Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Every bite is indulgent.
This is more than a typical Thanksgiving dinner. It’s proof of power, of control, of someone who refuses to do anything halfway.
Conversation is light, mostly carried by Svetlana and Julian, but I answer accordingly when addressed. The food is delicious and I’m surprised I’m able to savor it given how listless I’ve been feeling. I decline dessert because there’s no room and I don’t want to hang around until my stomach is empty enough to accommodate. More importantly, Julian is on a date and I don’t want to intrude any more.
Julian surprises me when he turns to Svetlana.
“Would you mind letting me talk to Grizz in private? I won’t be long.”
Svetlana smiles, inclining her head graciously. “Of course not”
Julian rises from the table and I follow suit. “Come,” he says. “Let’s talk.”
He leads me up a curved staircase to the next floor and into his office. A fire crackles low in a stone hearth, and it amazes me that it’s lit. I mean… how did he know he’d be working in here tonight? I’m assuming a staff person has it ready just in case the boss wants to step in here for a few minutes. Floor-to-ceiling French windows frame the city and the walls are paneled in dark walnut. A massive rectangular desk of honed black stone sits centered on a woven silk rug, paired with a single high-backed leather chair. Bookshelves heavy with leather-bound volumes and a few sculptural objects, but interestingly… no personal photographs. An office is usually where you’d have images of loved ones, but there’s nothing.
Julian moves to a wet bar built into the wall and pours whiskey into two cut-crystal tumblers and hands one to me.
“How’s your father?” he asks.
The question catches me off guard.
I stare at him. “You… know about that?”
He doesn’t blink. “I know my players.”
I take a breath, steadying myself. “He’s… better. My sister and I made some hard decisions recently.” I swallow. “He’s in care now. Real care. It took a lot of pressure off both of us.”
Julian nods once. “Sometimes the best result isn’t healing,” he says. “It’s peace.”
The fire pops. The room breathes. “For him, I guess, yeah, it is.” I glance toward the hallway. “She seems… good company,” I say. “Svetlana.”
Julian huffs a humorless laugh. “She’s pleasant. Intelligent. Beautiful.”
“All you can ask for,” I say.
“Loneliness doesn’t disappear just because you’re powerful,” he says, cutting me off. “It gets quieter, but you can fill it from time to time.” Julian sets his glass down on the desk, the sound deliberate. “Something’s bothering you,” he says.
I shake my head automatically. “I’m fine.”
He doesn’t react. Just watches me over the rim of his tumbler. “No,” he says evenly. “You’re not.”
I sip the whiskey I don’t need. The burn is welcome. “It’s been a long season.”
“That’s not it.” He pauses, then adds, “I know about you and Daisy.”
I stare at him. “You—”
“You’re my franchise player,” Julian says calmly. “And you two weren’t as discreet as you thought you were.” His gaze zeroes in on me even more so. “What happened?”
Heat crawls up my neck. Embarrassment. Exposure. “It didn’t work out.”
“That’s not an answer,” he replies.
I exhale through my nose. “I ended it.”
“Why?”
Because saying it out loud gives it teeth.
“Because I don’t trust myself,” I say finally. “Because I don’t want to ruin her.”
Julian studies me for a long beat, then leans back. “That fear sound familiar to you?”
I don’t answer.
“I loved someone once,” he says at last, voice lower now. “Truly. Completely.” His gaze drifts to the window. “And I lost her.”
I don’t move.
“You’ll be able to survive the choice to let Daisy go,” Julian continues. “You can build an empire. You can succeed beyond anything you imagined.” His voice hardens. “But you’ll carry the absence of her forever.”
I’m at a loss. I’ve never heard him speak like this.
“You don’t walk away from something extraordinary because of ghosts,” he says. “You don’t let the worst man in your life dictate the best thing that ever happened to you.”
I stare into the fire, the truth pressing in from every side. “What if I become him?” I ask. “What if I ruin her?”
“Then you deal with it,” Julian says. “You confront it. You get help. You take responsibility. But if you walk away now, your father still has power over you.”
A long silence stretches.
“There’s another thing you should know,” Julian adds.
I look up.
“Daisy gave her notice yesterday,” he says. “She’s leaving the organization.”
My breath leaves me all at once. “What?”
“She’s going home to Washington for Thanksgiving,” he continues. “Then she’s headed west.”
My pulse roars in my ears. “The job in Los Angeles?”
He nods once and all the puzzle pieces of my life slide into place, locking tight.
Daisy isn’t a possibility or an accident. She’s the one person who saw me clearly—and chose to walk away when I told her to.