by Emily Bishop
“I appreciate the faith you have in me to be the man to do that,” I told him honestly. “If you don’t mind my asking, you’ve been at the helm for so many years. Why not just find someone to run it and turn it around yourself?”
James gave me a wry smile. “I would’ve loved to, but I’m afraid those marketing campaigns you mentioned are expensive, as is finding the right person for the job. Unfortunately, my medical bills are piling up as things are, and if I don’t sell, we’ll lose the roof over our heads.”
I told myself that I didn’t care, that the reason didn’t matter. This company was meant to be my distraction, and I wanted to get my hands on it desperately. But try as I might, my resolve was starting to slip.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, trying my best to look like what he was saying wasn’t affecting me at all. “I promise you that I will work night and day for Athena’s.”
James lifted his eyes to mine. “Well then, I’m assuming you’ve brought the contracts with you?”
“I did.” I slid them from my jacket pocket and placed them on a tray in front of him, with the exact same pen Demi had used to sign her contract with me.
It made me feel like a dirty fucking grave robber, but I didn’t stop him from signing, once he’d read through the contracts. His lawyers had been given copies on Saturday, but unlike his daughter, he read each and every page. Clearly, he wasn’t as afraid as she’d been of backing out.
“There you go,” he said, once he’d signed and initialed at every colorful tab we’d marked. “You know, Barrett, now that I’ve signed, I feel like I should give you a warning if you’ll take the time to hear me out.”
The sincerity in his tone shook me the core. “Sure. Of course, I will.”
“I’m sorry, I won’t keep you long. It’s just that I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, and if I can keep mine from being repeated by others, it’s worth a shot.” James’ eyes suddenly felt like they weren’t looking at me, but like they were looking into me. “And when I look at you, it’s like I’m looking at a person who is very likely to repeat my mistakes.”
He sighed, looking all the frailer as his chest heaved and his shoulders lost some of the strength he’d clearly been struggling to hold them with. “I was just like you in my younger days. I was obsessed with making money and spending it, with building and growing my empire, no matter what or who was in my way.”
The air in the room felt like it became heavier with every word he said. It was clearly difficult for him to talk about this, since he’d paused to stare out the window to hide the watery sheen his eyes had taken on.
Swallowing a few times, his fingers dug into the sheets of the hospital bed before he continued. “I’m sorry. You must forgive me. I haven’t voiced these thoughts in this fashion before.”
“Please, take your time.”
The last thing I wanted to was hear the rest of what he had to say but at the same time, I was hanging on to his every word and needed to know where he was going with this more than I needed my next breath. I instinctively knew it was about Demi, and while my head was screaming at me to shield us from further harm, my heart forced me to stay and listen.
“Thank you for being so patient,” James said. “Already, you’re proving that you might be a better man than I was at your age. I never cared about how I treated other people. Only that the money was rolling in, even when it was at their expense.”
As frail as he was, I had no doubt that he’d put his fist through my face if knew the real reason I was staying. It had nothing to do with caring about him and everything to do with finding out more about his daughter.
I shrugged. “I’m sure you’re selling yourself short.”
James shared a look with Athena, who had taken the seat the nurse had vacated when we’d started talking. She nodded encouragingly and reached for his hand.
“I wish I was,” he said. “But I’m afraid I’m not over-exaggerating. The thing is, I never cared about it until now. Until I nearly...”
He choked up. Athena reached over to cup his face, a silent conversation passing between them until he nodded and took another deep breath.
“The biggest mistake that I made was with my own daughter.” My blood turned to ice, even though I had been expecting it to come. “I didn’t even realize I was making it until it was too late. She moved away from us, she abandoned our fortune and everything that came with it, and vowed not to speak to us again. It took me almost a year to find out that she was working as a waitress in a crappy diner.”
Quiet tears ran down Athena’s cheeks but she wiped them away with an embroidered handkerchief, nodding at James to continue. His voice cracked with emotion when he did.
“She never wanted anything to do with money again, but she took a modeling job around the time that Athena told her that I was ill. Despite all the years of being estranged and all the years I was focused on making money instead of on her, she gave us almost every penny of her income as a model to keep us afloat.”
I couldn’t breathe. It was like all of the air had been sucked out of the room as James bowled me over with his revelation about Demi. The final pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, and I finally understood everything with startling clarity. She hadn’t lied to me about anything. She did come from money. She just didn’t want it.
Which meant that she never wanted me for mine. If she’d turned her back on all of this, she really couldn’t be the gold-digging bitch I’d made her out to be. Then I remembered all of the accusations I’d thrown at her, and I felt like I was about to vomit.
Oh, god. What the fuck have I done?
Athena’s voice was distant as she asked, “Did you know that she even did some modeling for you?”
I nodded but the room had fallen away.
Fuck.
My heart was pounding as I made my excuses and said goodbye, its rhythm chanting one name on repeat.
Demi. Demi. Demi.
