Chapter 7
It might have taken her three hours to do it, but Viv felt very satisfied with herself. She’d sought out Duke and initiated the first face-to-face discussion in her interview process.
Moments earlier, Tiff brought out leather bound menus with soup, salad, and sandwich items. Viv had been pleasantly surprised by the options, grateful she didn’t need a translator app to settle on a dish.
After placing their orders—Viv a toasted Italian sandwich; Duke a Philly cheesesteak—Tiff collected their menus.
“How’s your oldest boy?” Duke asked the woman before she could walk away. “Wasn’t Craig applying for colleges last we talked?”
Tiff’s face beamed. “He got accepted to both of his top choices,” she announced. “Now he’s just got to pick one of them.”
“Ah, that’s great.” Even Duke’s face beamed with pride. “He’s a good kid, so I know he’ll make the right choice.” He brought a cupped hand up to his mouth. Viv assumed he had to cough or sneeze, but instead, he blurted one single word into his closed fist. “Stanford.”
Tiff chuckled. “I’ll tell him your vote. It’s the same as mine since it would keep him closer.” And then she was off, heading back toward the hall with a spring in her step.
Duke was two for two so far where his staff was concerned.
Kind, respectful, even personable. One might argue that most people were, but Viv knew better.
She’d seen the typical relationship between the wealthy and the service workers they employed.
Most weren’t rude, per se, but the boundaries were set.
Curt nods and short thank yous—either was recognition enough for a job well done.
Venturing into personal conversation about life and home—that was, in her observation, rare.
“So,” Viv said. “How long has Tiff worked for you?”
Duke tipped his head to one side as he considered. “My dad hired her originally as the family’s personal chef about twelve years ago, I think. When he died, we kept her on the payroll for business or leisure trips. Eventually, I brought her on as my personal chef at home.”
Viv rested her phone on the table and opened her recording app. “This is to ensure I don’t misquote you.”
Duke gave the device the same look of unease all of her subjects did before giving her a nod.
Viv reached for the pen and notepad she’d rested on the seat beside her and made a few notes. “Who would you say has influenced you the most, and why?”
“My grandfather. He had a heart for helping people. A trait he passed right on to my father. They used to say, ‘There’s no sense in making a lot of money if you can’t give a lot too.’”
“That’s unique for a business mogul,” Viv said, warmed by their generous nature. “Let’s talk about your siblings. What was it like to be raised in a large family?”
“I loved it,” he said easily. “I still do. We all get along well for the most part. Whether it’s a long vacation out of the country or a short trip to the family cabin, we just…have a great time together.”
“You’re a family guy,” she said, liking the fact more than she expected.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“What about being a twin? How has that impacted you?” Sure, she was using her past knowledge of him to guide the question, but she wondered if he’d share what he had back then. Something she’d often considered where her own twins were concerned.
“Being a twin is cool too. We get along. It has its perks, for sure. Having your best buddy with you all the time. But it has its challenges too.”
She glanced up at him, a vision of Dante and Diego coming to mind. “You once told me that, as a twin, you often got placed in a box—with a certain label, that is— and that it could be hard to climb out.”
Duke lifted a brow as he held her gaze. “You remember that?”
“I have reason to.” A spark of unease flickered in her chest as she considered telling him about the twins.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I guess you do.”
The quiet moment stretched on—his gaze fixed on her—as Duke seemed to seek out that locked box in her heart.
As she held his gaze in return, the uneasy feeling gave way to something pleasant. Something familiar. A sense of longing that had her wanting to hand over the key.
She welcomed the stirs of warmth and desire. It’d been a long time since someone had tapped into them.
The job, Viv. Focus.
The inner voice was enough to snap her out of her musings and drop her gaze. With the pen in her grip, she drew an arrow pointing toward the twin comment.
“I’m going to ask you more about that one later.
What do you consider to be your biggest regret?
” She made a few scribbles on the notebook’s edge as she waited for his reply.
Yes, she recorded her conversations, but she liked taking notes too.
It helped her remember which parts she wanted to focus on or perhaps dig into later.
But as the pause in his reply dragged out, Viv glanced up at him.
Duke’s brow was tensed, his face brooding, and those eyes fixed on her in a way that said she already knew the answer.
“Are you sure you want to document it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if losing you is my greatest regret, would you publish that fact?”
