Page 34

SAVANNAH

W hen Dad cornered me in the parking lot, I promised him a rooftop conversation at noon.

I didn’t want it, but I owed him something—if not honesty, then a clean break.

I couldn’t keep pretending this was going to blow over.

He hadn’t yelled or pushed this time, but his disapproving look followed me into the lobby as I walked with my coat sliding off one shoulder and a too-hot coffee sloshing against its lid.

The elevator doors opened before I finished adjusting my bag.

Justine fell into step beside me, already tapping at her phone with a Bluetooth headset wedged tight in her ear, folder tucked under her arm.

Her pace matched mine, and I wondered if she was mirroring me to put me at ease. I looked up at her as she spoke.

“Vanessa’s waiting in your office,” she said, flipping open the folder as we walked. “Didn’t say why, but she looked tense.”

I shifted the coffee to my left hand and gave a half sigh, already expecting a confrontation. “Of course she didn’t. Probably wants to lecture me about damage control.” I reached for the button without slowing.

“Legal left you a voicemail too, and I didn’t pry, but I’ve heard rumors.

” Justine’s eyebrows rose as the elevator doors slid shut.

She looked intimidated or afraid, and I had no way of reassuring her.

With everything going on, legal could be touching base to let me know what happened with Marla or they could be ready to jump down my throat for sleeping with the new owner of the company.

“Thanks, Justine,” I grumbled as she handed me the folder.

“Good luck…I have to go down and speak with Isla. I’ll be back up as soon as I’m finished.” I stepped off the elevator and she stayed behind, and I didn’t get a good feeling about how my morning had already started.

My coat hit the back of my chair the second I stepped into my office.

Vanessa stood by the window, arms folded and shoulders squared, staring through the window.

Her blazer was buttoned, her jaw tight. The expression on her face was stern and laced with anger I was sure had been misplaced. I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“You look upset,” I said, setting the folder Justine handed me onto my desk. I rolled my shoulders back as I sat, mentally preparing for whatever she was about to say. It seemed like every time I turned around there was another lecture of some sort.

Vanessa turned and faced me directly. “We need to talk about the photo, Savannah. People are talking, and not in the way we want.”

I moved behind the desk and sat down. My whole body was weary from being so on edge all the time; it felt good to sit for a moment and take a load off.

I was ready for the whole situation to be over, but I knew the only way out was through.

“I’m assuming you mean the one you showed me a few days ago with my son in my arms? ”

She paced forward until she stopped across the desk from me. Her lips were pursed hard, and it appeared she’d taken the time to overemphasize her eye makeup to seem more dramatic, accentuate her angry eyes.

“The resemblance is significant, Savannah,” she said.

Her fingers tapped the edge of the desk once before she pulled them back.

“If you’re hiding something, you need to come clean.

I asked Dominic, but he was meeting with your father at the time and both of them were tight-lipped too.

What is going on? Don’t you see how this could derail Dominic’s entire future? ”

It was noble of her as an employee to want to protect Dominic, but my gut told me she was more interested in keeping her position at Knight Holdings, and she knew if their board ousted Dominic, she’d go right along with him. Besides, dragging me into the spotlight had been her idea to begin with.

“Can you just let this go? Our personal lives don’t have to become a circus for this merger to go forward.”

She stepped closer and planted her hands on the desk, eyes locked on mine. “The board is nervous. We’ve kept the merger on track by shaping Dominic into the image of a stable, disciplined partner—someone grounded, maybe even family oriented. If this story spirals, we lose all of that.”

I bristled at her insinuation that my secret made him look less dependable, but I didn’t move. “It won’t. I’ll handle it.”

Vanessa leaned in just a little and lowered her voice to a warning tone. “If you’re hiding something, they’ll find out. And when they do, they won’t be forgiving.”

The tension between us sharpened. I held my posture. My hands didn’t leave the desk. “I’m not afraid of the board,” I said. My voice was calm. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

She didn’t blink as she straightened. “You should be. Your job could be on the line, and those boys need a home.” Her glower reminded me of some of the few my father had given me over the past month, and though her warning wasn’t friendly, it reminded me of what was actually at stake for me.

Thea and my boys depended on me to pay the bills and give them a home.

If I lost this job because of this media mess, I couldn’t do that.

Part of me wanted to believe Dominic wouldn’t let that happen to me—to us—but I couldn’t be that hapless victim and use him for his money. I had to make this all right somehow.

I stared at the folder for several seconds before opening it. My inbox was already stacking with new messages, and within minutes, the phone rang twice. I took a breath, steadied my focus, and started answering what I could.

At noon, I took the elevator up to the rooftop terrace, wringing my hands as I prepared myself for whatever this conversation with my father would become.

The doors opened to the outdoor space, mostly empty now, and he was already seated at one of the far tables, facing the skyline.

His posture was formal, hands clasped in front of himself.

His attention locked on the view of the city that I loved to admire on my breaks.

He didn’t turn when he heard me approaching, but he didn’t startle when I cleared my throat and sat across from him.

“You’ve grown good at dodging conversations,” he said as I sat. “Is that what Knight taught you to do?” Dad’s eyes were inky and sullen. If I read him right, there was a hint of betrayal in them too, likely because I hadn’t told him the truth myself.

“It’s a skill I’ve had to develop,” I said, keeping my tone flat. I sucked in a deep breath and let the air fill my lungs before trying to relax them.

“I saw the photo, Savannah…Dominic told me everything.” His eyes narrowed, eyebrows dipping together in the center. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You don’t get to ask that anymore. You gave up the right to that answer when you started using me as a career pawn, Dad.

” Emotion forced its way into my throat, choking out the last few words until “Dad” came out in almost a whimper.

I didn’t want to cry, but I knew it was going to happen if he pushed me too far.

He blinked once, a slight delay before answering. “I’m your father.”

“You were. But you stopped when you started treating my life like a tool for your campaigns…” I sighed hard and blinked back the first round of tears, praying the rest stayed down.

“I’m trying to protect you from him—from what being connected to him will do to your future.” Dad reached into his pocket and pulled out a thumb drive, sliding it across the table toward me. “Just open it, see for yourself.”

“Dad, I’m not afraid of him. And I’m not going to be bullied by you either.” My eyes flicked down to look at the small black strip of plastic encasing metal, and I almost shivered. Whatever Dad was trying to prove was no doubt on that drive and ready to crush me yet again. I didn’t want to know.

Everyone had a past. Everyone had secrets. Mine had come out at the worst time imaginable and really hurt Dominic, but we were going to work on it. I knew that. I felt it in my gut.

I didn’t think my heart could survive another secret, especially one that might hurt me or my boys.

“Just look at it, Savannah. You’ll see why I can’t let you date him. Why I have to cut ties with him. Why his whole life has been a lie, and you’re not secure so long as you’re in his realm of influence.” Dad stood and buttoned his jacket, then leaned down and cupped my cheek.

When he pressed his lips to my forehead hard, I got the sense that something inside him was shattering. He never kissed my forehead. He almost never showed any physical sign of affection. This had him rattled, or maybe he was just good at play acting.

“I love you,” he whispered in a gravelly tone before straightening and walking off.

I stared at that flash drive and wrung my hands in my lap for a long time. If Dominic’s secret was scary enough to make my father act so strangely, maybe I did want to know. Maybe Dad was right and I shouldn’t just jump into this relationship with Dominic blindly.

But my heart was screaming to run forward and have what I’d always dreamed of.

Now my mind was asking, What else could go wrong?