I had to find her. I had to hope and pray to every god that had ever been prayed to that I could convince her to forgive me. After that, I had to make sure that I spent every day for the rest of my miserable life making this up to her. I just had to come up with a viable plan.
Sitting in the driveway of the Fowler Mansion, the plan slowly started taking shape.
Chapter 26
Demi
I blinked at the screen of my phone, rereading the text I’d received the afternoon before for what had to be the thousandth time.
Dear Ms. Fowler,
A car will pick you up at ten a.m. tomorrow morning.
Kindest regards,
BHA Models
I couldn’t believe Barrett’s audacity. Couldn’t he just have sent me the damned termination papers?
And why the hell is he sending a car? Was it even him who’d sent me the message?
At ten o’clock on the dot, a smart-looking elderly man with kind eyes and an immaculate suit arrived at my door. I’d seen him around. I was pretty sure that he was the driver who’d been with Barrett when he’d permanently removed himself from my life.
“Ms. Fowler?” he asked when I answered the door. “Will you come with me, please?”
“Why?”
“Mr. Hart sent me for you.”
If it were his precious Mr. Fucking Hart at my door, I would’ve kicked and screamed before I went anywhere with him but this poor man hadn’t done anything to me. Still, I was reluctant to go with him.
The man seemed to sense it. “My name is Norris. Mr. Hart gave me strict instructions to bring you right back home if you don’t like where I’m taking you. I’m at your disposal, Ms. Fowler. Please, you can trust me.”
What the hell is Barrett playing at now? I breathed a heavy sigh but grabbed my bag and nodded. “Okay but just know that I will not hesitate to kick him in the teeth if I see him.”
An amused smile played on his lips but Norris simply nodded. “Duly noted, miss. I’ll be sure to let him know.”
Barrett’s black SUV was parked at the curb, looking spectacularly out of place in my neighborhood. My parents had leaned on me over the weekend to move back home, but I wasn’t ready to do that yet. My place was in a dangerous neighborhood, and it was small and dank, but it was also mine. There was something about that fact that kept me hanging onto it for the time being.
Norris opened the door to the SUV, waiting for me to clamber in before he shut it behind me and rounded the car to climb in behind the wheel.
“Where are we headed, Norris?”
“Athena’s, miss,” Norris told me, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.
I felt sick to my stomach at his answer, confused as all hell as to why Barrett would bring me there. By now, I was sure he knew that the company belonged to my parents. He’d been to our house the day before to sign the papers, and he must’ve seen the photos. Back in the day, my mom had only hung them to keep up appearances.
But now, she cleaned the dust off of them herself and had taken a long walk down memory lane with me while I’d been there, explaining that they hadn’t meant to hurt me when they refused to pay for further treatments for Gabbi. They’d spoken to her doctors and had been assured that with the type of disorder Gabbi had, there was nothing more that could be done.
My world had been thrown upside down. In the space of less than a month, I’d quit the job I’d been happy at for years, been fired from the one I never thought I wanted but missed like it was nobody’s business, fallen in love for the first time, and been dumped in a blaze of fire.
My parents were suddenly people I could stand, but we were losing the company they’d spent their lives building, and they were selling it to the man who’d stomped all over my heart.
And now, said man was making things even more confusing by sending a car to bring me to the company I was losing, along with my father’s legacy and my mother’s name. There was only so much I could take, and I was fast approaching the breaking point.
By the time we reached Athena’s, I was nauseated. My head was pounding and swimming with confusion, and my heart felt like it was about to leap from my chest to avoid any more pain and uncertainty.
Barrett stood in front of the luxury storefront, clad in blue jeans and a black t-shirt. It was as casual as I’d ever seen him outside of his house, and it made him look younger and more vulnerable than when he was wearing his corporate armor.
My treacherous body responded to him, but I shut it down. Barrett had his hands shoved into his pockets and had the nerve to look anxious, bouncing on the balls of his feet as we pulled up.
“What the hell is this, Barrett?” My voice was a few octaves louder than it should have been as I stepped out the car, not bothering to wait for Norris to open the door. “Why did you bring me here? Is it not enough that you’re taking it over? Did you really need to rub it in my face?”
“No, Demi. That’s not what this is at all.”
He took a step toward me, but I held up my hands like he had that day in his office.
“Don’t even think about touching me,” I snarled.
Barrett dragged his hands over his five o’clock shadow. “Fine, I can respect that. Will you please just hear me out, then?”
“Why? You didn’t bother hearing me out.” It was an accusation that embodied every bit of anger and resentment I felt toward him.
Barrett jerked back at the force of my words, heartrending pain in his eyes as he nodded. “I know. I made a mistake. I’m so sorry, Demi.”
If there was one thing I hadn’t been prepared for, it was an apology. “What?”
“I’m sorry. God, if I thought you’d let me, I would kiss every doubt of how sorry I am from your mind. I’m begging you, Demi. Please let me explain.” His eyes pleaded, along with his voice, weakening my resolve.
