This is another new beginning.
Epilogue- Knox
The elevator climbs toward my floor, numbers blinking upward as Sheila beams at me.
“How many people do you want to invite?” she asks, practically vibrating. “Because half of New York is going to want in. Baby news outranks birthdays, weddings—everything.”
I chuckle. “Make a list. I’ll look it over.”
“Already on it.” She taps away on her iPad, her cheeks pink with excitement.
I brought her into work today to kill two birds with one stone.
First: I’m planning a surprise getaway for Isla.
Second: I’m arranging the party where we’ll finally share our baby news with the rest of the world.
Our family and my house staff already know. But Isla wanted to get past the three-month mark before telling anyone else.
She hit that two days ago.
So, yeah—my excitement is off the charts.
The elevator doors slide open onto our floor. I barely make it one foot into the hallway before Dorian’s voice cuts through.
“Knox. Office. Now.”
Great.Judging from the enraged look on his unshaved face, the loose tie, and ruffled shirt, something big is going down.
I shoot Sheila a look. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“No worries.” She nods and heads toward my office.
I fall in step with Dorian. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Tell you in a minute.”
We reach his office, which is trashed. There are documents everywhere and books on the floor.
“Did someone break in?” I look around, aghast. Of all of us, his office is usually the cleanest with nothing out of place.
“I did that.” He closes the door and places a weary hand on his head.
“What the fuck’s going on, Dorian?”
“It’s bad.”
“Define bad.”
He turns. “The press is running with a story that I caused Montgomery Astor’s heart attack.”
I blink. “What? That’s insane.”
“They’re saying I was sleeping with his ex-wife while she was still married to him.” His mouth flattens. “They’re making it sound like we were having an affair. They think because Montgomery died at home, he caught us together. Me withher.”
Montgomery Astor, New York’s beloved philanthropist and owner of two major charities, died last week. I wouldn’t have thought Dorian would have anything to do with them, especially the wife, who is forty years Montgomery’s junior and a former stripper.
With the press always breathing down his neck and his run-ins with Dad, that would be a scandal waiting to happen. Something Dorian would have avoided. That said, he’s the most secretive person I know, so I can’t say one way or another.
