“From what I’m aware of, she never knew. Neither did Inès. He wasn’t skeptical of me, but I think he was worried about getting hurt again. Even after all these years, I can tell what my family did stuck with him. So, we took our time getting to know one another. Before he died, we had planned a whole get-together. My wife was soon to give birth, so we thought it was the perfect time to reunite and become a family. Unfortunately, he died before that could happen.” He wipes a rogue tear. “My biggest regret in life will always be not reconnecting sooner.”
His pain is palpable. I feel his words deep within my core.
“I’m so sorry, Philip.”
“God, no. I’m sorry. I came here to tell you I’d help you, not all the rest.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I ask.
He snorts. “Now that I’ve spilled my life regrets to you, it’s safe to say you can ask me anything.”
True. “Knowing now what you do, why are you still associated with your family?”
He leans back, crossing his legs. “Because I’m playing the long game. After meeting my family, you can imagine they’re into some shady stuff. I hope to take them down one day, but trust me…I can’t stand any of them.”
My phone rings, and Jules’s picture pops up. Philip glances down, and his face falls, so I silence the call quickly.
He audibly swallows. “I would love to meet her and have the opportunity to at least talk to her one day.”
“What if that day was today?” I say without thinking. I’m already keeping a secret regarding her building. I won’t keep this from her, too, and something tells me the moment she finds out, she’ll want to know more.
“What?” His eyes widen. “What do you mean today?”
I walk around to the other side of my desk, suddenly realizing this seems too formal for what we’re talking about. “Juliette is unaware of her building situation. I’m not mentioning anything until I’m positive I can fix this for her, so you can’t ask me to keep this from her, too. And knowing my girl, she’ll have a million questions. She was very close with your brother, best friends even. I think she would like to hear everything from you.”
“Are you sure?”
I shrug. “There is only one way to find out.” I take my phone and dial Jules’s number.
“Hi, H,” she answers on the first ring. I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Jules. Have you left Becks yet, or are you already home?” I ask, then hear Becks and Adriana saying goodbye in the background, which answers my question.
“I’m just leaving. I’m getting in the car with Robert now.”
I blow out a breath, hoping I’m doing the right thing. “Can you have him drop you at the office? I’m still here, and I want to show you something.”
She groans into the phone. “I’m so tired. Can’t you meet me at the penthouse?”
“For me? Please?” I don’t know what else to say without making up a huge lie.
“No one is there since it’s late, right?” Her question has me lifting a rare smirk today. Ever since her out-of-character performance at the office, she refuses to come here.
“The employees went home, baby.”
“Okay, fine. See you in a few minutes.”
I hang up the call and see Philip eyeing the bar. “Drink to ease your nerves?”
“Please.”
“She’ll be here within fifteen minutes. She’s not far away,” I tell him.
“Can you make it a double?”
Juliette
I thank the security guard who escorts me to Harrison’s floor, and then I stride down the hallway, attempting to push away all the embarrassing memories that flood my mind from my last visit.
