”
“You lied.” The words come out in a growl. “About everything. You cheated and blamed her. Blackmailed her. Threatened her. And now this.” I take another step toward him, and he backs up.
“What the fuck happened to you, Damon?”
He doesn’t respond.
“You made yourself the villain in this story. Not her.” I gesture toward Remy without looking away from him. “Not us. You.”
Damon’s hands curl into fists. “You’re throwing our friendship away for some woman you’ve known for three months?”
“Her name is Remy.” My response is flat. “And yeah, I am. Because in three months, she’s shown more integrity and loyalty than you have in thirteen years.”
“Fuck you, Enzo.”
My fist connects with his jaw before I fully register moving. The impact sends him staggering backward into the bookshelf. Books cascade onto the floor.
Damon touches his split lip, blood on his fingers. “You hit me.”
“Consider yourself lucky that’s all I did.” I flex my hand, knuckles already starting to swell.
“She’s got you all fooled, doesn’t she?” Damon wipes blood from his mouth.
“And all three of you, fighting over her. You know what’s going to happen?
She’s going to choose one of you, and the other two are going to be left with nothing.
Or maybe, she will choose none of you. She’s going to tear you apart. ”
“Get. Out.” If he doesn’t leave, I can’t be responsible for what happens next.
“You’re making a mistake!”
I pull out my phone and dial security. “I need someone in Remy’s office immediately. We have a trespasser who needs to be escorted from the building.”
Damon’s eyes widen. “A trespasser?”
“You’ve been fired, and you’ve been asked to leave.
That makes you a trespasser.” I log in to the security system on my phone, entering my access codes.
“Security will escort you out. You have fifteen minutes to clean out your desk under supervision. A courier will collect any company property you have at home. Your access codes and badges are already deactivated.”
Two security guards appear in the doorway.
“Gentlemen, please escort Mr. Sage from the building. He’s terminated, effective immediately.”
The security guards move forward. Damon shrugs them off.
“I’ll walk myself out.” He stops at the door, looking back at me. “You’re going to regret this.”
I scowl. “No, Damon, I won’t.”
After he leaves, the silence in Remy’s office is deafening.
I turn to face her. She’s still standing by her desk, arms wrapped around herself. Her face is pale, but her expression is carefully controlled.
I cross to her. “Are you okay?”
She moves away, putting the desk between us. “Thank you for intervening, but I could have handled it.”
“He had you cornered.”
“I know.” She sits in her chair, pulling up files on her computer as if nothing had happened. “I’ve handled Damon before. I can do it again.”
I lean against her desk. “You shouldn’t have to.”
Her fingers freeze on the keyboard. “I assume you heard everything.”
“Yes.” I wait until she looks at me. “And you never defended yourself. You never told us the truth.”
“Would you have believed me?” Her question is quiet. “Three months ago, when you barely knew me?”
She’s right, and we both know it.
“Come on.” I straighten. “We’re leaving.”
“Enzo, no, I have work to do.”
“It can wait.” I’m already moving toward the door. “You need to clear your head. And I need to drive before I hunt Damon down and finish what I started.”
She studies me for a long moment, then nods. “Okay.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re in my Range Rover, heading out of the city with no destination.
Remy stares out the window.
I put my hand on her knee. “Talk to me.”
“About what?”
“About what really happened with Damon. All of it.”
She’s quiet long enough that I think she won’t answer.
Then she starts talking. “We were together for eighteen months. At first, it was good. He was charming and attentive. He made me feel special.” She traces a pattern on the window with her finger.
“But slowly, things changed. He became controlling. He questioned where I was and who I was with. He got angry when I worked late or went out with friends.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter but don’t interrupt.
“I told myself it was because he cared. That he was just protective. But it got worse. He started criticizing my work, my clothes, and my friends. He made me feel like I was never good enough.”