Heat pooled around her heart once more, stronger now. The truth was, Viv had known that she was Duke’s biggest regret a year after the breakup. He’d told her, and she’d believed it. At that point, she was dealing with a major regret of her own.
Still, she hadn’t guessed that ten years later his answer would be the same.
“Dinner is served,” Tiff said as she entered. “Italian combo on sourdough for you,” she said, sliding a platter toward Viv. “And your Diet Coke.”
Viv was first to break their gaze and glance down at the food.
“Your favorite, Duke,” Tiff added as she slid his plate before him. “With a spiked seltzer. And here’s your extra deli mustard,” she said to Viv with a wink. “I love this stuff too.” She took a step back from the table. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
Again, Viv was struck by the informal manner between Duke and Tiff. It was refreshing, to say the least.
“Not for me, thank you. Viv?” he asked. “You good?”
“Nothing more for me. This looks delicious. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s um…go ahead and eat,” she suggested. "We can pick back up on these questions later.” She tapped the pause button on the recording.
“Vivi,” Duke said, voice low, even, and thick with unspoken words.
Viv lifted her gaze, reluctantly as it might be, to meet his. Her heart skittered out of beat as she recognized that repentant expression.
“Losing you…” He searched her face before fixing his blue eyes back on hers. “It is still my greatest regret.”
She wasn’t sure how many beats her heart skipped that time. Viv gulped, dropped her gaze, and tried to sift through the comment. Her initial reaction came from the needy girl within. The one that wanted to be wanted, especially by the man who’d hurt her so many years ago.
But that wasn’t the only voice. A different one spoke up too. One of frustration, irritation, anger. The same voice that reminded her of his comment about the single mom. He wouldn’t want who she was now. He wanted who she was then. And it was too late for that.
“Why?” Viv blurted.
Duke’s eyes widened. He tilted his head to one side. “Why what?”
Yep, it was anger all right. A lot of it. “What makes you regret it even to this day? It’s not like you know me anymore. You didn’t even know I was Verit?.” Her mind zeroed in on his wry comment. “You have no idea how I changed after seeing such an ugly side to your society,” she said pointedly.
“My society?”
Viv considered that. “Well, the other side of you.”
“That’s not fair, Viv.” He stopped there, seeming to cut his words short and turned his gaze out the window. The sight of blue sky and puffy clouds reminded Viv that they were, in fact, in an aircraft, not some posh country club in LA.
“Maybe it is fair,” he said under his breath.
Viv turned her gaze back on him, surprised.
Duke’s brow tensed up as he met her eye once more. “I won’t deny that I made a stupid choice. I did. But everything I told you about that decision was true. I was never ashamed to be seen with you. I was just…focused on proving myself and…”
He glanced down at the table where he rubbed a thumb along the edge. He shrugged. “If I’d have known that I was choosing that dumb award over you, I would never have done it.”
“You thought you could have both,” Viv said. “That I’d just see past it like it was no big deal?”
“Of course,” he admitted. “No one outside of my own family had stood up to me like that. I should have known you were different though.”
She couldn’t help but get stuck on the way Duke said he’d chosen the award—not Sylvia—over her. It gave her a great deal of satisfaction.
Duke picked up his glass, took a sip, then set it back down with his eyes locked on her. “I learned from that. I really did. And as much as I wish I could undo it, I’m better for it. I hope you’ll be able to see that for yourself.”
Sincerity. Viv had learned to spot it, and that’s just what she saw on Duke’s handsome face.
An inner voice pleaded with her to put him at ease. To give him just enough to smooth the crease from his brow. A nod. A half-smile.
Instead, she settled on the truth. “I’m a single mother, Duke. I have two boys.”
The shock on his face was as priceless as it was painful. Eyes wide, almost amused, Duke shook his head.
“You do?” A smile spread over his lips. “But you are single,” he said, leveling a serious look at her.
“Yes.” Somehow, despite the wild rush of adrenaline coursing through her limbs at the unplanned confession, Viv felt a grin sneaking onto her lips as well.
“Two?” He put emphasis on the word. “How old?”
“Eight. Both of them. Well,” she added with a shrug. “Almost nine.”
“Twins?” The way his face lit up reminded Viv of the old days. His genuine interest and delight at topics they’d discuss into the late night hours.
She nodded as the grin won out. “Identical.”