by C. C. Gibbs
Dominic made a face.
And for a second he looked like an unruly child, Kate thought.
But a second later, the protective armour he wore for the world was back in place. ‘Thanks for the advice,’ he said neutrally. ‘But moral fanatics are a pain.’
‘Hobbs comes with deep pockets. Max’s words.’
Dominic shrugged. ‘I still don’t know if it’s worth it. What’s he talking?’
‘A billion. That might be worth a little discretion.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ Dominic said in a tone of voice that meant he wouldn’t. ‘A billion’s not going to break the bank. Max is too conservative.’
‘You know he prefers spending other people’s money rather than yours.’
‘But I don’t. Not if too many strings are attached.’
‘That’s your decision, of course,’ she coolly said.
Dominic smiled. ‘Thank you, Helen. It’s good to know I still have a vote.’
Mrs Langdon’s little sniff reminded Kate of Nana.
‘Max also said he might be back before the conference is over,’ she said with composure. ‘It depends how long the meeting lasts at the naval ministry.’
‘That’s fine. I don’t need him. And I don’t need you, so go on home. I’ll see you in the morning. And I like your purple nails,’ Dominic said with a flicker of a smile. ‘They’re rockin’.’
Kate watched the eyes behind the owlish glasses light up with pleasure.
‘I thought it was a nice contrast to my yellow daisies.’
‘You’ve got the eye, Helen. It’s perfect. Now get the hell out of here. Mike likes it when you’re home in time for a drink before dinner.’
‘Don’t forget about Hobbs.’ Like any mother, she was undeterred by his resistance.
‘I’ll give him a break the first three times he annoys me. How about that?’
Helen shook her head. ‘How you manage to make a living is beyond me.’ But she was smiling as she took her handbag out of the desk drawer.
Dominic ushered Kate into his office, showed her the spectacular view of the Thames then waved her to a green leather Chesterfield sofa. ‘Make yourself comfortable. Helen ordered some food for you.’
‘Is she a relative?’ Kate asked, sitting down. ‘You don’t defer to many people.’
He smiled. ‘Only you, baby.’
‘And Helen apparently. So?’
‘She’s not a relative, but she’s worked here a long time. If you think I defer to her, I must.’ Another polite smile and he moved towards his desk. ‘Now if you eat the good stuff, there are truffles for dessert.’
‘You’re not going to answer me?’
‘I thought I did.’ He turned to face her fully. ‘I’m not good with feelings, baby. You know that. I like Helen. Maybe that’s all it is.’
‘OK, if that’s all I’m going to get.’ Swinging her legs up on the sofa, she leaned back against the armrest.
He softly sighed. ‘I really wish I could help you out, baby. But I just have an empty space where normal people store their files on feelings.’ He grinned. ‘I blame my parents for that defect like I blame them for my other ten million fuck-ups. Now eat something and you can have the truffles.’
Jettisoning the therapy session because she wasn’t competent in that area and as usual he was avoiding the conversation, she smiled back. ‘What if I want to eat the truffles first? You’re not the boss of me, you know.’
He laughed. ‘That’s always debatable, isn’t it, baby? But this time,’ he tapped the box on his desk, ‘you’ll have to get by me to eat these first.’
‘I might be able to do that,’ she said, softly, beginning to unbutton her suit jacket.
He swept the box off the desk top, slid it in a drawer and locked it. ‘And maybe you won’t.’
She stopped unbuttoning, stuck her bottom lip out. ‘Just so you know – you’re being cruel to the mother of your child.’
‘But good to our baby.’ Dropping into his desk chair, Dominic unbuttoned his suit jacket, loosened his tie and collar button. ‘And I’ll be really nice to you as soon as we get home. So be a good mommy, eat the Caprese salad at least. You like them. Then I’ll unlock my drawer.’
‘You’re an appalling tyrant,’ she muttered.
He smiled. ‘Do it and you’ll get a reward. Two of them – the truffles, then me in the kind of tyrannical mood you like.’
She gave him an almost smile, part wicked, mostly sweet. ‘You do know how to deal, Mr Knight.’
