“Refer them to Kate. I’m going to get her on the phone right now and we’ll have this sorted quickly. Thanks, Melissa.”
“You’re welcome.” With that, he hung up the phone.
“Who is Kate?”
“My publicist.”
As Damien fiddled with his phone, I said, “Is there anything I can do to help? You know I—”
“Right now, we need to call Kate and get her recommendations. If she can’t take my call, I’ll have Melissa set something up. If I had to guess, she’ll recommend we do a taped announcement and blast it everywhere.”
“—am the head of social media for a company that specializes in communication. Not that that clearly means anything…” I said, but it seemed as if Damien hadn’t heard me. I glanced over at Kingston and I thought he had, but he wasn’t saying anything.
I sighed, frustrated with the fact that my opinion clearly meant nothing in this situation despite my expertise. Although I thought traditional forms of media were useful, the public often consumed their news online, and to me it made sense to create a social media plan of attack as well. “I’m going back to the penthouse.” I made sure I said it loud enough so there wasn’t any way that anyone in the room could ignore me.
I walked over to my desk, slammed my laptop shut, and left with Kingston trailing behind me. If Damien wanted a ride back to his home, he would have to meet us downstairs before Rob pulled away.
15
Damien
The ride back to the penthouse was mostly quiet. Anais barely gave me the time of day and I would fix that with her later once I got everything sorted with my publicist.
I had questioned my sanity in offering to get engaged to Anais in exchange for my protection of her and her family, but it’d seemed like a good idea at the time. Now it seemed to do nothing but cause more headaches, and I wondered if it was worth it. None of that deterred the fire that burned deep inside of me that was determined to consume her. All of her.
I walked into this deal treating it like a business arrangement, but maybe that was the wrong approach. My thoughts were interrupted when my phone buzzed in my hand, alerting me to a message.
Kate: We can tape the announcement tomorrow at noon at your apartment. The crew will arrive to set everything up at 11:00 a.m. and we’ll do a quick run-through beforehand, so you don’t have to worry.
Me: Okay.
Kate: And give me a warning about this next time, would you? You’ve already caused too many gray hairs.
I shook my head but didn’t respond. I turned to Anais and watched her staring out the window, looking like she had when we went to my parents’ after the mansion break-in several weeks ago.
The gun being delivered to Anais’s office caused a fury inside me that I couldn’t explain. It also meant that we needed to confirm to the world that she was mine as soon as possible. The sooner people knew she was now under the protection of the Cross Empire, the better for her and her loved ones. I knew there wasn’t much I could have done. Someone could have carried the box into the building, and it wouldn’t have been caught because Kingston’s team wasn’t allowed to do a broad canvass of the building. If the owners had given us access, I could have done more to protect her. That would all change when I made plans to buy the entire building.
“We’re taping the engagement announcement tomorrow.”
I watched as Anais looked over at me and her expression changed from confusion to downtrodden. The fire that she usually had in her eyes was extinguished. I wished there was some way I could wipe the look off her face, but I knew there was none.
Anais didn’t speak until we were upstairs in the apartment alone. “I could help you handle this. I work in marketing for crying out loud.”
“There’s no need because I’m taking care of this.”
The growl that left her lips would have been almost comical if she didn’t look as pissed as she did. “You know, you’re a real asshole.”
“That’s accurate.”
“Damien.”
The tone of her voice forced me to look at her.
“You know what, never mind.”
I didn’t know how it could be possible, but she looked even more dejected than she had in the car. She went into the master bedroom and closed the door, putting another barrier between us.
That evening, I walked into a building nearly identical to my own and nodded at the person working the front desk. The elevator was already open, so I boarded and pressed the button for the floor I wanted to go to. I checked my phone to see if Kingston had texted anything but saw nothing. He and Carter were back on duty watching over Anais since I had left. I’d knocked on the bedroom door to let her know where I was going before I headed out, but she hadn’t replied so I left. The ride to Broderick’s didn’t take long and soon I was standing outside of another door, knocking on it.
The door flew open, and Broderick looked me up and down before he said, “It’s about time you got here. This whiskey won’t drink itself.”
“I’m sure that you’ll have no problem on that front,” I said as he let me in, and I closed the door behind both of us. We walked into his kitchen and as I waited for him to pour the whiskey, I looked at some of the changes he had made to the place.
The exposed brick throughout the loft apartment gave it an industrial look. It differed completely from the more modern style I preferred, but it fit with his personality. The dark furniture complemented the style well.
“So, what brings you here, big brother?”
“I want to talk through something with you.”
Broderick and Gage and I usually talked about issues we were having, so it was natural for me to discuss this with them. Gage couldn’t join us because he was busy tonight.
He dropped the glass down on his counter a little harder than necessary. “You want me to give you advice? Normally it’s the other way around. About what?”
“Anais.”
