Page 14 of Interview with the Billionaire

“What about Grandpa and Evie?”

The questions poured out of the kids like rocket-fire, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Apparently Nikki couldn’t either, because he could hear the chuckle in her voice when she dove into the fray to answer their questions. “Yes, your cousins are coming. And Grandpa and Evelyn. There’s a lady here who’s writing an article about Daddy, so she wants to meet his family and some of his friends and co-workers. It’s going to be mostly boring, so Aunt Sylvia and Jackson will talk to her first, then you’ll go home with them. Deal?”

“Deal!” Bradley said from where he squirmed at Damien’s hip.

“What do you need me to do to get them ready?”

“Not a thing,” Nikki assured her. “I’ll take care of it. Not that there’s much to do. They all have drawers at Syl and Jackson’s place.”

“What about here? Sounds like it’s going to be a crush. Would you like me to help?”

“I thought you were on deadline?” Bree had recently sold the book she’d written after moving back to LA and enrolling in a low residency MFA program.

“Don’t all writers procrastinate?”

Nikki rolled her eyes. “Well, we don’t need any help with people wrangling, but my guess is she’ll want to talk with you, too. Especially since we’re not letting her interview the kids.”

“I want to talk to the lady, Mommy. Why can’t I?”

“Because those are the rules, kiddo,” Damien said. “You know that.”

He and Nikki had implemented a strict no-press rule when they adopted Lara. Not that they avoided talking about the kids publicly, but they highly edited their comments.

As for the kids, they gave no interviews. Not now, anyway. Probably not until they turned eighteen and could decide for themselves if they wanted to step fully into those shark-infested waters.

He and Nikki had discussed backing off that policy once they reached high school. As Jamie and Evelyn had both pointed out, practice makes perfect. Better to learn how to play it close to the vest when you’re still young enough to have an adult who can shush you standing right there.

It was, Damien knew, a sound policy. The press training he’d received when he’d been playing tennis had turned out to be a boon for his current life, and had given him an easy confidence even back when he held his very first press conference upon the founding of Stark International.

He gave Lara his stern-dad look, and she wiped the pout off her face. “Okay, Daddy. I love you.”

“You, too, kiddo.” He made eye contact with the three of them. “Best behavior, okay? Everyone ready to go meet Ms. Bridge? All right, then,” he said, after seeing their enthusiastic nods.

He glanced at Nikki and Bree. “Shall we?”

They moved down the hall to where it opened onto the first floor living area, then found Lena—Maggie—still perusing what was presumably a list of interview notes.

She stood as they entered, then caught Damien’s eye. He wasn’t sure if her expression was smug or apologetic. Not that it mattered. She might be here, but they would play by his rules moving forward.

“Maggie Bridge,” he said, and watched the way her eyes widened slightly. Apparently she’d been expecting a blow-up. “I’d like you to meet my family.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Maggie said, moving forward to shake Nikki’s outstretched hand.

“I’m Nikki,” she said, “though I imagine you already knew that. And these three are Bradley, Lara, and Anne.” The girls nodded and smiled when Nikki spoke their names, but Bradley only snuggled closer to Damien.

“I’m so glad we were able to work this out.”

“I assure you we wouldn’t have if I’d know who you were before we set the time and date.”

Maggie swallowed. “Yes, well. I’m sorry about that.” She turned to Nikki. “I assume he’s told you that I was something of a b-i-t-c-h in the past.”

“I’d say that’s an accurate summation.”

“Then I owe you a thank you as well for letting me into your home despite being a shit to your husband. Oh! Sorry,” she added, with a quick look at the kids.

Damien softened a little. The reaction seemed genuine, and he appreciated that she was making the effort. He caught Nikki’s eye and realized she was thinking the same thing.

“So how is this going to work?” Nikki asked. “The interviews, I mean. Evelyn mentioned you wanted family and close friends. Are we all going to sit around a table chatting while you take notes? And however you manage it, you’ll need to cut Jackson and Sylvia loose early. They’re going to be taking these three back with them.”