“Why should I?” I crossed my arms over my chest, as if the physical barrier could keep him from breaking my heart apart even further. If that were possible.
“I’ll go down on my knees and beg if that’s what it takes,” he told me, the desperation in his tone painful and clear.
“Please don’t,” I said. “You have one minute. And not out here.”
“Fair enough,” he answered. He led me into the store and into a private viewing room just off the entrance. “Does my minute start now?”
I nodded.
“The company is still in your father’s name,” he said. “Instead of buying it, I’ve become his partner. I’m giving him the same amount of money to buy in that I would have given him to buy the company. And I’ll be giving it however much it needs to turn it around. I’m also taking over the management of the company while your father recovers.”
Barrett was breathing heavily by the time he finished. Then, he seemed to hold his breath as he waited for my response.
My mind was spinning. “What? Why would you do that? What the hell is happening?”
Barrett’s smile made the pieces of my heart melt and mold back into one.
“I did it because I love you,” he said. “I was such a fucking idiot before, Demi. There are no words in the English language to apologize to you enough for what I did, so I’m hoping that my actions speak louder than my words on this one.”
“But why? Why did you run out on me?”
My questions were so soft that I almost didn’t even hear them, but Barrett clearly did. He hung his head and shook it repeatedly before he raised it again, capturing my eyes with his.
“Fuck, I’m so damn sorry for that, Demi. I was so afraid that I was being taken advantage of again that I lost my goddamn head. You have to know that it nearly killed me to walk away from you. Every one of my instincts told me that something was off, but I didn’t listen. I ran away from the best thing that has ever happened to me because of my conviction that I’d fallen for someone to whom I was nothing but a bank account.”
“I would never do that,” I said, the walls I’d built around my heart crumbling with each one of his words.
Barrett looked pained. He opened his arms but dropped them again when I didn’t go to him. “I know that now. I realize that you would never take advantage of me. Your dad told me what happened between you and your family, and I pieced the rest together from what you told me about Gabbi’s death.”
“You did?” I could hardly believe it.
“I did. People with money are cold, heartless jerks, right? That’s what you were thinking. If they wouldn’t help someone who had practically raised their child, who did they care about? Because it sure as shit wasn’t you.”
Tears started streaming down my cheeks. “Are you sure you can’t read my mind?”
“Wish I could, baby.” He took a tentative step toward me and raised both of his hands to take my face gently between them. “It would’ve saved the both of us a lot of heartbreak if I could.”
“True,” I said, my eyes locked on his as I stepped closer to him.
“I’m so damn sorry, Demi. I never meant to hurt you. I was so pissed at you that I was blind to the fact that I was the one hurting us both.” His arms wrapped around me, drawing me flush against his chest as his eyes bored into mine. “I’m never going to stop making it up to you. I promise.”
“You hurt me worse than anyone ever has, Barrett. How do we get past that?” I hoped against all hope that he had an answer I could live with.
He did. “Because I intend on spending the rest of my life proving to you that you can trust me, and that I will never, ever hurt you again.”
“How?”
Barrett’s entire body lit up with the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen, his eyes shining with what I could only describe as the deepest love. “Go into the store, Demi. Pick out the prettiest ring in it.”
“Oh, my god.” The air rushed from my lungs. “Are you proposing?”
“If I was, you wouldn’t have to ask. But it’s not because I don’t know with every fiber of my being that I’m going to marry you. It’s because when I do propose, you will have forgiven
me, and you’ll know with every fiber of yours that you want to say yes.”
He didn’t let me answer before he continued, “You can be sure of one thing, baby. When the time is right, I will propose. I am going to marry you.”
Chapter 27
Barrett
Demi and I crashed into each other after my confession, her lips moving in perfect, desperate sync with mine. Somehow, I managed to let her lead me from the private room and out onto the main floor of Athena’s, even though all I wanted to do was get her home.
The only thing that stopped me from hauling her over my shoulder and telling Norris to take us straight home was the fact that she was choosing the ring that would one day, finally, make her mine. For real.
That was more important than anything else. James had been warned of my intentions when I’d rushed back into their house and told them the truth the day before. Even though it had taken some convincing, he approved of my plan.
He had his most trusted shop assistant waiting for us, with hundreds of rings Demi might like on display. It had taken her no more than fifteen minutes to choose, as she’d coined it, the one ring that would rule them all. It was easy to see why Nancie loved her.
After the ring had been secured in one of the iconic royal blue ring cases that symbolized everlasting love to those who bought them, I brought Demi back to my house and didn’t intend on letting her go anywhere anytime soon. I’d given my assistant strict instructions only to bother me if Adam really couldn’t handle something by himself, and then I’d told Adam to handle whatever came his way no matter what.
He’d lamented my loss as a wing man for less than a minute before he abandoned the tough guy persona. “I’m really happy for you, Hart. It couldn’t have happened to a better man. Go win your girl back. I got this.”
Winning her back was my top priority, the only thing that mattered to me anymore. “Cross your fingers for me, brother. I fucked up royally.”
