Chapter 25

Damon

It was just after lunch, and she'd yet to stop by or text. She was upset, and he couldn't blame her, nor could he console her. It was a simple request to leave the ring at the house, and it had very little to do with him not wanting to show her off, and everything to do with laying the proper foundation for their relationship.

He'd been cocky about the situation before, but that was before he decided to up and ask the pretty girl to marry him.

Marriage. Fuck. The word alone seemed to bring with it a whole host of feelings that Damon wasn't ready to face. It was supposed to be the binding of two people into a relationship that spanned time until the end showed up for one member or the other, but it rarely happened.

The phone buzzed as he sat at his desk, taking a quick five-minute breather for the only break he would have that day.

"Mr. Bryant, Erica Hall is on line one for you. Are you free to-"

"Put her through, Linda." Damon sat up and pressed his forearms to the desk in front of him as Erica's voice filled the room.

"Hey there. You recovered from all the Mai-Tais yet?"

"I'm definitely feeling a sense of longing to be back out there. Nothing like walking into a shit-storm after a relaxing vacation."

"That's the way it always works, but something tells me that you create shit-storms if there isn't one waiting for you. It helps you feel wanted."

He chuckled. "Right. What can I do for you, Miss Hall?"

"Back to business, I see." She cleared her throat as Damon increased the volume on the phone and got up to pace the floor. He slipped his hands into his slack pockets and tried to let his worry over Bethany go. They would work things out.

"Always business with me." He smiled.

"Agreed. This call is a bit of business and pleasure, I guess. I wanted to make sure that you guys were still planning on being in town this next weekend."

"We are. We're meeting with an art dealer for Matthew and working on an audit for M&B for the rest of the time. Do you want to get together while we're there?"

"Actually, yes, and I'm hoping that you're still working on Matt about joining me up here. I think him finding someone to sell his art is great, but he still needs a steady income."

"You just want him near you, Erica. You're not fooling any of us," he snorted and stopped by the window.

"Is it that obvious?" Her strong tone dimmed a little.

"It is to me, but I get it. He would be great working in the advertising department as a designer-"

"Lead designer."

"Right, but Matt doesn't care about being in leadership or ruling Corporate America. He cares about being free to be and do what he wants to do. He doesn't need money, though I suppose he's trying to cut the ties from our father as I did just after college."

"Then he can just come and be a designer for me. I think he would love the city, the people, and he could grow so much as an artist here."

"I agree. I'll talk to him and see where his thoughts are. I can't promise much as Matt has always been a free spirit, but I'll have the conversation."

"Soon, please. I need to fill the spot I have available, and I'd love to put his name on it instead of opening it up to the public." She sighed, and Damon couldn't help but let the smile on his face widen. The woman had been after Matt since they first met five years ago at a large conference for growing businesses. The fact that she'd come to work for M&B three years after that conference left him to believe that some part of it was to get closer to Matt.

It was creepy, and yet sexy as hell.

"Will do. Anything else?"

"Not really. You and Bethany okay? I know you made a big decision while you were in Jamaica. How is the aftermath of that?"

"Good. It's great. I gotta run, but we'll see you this weekend." He waited for her to say her goodbyes and pressed the button to end the call. He wasn't sharing his feelings with anyone, especially not another woman. He might have the reputation of a playboy with an open invitation to get hit on, but he was far from it. The day he'd found his mother in bed with some random guy from her work had changed everything.

Fucking around was out. Nothing could tempt him to change his mind, not even a ghost from the past.

***

"Damon, I'm not sure if you remember, but your father scheduled an interview for the open Senior Manager position we have. One of the interviews is today and the rest later this week. I do believe this one comes highly recommended from a good friend, and your dad was leaning toward giving her the job. He just needed to go through the motions to make it look legit." Linda stood just inside the office, her back to the door.

"Really? Damn." Damon reviewed his schedule and didn't find the interview anywhere. "Was the interview with him or me?"

"She's supposed to meet with him, but he's out of town, as you know. Can I show her in?"

"I guess. Cancel my lunch appointment with Bart Darren today and reschedule it. Get me a sandwich with the office order if you guys are ordering out."

"Ham and Swiss cheese with mustard?"

"Yep, and chips. Surprise me." He stood and pulled his jacket off the rack behind him as he walked toward the small circular table in his office. He needed the candidate’s resume, but hopefully, she brought it with her.

The woman that walked in behind Linda almost made his heart stop.

"Delilah?" He forced a smile and moved around the desk to give her a quick hug. She returned the gesture and laughed.

"I should have told Bridget to tell you, but you know she's in Jamaica. They turned off their phones just to get away from everything."

"I saw her there." Damon moved back and nodded to Linda. "Thanks for showing her in."

"I was supposed to meet with your dad, but he's still on vacation from what your secretary told me." She snorted. "I've never known Kent Bryant to take a vacation since I met your family in middle school."