‘I do, Miss Hart. Although you’re super easy. Sex and chocolate.’ His blue-eyed gaze was amused. ‘You take that deal every time.’ He pointed at the tray on the table beside the sofa. ‘One Caprese salad, one box of truffles and as soon as I wind up this pain-in-the-ass conference call, home to bed where we both get a prize. You first and often, of course. OK?’
‘That’s one impossible-to-refuse proposition,’ she said with a smile, his words tripping through her mental garden of sexual delights. ‘Particularly the first and often part.’
His voice dropped in volume and he leaned forward slightly, his blue gaze intense, magnetic. ‘You like that clause? I could put it in all our deals.’
‘Jesus, Dominic …’ She shut her eyes, felt the deep resonance of his voice slide through her body, melt, hot and needy deep inside her, ignite all her libidinous urges.
He glanced at the clock, wondering if he had time, saw he didn’t, flicked on the TV instead, found a noisy game show and waited for Kate to open her eyes.
When she did, she said, a tad sullenly, ‘Don’t you ever just lose it?’
‘With you? Constantly. I just about passed on this conference call.’
‘But you didn’t.’
He held her gaze. ‘Do you want me to?’
‘Yes, of course I do – no don’t,’ she quickly said as he reached for his phone.
He looked up. Sat back in his chair. ‘Your call, baby. And I never do shit like this for anyone but you, so when it comes to losing it,’ he smiled, ‘you’re my one-person mutiny, turning my life ass-backwards.’ His smiled widened. ‘I mean in the nicest ass-backwards way.’
‘Oh jeez …’ She took a deep breath, shut down the childish bitch who wanted her own way this second, exhaled and spoke in her mature adult tone of voice. ‘An hour, right, and then we can go home?’
‘Less. I’ll make it less.’
‘Thank you.’ The childish bitch was really minding her manners. ‘And I should eat something good for the baby, shouldn’t I?’
‘I’d be very grateful.’
‘How grateful?’
He laughed. ‘Until you can’t stand it grateful.’
‘Am I too demanding?’ Her smile was playful, the twinkle in her eyes teasing. ‘Just asking ’cause I could try and be better.’
He grinned. ‘So far I’ve managed to keep up.’
‘You are so unbelievably, totally loveable,’ she purred. ‘And I know I’m the only woman who’s ever said that to you.’
‘Absolutely, baby. The very first.’ The first that mattered.
‘OK, then. I promise to behave.’
‘Only for a limited time, baby. After that we’ll play as long as you want.’
So Kate dutifully ate the salad, Dominic carried over the small box of truffles, said, ‘You’re the best mommy,’ set it in her lap, kissed her on the forehead, returned to his desk and started powering up the bank of TV screens.
‘In case you do join the business, baby, you might like to listen to this call. We’re putting together a new project near Thunder Bay.’
She looked up from selecting a truffle and stared at him. ‘Canada? That Thunder Bay?’
‘Yup. We’ve leased a six-mile strike of palladium. The mine should be operating in three, four years.’
‘You know how close that is to Nana.’
He kept punching buttons on a console. ‘I do.’
‘Was that a factor in your decision?’
> He looked up and smiled. ‘It was the factor, baby. The other leases were in Russia. Three minutes and counting. Now two of the investors are decent, no bullshit guys who know it takes time to make money with a project like this. One, the Hobbs Helen mentioned, is a righteous prick who I may or may not decide to toss. The last investor is an engineer with two other palladium mines.’
‘Why is he interested if he already has two?’
‘Same as me. It’s a good deal. And Anton and I get along. We’ve known each other for a while.’
‘He’s not in the righteous prick category then.’
‘No.’
There was something in his voice. ‘He’s a partner in your vices.’
‘Was. Don’t hold it against him. He’s smart and cool-headed. Both useful in some of the places we do business. Now, feel free to speak up if you wish. Would you like to be introduced?’
‘God no.’ She put up her hand. ‘I’ll just watch.’
Dominic was pleased she was interested. He thought she would be, but then Katherine could be unpredictable. ‘Just a word of warning. If Hobbs pisses me off, I’m going to cut him loose. I might be blunt so don’t be shocked.’
‘I’m pretty hard to shock.’
