I stare at the phone long after the screen goes dark.
My girl.
Yeah. She is.
Which means I need to tell her the truth.
Eventually.
Soon.
Just…
Not yet.
Not when things are so perfect. Not when she looks at me like I’m this incredible man who can do no wrong.
Not when she trusts me completely.
I’ll tell her.
After the interview.
After she gets the job and settles in.
After I know she’s with me for me, not for what I can give her.
I’ll open up those wounds, the most painful ones, the ones that bleed Blackwell money, parental loss, and inherited curses.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I turn on my computer, open my email app, and email my assistant.
Subject:Creative Director Position
Sophia,
I have a candidate for the creative director role. Marley Wren. Brilliant, creative mind, years of experience in advertising, exactly what we need.
Set up an interview for this week.
—D.B.
I hit send before I can second-guess myself.
This is the right thing.
Giving Marley the opportunity she deserves and getting her away from Derek’s toxicity.
The fact that I’m doing it behind her back, manipulating circumstances, using my power? That’s a problem for future me. Present me is trying to take care of his girl.
Even though she doesn’t know it yet.
I’ll tell her everything when the time is right. When I’m ready to face the part of myself I’ve spent years trying to hide.
The billionaire.
The businessman.
