“You’re okay,” she promised herself in the mirror. Her heart finally slowed down as she took a long drink of cool water and gave herself a few moments to talk herself down.
She emerged from the bathroom, not sure what she should do next. She didn’t think it a wise idea to climb back into Damien’s bed, letting him think she was planning on jumping full on into the affair.
Her mind mocked her. She hadn’t refused him yet, so what was the difference. She glanced to the bed and let out a relieved breath when she noticed he wasn’t there anymore. She could sneak from the room and find a guest bedroom. With the size of his house he had to have at least three or four of them.
“I brought a snack and wine,” Damien said as she reached the door only to run into him. “Where are you going?” he finished as his eyes narrowed.
“I…well…” she stumbled, feeling frustrated with herself. Just say it! “I’m going to another room,” she finished stubbornly.
“No.” He didn’t elaborate as he placed his hand on her back and led her to his bed. She glared at him when he gave her a soft push and she landed on the bed on her behind.
“You can’t just tell me no like I’m two, Damien,” she said with exasperation.
“Then don’t act like you’re two,” he said as if he was making perfect sense.
“I told you last night I don’t want to jump into an affair.”
“It’s a bit too late for that, Sierra. Try this, it’s my favorite,” he offered as if they weren’t having an important discussion.
“Fine, I’ll try the wine if you tell me more about your vendetta,” she compromised.
“You first. What were you dreaming about?” Sierra hesitated, but knew he’d keep on pushing.
“It wasn’t a dream. I just…when I woke up, I couldn’t…um…move, and it scared me, that’s all,” she said half-truthfully.
“That was more than panic over being trapped. What are you hiding, Sierra?”
“Nothing. That’s what happened,” she stubbornly answered.
“I don’t believe you,” he persisted.
“I felt like I was trapped. I panicked, end of story. Now, it’s your turn to talk,” she said as she sent a glare his way, letting him know she wasn’t giving him anything else.
His eyes narrowed as he stared her down. A small shiver passed through her. The man really knew how to intimidate with nothing but his eyes. She firmed her resolve, though, desperate to hold onto her newfound will-power.
“What do you want to know?” he finally asked as he sat next to her and grabbed a cracker and a slice of cheese.
“Everything.”
“That’s a little vague, Sierra.”
“You’re avoiding the subject, Damien. You expect me to turn on my best friend, the only person who’s always been good to me, and you’re not willing to give me any details. I hate to tell you this, but you must not have any friends if you think I’d do that,” she said, refusing to break their eye contact.
Instead of anger, he gave a sheepish smile. The almost unguarded expression on his face sent her heart into overdrive. Wow, he was stunning when he didn’t look so angry.
“Actually, Trinity is my best friend and she’d have my hide if she knew anything about this. She’s amazing.”
Sierra felt the tiniest twinge of jealousy, but then she remembered that Trinity was a happily married woman. Her husband was incredibly gorgeous, too, and seemed like a nice guy. Sierra had been far too nervous on their short visit to really pay much attention, but the little she’d seen of the couple, had made it seem they were in love.
“Trinity seems like a smart woman,” she said after a long pause.
“She is.”
“Are you done stalling? Why do you hate the Anderson’s?”
“It goes back to before I was born. My father was twenty-five years older than my mom. I know, it’s a lot of years, and I wouldn’t even think about dating a woman half my age, but they fell in love, according to my mom. He pursued her, and she fell hard for him. He was charming, wealthy, and promised her the moon. About the time they met, my grandfather passed away and there was a huge race for the company. It should’ve gone to my dad. His brother, Milton had zero interest in the corporation, and my dad had been working there for years,” Damien started.
Sierra was fascinated by the intense look on his face. She still didn’t understand what any of this had to do with the Anderson’s, though.
“Joseph and George are twins, the only sons of Milton, my father’s nephews. When my grandfather died, they both rushed home to get their greedy hands on what my father had worked so hard for. The board of directors chose Joseph to run the corporation and my father was left with nothing. His own dad didn’t leave him a dime in the will. The corporation was all he had. The old man left what he had to charity’s, saying the boys needed to build their own wealth, that they’d appreciate it better in the long run. Well, Milton didn’t have to build his own wealth. He had a nice little ranch that his father bankrolled for him, while my father had nothing, because he’d been sure he’d take over the Anderson Corporation.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed as he told a story Sierra was sure he’d heard a thousand times. Sierra knew there was no way it could be true. Even a young Joseph couldn’t be monster. There had to be more to the story and she was determined to find out what it was.
“Were you able to verify if all of this is true?” she asked, afraid of his reaction, but still having to ask it.
“Of course I verified. I found the old newspaper articles. There was a fight for the CEO position. In the earlier papers, apparently Joseph was playing it cool, because they said he didn’t seem interested in taking over his grandfather’s reign. Apparently, he’d already amassed a huge fortune. However, greedy people always want more, and Joseph was no exception.”
“How do you know it was about greed? What if he wanted to run the business his grandfather put so many years into?”
“If that was the case, why did he leave in the first place? Why wouldn’t he have stayed and learned how to run the business like my father had?” Damien asked with bitterness.
“Don’t you think the best way to get answers to those questions is to ask Joseph?”