He smiled. ‘One of your many charming qualities.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Another minute. And I’d really like you to learn deal making, baby,’ he said, softly.
‘I know. I’ll pay attention.’
Christ, he felt as though Aladdin’s genie had granted him all his three wishes, then thrown in the lamp and the cave filled with jewels as a bonus. ‘Thanks, Katherine,’ he said, holding her gaze. ‘I mean it.’ Then he hit a few buttons and four screens came on air. ‘Good afternoon, gentlemen.’ And Dominic morphed into the carefully calibrated, pleasantly official, cool, discerning CEO. ‘Is everyone ready to talk money?’
Kate watched, fascinated, as Dominic smoothly laid out the project, the short- and long-term goals, the difficulty of dealing with some countries, those categorized in terms of complexity.
The two older men clearly had worked with Dominic before. They trusted him, their investment, found the time frame for profitability realistic, gave their approval after their questions were answered. Anton spoke with a South African accent, was blond and broad shouldered, handsome in a rugged, weathered way; an experienced mining engineer, his only question had to do with whether he could stand the cold winters in Canada.
‘All I want is your money, Anton,’ Dominic said, mildly. ‘Otherwise keep your ass in Paris.’
‘Speaking of ass. I saw Danielle—’
‘My fiancée’s here,’ Dominic quickly warned.
‘Sorry, mate.’ Then Anton whistled. ‘Fuck! Did I hear that right? Fiancée?’
‘You heard it right,’ Dominic said in clipped accents. ‘Now about the licensing permits.’
‘Holy shit! I don’t believe it. You gotta be kidding!’
‘I’m rolling my eyes, here, Anton, in case you’re not paying attention,’ Dominic said. ‘Do you have any questions about mining?’
Anton laughed. ‘Christ, don’t give me a line like that. It’s too fucking tempting.’
‘Must we have this continuous vulgarity?’ the pudgy-faced Mr Hobbs snapped.
‘It’s a couple of swear words, Hobbs. Get a life,’ Anton drawled.
‘I have a perfectly fine life,’ Hobbs retorted, peevish and glowering.
‘No you don’t. You have an incredibly dull life. When’s the last time you had a really fine piece of ass? Although,’ Anton said with cocky grin, ‘maybe you can’t get it up anymore. You know what they say about men who wear bow ties.’
Dominic sighed. ‘Jesus, Anton, how the hell drunk are you?’
‘Do I have to be drunk to know Hobbs might as well kill himself now because his life isn’t going to get any better?’
The two older men chuckled; Hobbs turned purple with rage.
‘I won’t invest a penny if he’s a partner,’ Hobbs emphatically asserted, bristling with fury.
‘Relax, Hobbs,’ Dominic said. ‘Anton’s been drinking. When it comes to mining he knows what he’s doing.’
‘There are other mining engineers. Sober ones. Ones who don’t feel the need to constantly use vulgarity.’
‘Everyone swears, Hobbs.’ Dominic spoke with quiet restraint. ‘Don’t make a big deal.’
‘I beg your pardon,’ Hobbs hotly protested. ‘Medard insulted me! It’s your decision, Knight. He goes or I go!’
‘I’m sorry you feel that way, Hobbs. Maybe next time.’ Dominic clicked off his screen. ‘Happy now, Anton? Can we get back to business?’
‘Goddamn right, mate. So when’s the wedding?’
‘Shut the fuck up. I want to go home. Let’s get this over with.’
The discussion turned to the purchase of mining equipment, the construction of the road and rail line into the wilderness area, the procurement process for licences. Once the licences were processed they agreed to meet onsite. After that, the next conference call was scheduled, then everyone signed off.
‘You have the majority share,’ Kate said into the quiet of the office as the TV screens went black. ‘Is that typical?’
‘Necessary.’ Dominic smiled. ‘No surprise – I need control. I only bring in partners on large projects like this. Setting up a mine takes years. Normally, I’m sole proprietor of any company I buy. That way I don’t have to deal with people like Hobbs.’
‘You were never going to keep him were you?’ Kate asked.
Dominic shrugged. ‘Probably not. I don’t like him. Max tolerates assholes better than I.’