“Well, talk.”
I gave him an abbreviated version of what had occurred with Anais over the last few weeks without diving into the contract specifically. “Wait, you asked her to marry you?”
“I did.”
“And she said yes.”
“She did.” Eventually.
“Please tell me you told everyone that you’re engaged and I’m the last to find out.”
“Yes, although Kingston found out…unconventionally. I waited to tell you because I knew I could tell you in person. I told everyone else before I headed over here.”
“Good, because I know Mom would have been hurt.”
I nodded. “At least it went over well, Mom and Dad. You know, Mom is ecstatic to have me finally settling down.”
“I’m happy for you, man. I knew you liked her a lot.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Really?”
“Yeah. Why haven’t you been to Elevate recently? You used to be there at least twice a month.”
He had me there. I had stopped going to Elevate. The club didn’t have the same appeal it once did unless Anais was with me. “Maybe I’m becoming a prude in my old age.”
Broderick’s head fell back as he let out a belly laugh, and I did my best to hide the smile that was threatening to come out.
“Hardly. First, thirty-four isn’t old. Second, the day that you become a prude will be the day that hell freezes over.” He cleared his throat before he said, “What’s with the change of heart? You once said that it was pointless to settle down with one woman.”
“You agreed with me.”
“Not the point. You texted me asking to come over to have a drink and to get some advice about…Anais. Well, continue.”
“I don’t know what it is about her. She has me doing these things I said I wouldn’t do, and I can’t get her out of my mind. Like I researched a company that could deliver some high-end treats for her so that it was at her desk when she arrived at work when I should have been paying attention to a conference call yesterday.”
Broderick smirked. “You know, for all the money and knowledge you supposedly have, you can be an idiot sometimes.”
I glared at Broderick before tasting the whiskey. Why was I here again? I could’ve gone to any random bar in the city. Oh, because my brother had a place nearby and all the alcohol money could buy and would take great joy in doling out advice to me. Plus, it was someplace Anais wasn’t. My life had revolved around work for so long and somehow in the short time since Anais had entered my life, she’d taken over everything. Everywhere I looked, I found something that triggered a memory of her. The scent of her shampoo would linger in the bathroom after she showered, and the aroma lingered in my nostrils even when I left. Her presence seemed to be everywhere in my life, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Given how much was changing in my life, I wondered if hell freezing over was in the cards sooner rather than later. Anais constantly kept me on my toes, even though I tried to make sure I was always one step in front of her. But I was used to being three to four steps in front of my opponents. Did I still consider her a conquest that needed to be conquered? When we had gotten together, my goal was to break her, but now things felt different.
I normally didn’t give a damn about anyone outside of my family, but that position flipped when Anais entered my life. She was becoming a part of that circle as well. Speaking of women that we liked….
“How’s Grace doing?”
That knocked the smile right off his face, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. Grace McCartney was Broderick’s best friend’s sister and one night after too many drinks, he admitted to having a crush on her.
“So, do you want to talk about how to deal with the feelings you have for her or is there something else? Spare me any of the screwing details, by the fucking way.”
I rolled my eyes. I never shared details about my sex life. “She’s pissed at me right now.”
“That’s a shock,” he said.
I considered tackling him to the ground for his sarcasm but having to deal with hearing him whine and possibly spilling this smooth whiskey was enough to deter me.
“Do you know why?” he asked.
“There are several issues. I can’t figure out what she wants.”
“Did she tell you what she wanted? Usually, women have a way of telling us exactly what they want and need, but it can go completely over our heads.”
Those words rang true. I could without a doubt say I knew what she wanted in the bedroom. Her interactions with me and the way I could make her body crave mine told me I did that well. Outside of the bedroom, I had no clue. I thought about my interactions with Anais. Her strength and desire to do things her way caused friction between us sometimes, but I didn’t want it any other way. The women I had dated in the past let me get away with anything, and those relationships, if you could call them that, got stale quickly. Anais was a change I very much wanted and appreciated.
“I hate that I’m about to say this, but you’re right. I haven’t been doing enough listening. She wants to go out and interact with the world, but I keep her locked up in the penthouse, partly due to the murder attempt on her father.”
“What can you do to fix that? Why don’t you take her on a date?”
My eyes widened before I could stop it. “I don’t do dates.”
“Well, looks like you do now.”
I cleared my throat. “Everything else is going well, but it’s weird. After living on my own for so long, having someone to return home to is strange. It’s taken some getting used to, yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Broderick raised an eyebrow. “And you needed to get engaged to get her to live with you?”
The doubt hanging off of his question was justified. “I did it in order to pull her under our umbrella. I, and by extension we, can give her full protection from the media, and from whoever shot her father.”
By the look on his face, I could see that Broderick wasn’t buying it. “Couldn’t you have done that without asking her to marry you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to stall for time and think of an excuse. I knew what he was going to say, and I had thought about it before.
