Lila lowers her gaze, and the rest of the board follows her lead, shrinking under the weight of my authority. The silence is thick, charged, almost reverent.
For once, they finally understand who’s in control here. Even my brothers look like they have a newfound respect for me.
And finally, I understand it too.
I stand, smoothing a hand down the front of my suit. “From this point on, the restaurant is off the table. The demolition is off the table. Any proposals related to that property areoffthe fucking table. If there are further discussions or objections, come and see me. But I suggest you save your breath.”
My father watches me with something I can’t quite decipher—part pride, part disbelief, part fear that I’ve evolved into a version of myself he can’t manage anymore.
Good.
I’ve spent years letting people dictate what I owed them, what I needed to fix, what I needed to prove. That ends now.
No one says a word as I walk out.
Not one person dares.
And for the first time in a long damn time, I feel the power settle back where it belongs.
In my hands.
I loosen my tie when I step into the hallway. I’m going to find Isla and fix everything between us.
Yesterday, I joked with her when she said the job was the best thing that happened to her.
The truth is:sheis my something good.Sheis the best thing that ever happened to me. None of this wealth and power means anything if I don’t have her.
I’d go through all of this—every single part of it—again and again and again if I knew I’d have her.
She needs to know that.
“Knox.” My father’s voice stops me when I turn the corner.
I face him, knowing he’s disappointed.
“Just a word,” he says when he catches up to me.
“Sure.”
“You okay?” He looks me over from head to toe.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Just want to make sure you’re not walking out for good.” A small smile cracks the corner of his mouth.
“I’m not.”
“Great, because I would hate that to happen. I don’t want to even discuss such a thing with you.” He shakes his head.
“That’s good to hear.” I sigh and set my shoulders back. “Dad, I’m sorry about the restaurant. I know I sold the idea to you more than anyone. But I can’t do it. If that means you choose Dorian to take over from you when you head off next year, I accept that. He’d make a fine CEO.”
His smile widens. “One thing I love about you and your brothers is you’ve never been in competition with each other. You work together as a unit. That’s priceless. Dorian and I have our own problems, and I don’t doubt that he’d make one of the best CEOs the company has ever had, but that’s always been your job.”
The tightness inside my chest loosens somewhat. One less burden to worry about. “That means a lot to me, Dad.”
“I wanted to settle that before you left. It’s my fault you had to do so much to prove yourself. You’ve more than done enough; I just thought this one last thing would seal the deal. It shouldn’t have come to this, where I presume it’s caused a wedge between you and Isla.”
“Yeah. It has. I know it was supposed to be a contract, but I… fell for her.”