"He hasn't. It's half the reason he's a grumpy old bastard." Damon pulled out the chair for her as he worked through how he was going make sure Delilah didn't get the job. Where she was a great lady, her little sister was the bane of his existence. Having dated Bridget through most of his high school years and college, he always thought they would end up together, but it never happened. There was little love loss, but having the blond bombshell back in his life would only create tension between him and Bethany.

No thanks. We have enough as it is.

"And you're turning out just like him, right?" She sat down and crossed her long, shapely legs before offering a sweet smile. "Well, you know I have to tell you that Bridget said hi. She's going to find it pretty funny that I had to interview with you instead of Kent."

"Why's that?" Damon took the resume she offered and leaned back in his chair as he unbuttoned his jacket. Delilah was the spitting replica of her twin sister, Bridget, her long blond hair full and shiny, her skin flawless, eyes crystal blue and tits as fake as the wrapping on his breakfast sandwich earlier that morning.

"Because when we were kids, I had a crush on you before you guys started dating. That little twit talked me out of asking you to the Sadie Hawkins dance at school because she wanted to ask you. She kept making fun of me because I was in the band and you were a football player. Such a bitch, right?" She shook her head and laughed.

"You were much more my type than Bridget, but I figured I’d cut my losses and say yes to her." He glanced down at the resume as foreign emotions raced through him. How many conversations had he had with Delilah about his suspicions about his mom when they were kids? He was too embarrassed to bring it up with Bridget, but her sister had always been so sweet, so inviting.

"Figures. We could have been married for six years with kids by now. Remind me to slap her when she gets back to the States." She leaned back and dropped her hands into her lap. "Anyway, let’s do the interview, and don't do me any favors, okay? If I'm not the best person for the position, don't hire me. Promise."

He nodded. "I promise."

Fuck. One hot mess after the next.

***

The interview went well, a little too well. She was beyond perfect for the position and would be a trusted ally in the office for both Damon and his father. The biggest issue wasn't having her around, but knowing that Bridget would be haunting the edges of the place now too. She would use Delilah's new job with M&B to get closer to Damon and see if she couldn't whittle her way back into his life. It was inevitable. The bitch had tried everything else. Damon couldn't stop himself from thinking this too was another ploy.

He finished up a few things and got up to walk down to Bethany's office only to find her gone.

"She's at UT for the afternoon. I guess she's a teaching assistant for one of the cost accounting professors up there." Sadie stood behind him, a shy smile on her pretty face. The girl was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Why they'd decided to hire the daughter of a senator was beyond him. Probably a favor to the girl's father, but fuck was she spoiled.

"Nice to know. Are you keeping tabs on everyone now for us? Should I up your salary?" He gave her a tight smile and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. Don't be silly." She reached out and brushed her fingers down his arm before turning her head a little. "Like the new nose? I had to thank Bethany for being a lunatic. I didn't realize how much I hated it before."

"Interesting." He turned to see Ben walking down the hall and almost sighed in relief. "Hey, man. You getting everything together for Friday?"

"That, I am, Sir. Everyone has the client files, and we're locked and loaded to go clean this shit up for you." Ben slipped his hands into his pockets and glanced over at Sadie. "We'll get you on the next traveling engagement. This one just filled up."

"Yeah, no problem. Well, see you, gentlemen, later." Her eyes lingered a little too long, but Damon ignored it and turned to face Ben.

"Did you get to talk with Bethany?"

"Yeah, why? She seemed good with going with us. It will be a great experience if nothing else."

"No, I think she's fine with it. I just didn't know if she mentioned anything about us."

Ben's eyebrow lifted. "You guys, as in the fake relationship you've created to thwart off these other crazy girls?"

"No, we are dating now."

"What? She's your sister."

Damon pressed his friend with a hard stare. "There's no blood relation, and the last time I checked, I'm free to date who I'd like to date."

"Of course, but damn..." Ben ran his hand through his thin brown hair and glanced around. "What happened to the busty blond?"

"She's an old friend from college. Nothing more. We dated back then."

"Set me up with her." Ben chuckled.

"Happily. Look, her twin sister, Delilah, just interviewed for the Senior Manager position we have open on the team. I need to talk with my father, but I'm pretty sure she's getting the position. Just watch out for her and Bethany, okay? Delilah is a sweet girl, but I don't want anyone messing with Bethany for the sake of messing with her. Got it?"

"Of course, boss. I wouldn't let anyone mess with anyone." He shrugged. "I got it under control. We'll figure it out."

"Good. The situation with Beth and me is confidential until I say otherwise."

"You bet. Thanks for trusting me with it."

Damon nodded and turned to walk back to his office, reaffirmed in his decision to keep the information about the engagement hidden. If Ben, who thought a lot about Bethany and was one of Damon's college buddies, had a negative reaction, then the rest of the firm would act ridiculous about it, and their board of directors would flip their shit.

It wasn't worth all that, not yet at least.