Damon exhales, his tense expression softening, but only a fraction. "I know, baby,” he says, “and we’ll be there to guide you the whole time.”
He pauses, shooting me a knowing glance.
No. Is he really going to bring this up as well?
“Damon.” I glare at him. “Not now.”
Emery scowls. “What?”
Damon and I stay quiet, deciding whether or not to give her one final task. A difficult task. She’ll hate it.
She pulls her hands away from ours and crosses her arms. “Didn’t you just give me a whole speech on the importance of honesty and communication?”
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You’re right, darling. We did.” I glance at Damon. “Well? Tell her. Might as well.”
Damon stiffens, his gaze distant. “You need to decide which one of us will be your public face.” Emery opens her mouth, but Damon holds up a finger. “What I mean by that is you need to choose who you will introduce as your…partner.”
Frustration oozes from Emery, but I chime in nonetheless. “It doesn’t mean anything, Emery. You’re not deciding which one of us you care about more. It’s simply for the sake of appearances. This lifestyle… It’s not widely accepted, especiallyin our circles. What happens behind closed doors must stay there. We both have a reputation to uphold.”
“You do,” Damon states, his tone flat. “I no longer serve a board.”
Emery blinks. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?” Damon shrugs, and Emery’s eyes widen. She smacks him across the shoulder. “You quit? You actually quit?”
He glowers at her, but there’s a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Istepped down. There’s a difference. I still have my stocks. Granted, they won’t mature for a couple of years.” He cocks his head. “It was the right thing to do, Emery. Now I can focus on building something for myself. Something that’s mine.”
She purses her lips. “Yeah? And what do you want to build, Damon?”
Damon’s confidence wavers for a moment. “I’m not sure yet. But I’ll figure it out.”
Emery sighs. “I hope I still have a job when all of this is over.” She raises her hand before Damon can interrupt her. “And no, I won’t be quitting. I’ve told you before, I like to keep my brain busy. Fucking all day doesn’t stimulate that part of me.”
Damon smirks, “Oh, but I think it could. There are many ways for us to make you use your brain.” He glances at me and I grin. “There are lots of games we can play, isn’t that right, Q?”
“So very many games,” I say, tilting my head. “Maybe we’ll teach you some tomorrow.”
“Maybe…” she swallows, skin flushing. A little cough escapes her lungs as she clears her throat, reverting us to our previous subject. I much prefer the current one being discussed. But she’s right. We need to finish what we started. “So, I need to pick one of you, is what you’re saying?”
“Yes,” Damon nods, his shoulders tensing. “And I… I think you should choose Quinton.”
Emery leans forward stunned, and even I’m tempted to drop my jaw. “You what?”
“It’s the most logical choice,” Damon says, though there’s some bitterness in his tone. “Given that I’m no longer the head of Cavanaugh Industries, I don’t imagine the media will be interested in me anymore. Not until I decide on my next steps.” He looks at me. Really looks. Perhaps this is his way of finally calling a truce. “Quinton will benefit from having you by his side.” He rolls his eyes. “Being the Man of the Year and all.”
I rein in a grin. “I must say, Cavanaugh, not in a million years would I have imagined such rational words leaving your mouth.” I look at Emery, who’s equally as surprised. “But it’s still your choice, darling. Take your time. For now, it doesn’t matter.”
“Okay,” Emery says, reluctantly agreeing to our terms. She stands up and faces us with a combative gleam. “I’d also like to add a rule. While it may be obvious, I thought I should say it out loud so no one is confused.” She crosses her arms, sharp gaze flitting between the two of us. “While we all get a pass for our actions this past week, if either of youeverfuck another woman without my approval, I will cut your balls off. Understood?”
Damon and I grin, exchanging an amused look. “Understood,” we say in unison.
“Great,” she states. “Now, I’m going to go soak in the hot tub. You’re both free to join me.” She tosses us a wily smirk. “And I don’t believe any swimwear was provided for us.”
Just as Emery leaves, my phone vibrates. I show Damon the caller ID, and I answer the call from Agent Ube, our contact at the FBI.
“Yes?”
“We received a tip that Antonia Mancini is on the west coast,” he says. “Our team is working on determining the legitimacy of the claim. Until then, Dr. Marquis, I recommend you stayvigilant. It would…” He pauses. “It would be helpful if we could send a couple of agents to your location.”
“You know we can’t do that, Agent Ube,” I say, Damon nodding in agreement beside me. “We can’t risk a leak.”