‘He seemed like a—’
‘Asshole?’
‘I was going to say a prissy old lady.’
‘No, that’s his wife,’ Dominic countered, shutting down his computer.
‘You’re kidding. He has a wife?’
‘Baby, you still don’t get it. He has money. He could have several wives if he wanted.’
‘Really, several wives?’ she said, with dangerous emphasis.
‘Relax, baby. It was a general statement. You’re about all I can handle.’ He smiled. ‘Speaking of handling—’ he abruptly stopped, his gaze trained on the doorway. ‘Get out,’ Dominic said, his eyes slits, his voice cold as ice. ‘I have nothing to say to you.’
‘She’s a nice little handful,’ the well-dressed man in the doorway said, a familiar resonance to his voice as he stared at Kate. ‘Small. You don’t like them small, but I’m guessing that virginal beauty along with those big tits made you change your mind. She’s a live-in, I hear.’
Before the visitor had finished speaking, Dominic was on his feet and half-way to the door. ‘Ignore him, Katherine,’ he said, very softly as he passed the sofa. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
As Dominic shoved the man out the door, Katherine heard the man say, ‘She must be a really good fuck. You’ve never done live-ins before.’
There was no question in her mind who had brought Dominic to his feet like a shot. Even though the resemblance was minimal: different colour hair, inches shorter, features only vaguely alike. While the older man’s slight air of neglect, the excess weight, the face coarsened by age and drink only broadened the disparity between father and son.
Gramp’s cousin Wally had been an alcoholic with that same wastrel look. But Gramps had always said, ‘Wally’s not a mean drunk.’ She suspected Dominic’s father was.
Dominic hustled his father through the anteroom and into the corridor, his grip on the elder Knight’s arm brutal. ‘You’re such a prick,’ Dominic muttered, so pissed at his comments about Katherine that he was seriously thinking of beating his father. ‘I thought you were in L.A.’
‘Keeping track of me?’ Charles Knight was too arrogant to know fear. Or perhaps he still considered his son the seven-year-old he’d left behind. Or maybe the liquor gave him courage.
‘I try.’ His father had to have flown in last night, the reason clear.
‘Too fucking bad,’ Dominic said through his teeth.
Whether he hadn’t heard Dominic or didn’t care, Charles spoke a little louder. ‘I have contacts in … the Canadian parliament. Good ones. Greedy men.’
‘Jesus, have you lost your fucking mind? You think I forgot what you tried to do to me with NASA?’
‘It wasn’t personal. It was just business.’
‘It was fucking personal to me. You tried to bankrupt me.’
‘That was years ago.’ Knight senior was breathing hard. ‘Get over it. I’m your father.’
‘No you’re not.’ They’d reached the top of the stairs. ‘I should toss you over the railing. No one would give a shit,’ Dominic growled, taking the stairs two at a time, pulling Charles after him like a rag doll. ‘Including your latest wife.’
‘What the fuck – do you know – about marriage,’ his father gasped, trying to catch his breath. ‘You never had a real one.’
‘Listen up, motherfucker,’ Dominic said, curtly, reaching the bottom of the stairs, swiftly striding towards the outside doors, his fingers like vices on his father’s arm. ‘If you dare contact any of my investors I’ll tell your new wife about your little girlfriend you set up in that apartment in Malibu. Nikki might want that Mercedes Coupe you gave to what’s her name, Tanya. And if that’s not enough of a deterrent, I’ll have someone break your knees. Don’t think I fucking won’t.’ He shoved the door open and swept through it. Dragging his panting father down the outside stairs, Dominic shoved him towards his waiting car. ‘Don’t come back! And stay the fuck out of my business!’
Charles Knight stumbled onto the car door held open by his stone-faced driver.
‘Listen up, Franco, if you’re stupid enough to drive him anywhere near me again,’ Dominic said with deadly precision, each syllable crisp and clear so the driver didn’t miss a word as he hurried around the front of the car to get behind the wheel, ‘I’ll have your tyres shot out. Maybe they’ll miss the tyres and hit the windshield. Armour piercing rounds. Got it? I’m more dangerous than my father. He’s getting soft in—’