“You didn’t need to bring her into our circle to protect her. We have enough connections and people who would want to help. We also know enough people who owe us a favor or two to help stop just about anything, and it’s only a matter of time before our guys find who shot her father.”
“I wanted a way to lock her down so that I could fuck her whenever I wanted.” The words sounded harsh coming from my mouth. As the lie fell from my lips, I knew I was opening myself up to be called out by him.
“Now that’s the brother I’m used to.” That was what I was hoping he would say. “So, how did you propose? Was it romantic? Did you pull out all the stops?”
“Trying to take notes so that you can do it sometime soon?”
“Nope. This is purely curiosity.”
I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck because I could have done a better job. I had put little thought into it because I figured it wasn’t worth the hassle. Determination to get her by any means necessary had forced me to pull the trigger without a plan. That wasn’t usually my style. “I told her this is what we’re going to do and bought the ring.”
It was Broderick’s turn to roll his eyes. “And you wonder why she’s pissed at you.”
I kept going as if he hadn’t said anything. “I bought her a ring big enough to be seen from space that most women would squeal over, but I could tell by her expression that she was disappointed. She lied about liking it, and I wanted to call her out about it, but honestly, it was a conversation I didn’t want to have.”
“Do you think it was because of the ring or because of the person doing the proposing?”
“You realize that the only reason I’m not about to throw you through that brick wall is because Mom would kill me…but it might also be worth it.”
“You came here. I didn’t ask you to. I think you need to come to terms with the fact that she’s different, and you can’t treat her like everyone else. Show her that she means more to you. Show her that you value her opinion. Based on what you told me happened earlier today, with the rollout of this engagement, you steamrolled over her and her thoughts instead of taking them into consideration in a field where she has the expertise, not you. She probably feels like this is demeaning.”
“I didn’t—” But I had. I vaguely remember when I was trying to contact Kate, she wanted to talk to me about something, and I didn’t give her the opportunity to. Then, before I came here, I brushed her off again.
“Let her shine because she will. She’ll let you know what she wants and that will help you go about figuring out how to give it to her.”
“Interesting advice from someone who hasn’t been married or had a long-term relationship in a long time.” There was no way I would admit that what he said made sense.
“I’m good at helping other people, but not heeding my own advice. I’ve seen this work in real time.”
“What?”
“Dad does this with Mom all the time. He takes a step back and lets her tell him what she wants, and he gets it for her. Now I’m not saying that this is a one-size-fits-all approach and that there isn’t more to it, but we have a prime example of how it has worked.”
I glanced at him before finishing the last of the whiskey in my glass. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was right.
It was time to fix this.
16
Anais
Damien mentioned he was heading over to his brother’s house tonight, allowing me to have the apartment to myself, but what could I do? I wasn’t allowed to leave, so I did the only thing I could—chat with Ellie. I poured a glass of wine and started a video call.
“Hey!”
“Hi, sorry I’m a little late. What’s going on?”
Ellie waved me off. “Don’t worry about it and everything is okay. Can’t complain other than
what I’ve talked about before. How about you? How’s your dad?”
“Okay… Dad is out of the hospital and they are staying in the Hamptons for the time being.” I sighed and pulled my hair into a ponytail. “So, the whole engagement thing is a go.”
“You accepted it?!”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Yep.”
“How did he propose? Can I see the ring?” Ellie bounced up and down in the chat window.
“Hold on a second. Let me go grab it and I’ll explain.”
I grabbed the ring from its hiding spot and sat down in front of the computer to show her. I took the ring out of the black box and held it up to the screen.
“Anais, that ring has to be worth a fortune.”
“I know. I’m nervous to even wear the thing because I’m scared I might lose it. The proposal wasn’t exactly romantic.”
“Are you kidding me? This man has all the money in the world, and he couldn’t at least try to make his proposal romantic?”
“I guess not.” I shrugged to hide my feelings about how hurt I was. It would have been nice for him to have handled this a step above a business transaction.
“The ring is gorgeous, but it’s not you.”
“I know.”
Ellie sat back in her chair in what I recognized to be her parent’s living room. “I have a bad feeling about this. I didn’t think you’d actually do it…”
I sighed. “I know… but I didn’t have much of a choice. Damien told me if I wanted to protect myself and my loved ones, which includes you, we needed to be engaged to pull it off, so I did it. I’m happy I did too after what happened today.” I filled her in on the package that was delivered to my office.
As I retold the events, I felt the anger that started as a low simmer turn into an untamable fury. Between someone having the audacity to mail what was more than likely the gun used to shoot my father to my office and me not having a say in the rollout of this fake engagement, especially given my expertise, I was fuming.
Scarred Empire: An Enemies to Lovers Dark Billionaire Romance (Broken Cross Book 2) Page 9
