Page 227 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

JULIAN

I ’m having a particularly shitty day, so when Damien comes over an hour earlier than he was supposed to, I’m pretty happy about the interruption.

Then I look at his face. “What happened?”

“I gave my mother an ultimatum,” he replies wearily. “Either she stops interfering in the way I run the company, or I’m out.”

I stare at my friend. This is long overdue, but I didn't think Damien would ever rebel. “How did she react?”

“I'm not sure. I turned off my phone.” He shakes his head. “Enough about me. What's going on with you?”

He looks like he could use a break from his problems, so I tell him mine. “I sent Francisco Flores a completed screenplay, and he wrote back saying that the work wasn't good enough, and I needed to start over.”

“What the hell?” Damien demands. “What did Shaun say?”

“I haven't talked to him yet.”

Damien gives me an exasperated look. He opens his mouth to yell at me, and I hold up my hand.

“I'm going to,” I tell him. “I’m done. Flores hasn't been helpful. We’re supposed to be working on this thing together, and he hasn't done a damn thing.

This is his script too. I'm not going to rewrite it.”

“So, what’s the hold-up? If you’re out of fucks, why haven’t you talked to Shaun? Be like me, Julian. Blow up your life with one well-placed phone call.”

He’s more bothered about his ultimatum than he’s letting on. Not surprising. Damien’s too responsible to take this lightly. He won’t be able to walk away that easily. “I know I should. But it’s hard to sweat the small stuff when you're happy.”

A smile breaks out on his face. “There is that,” he agrees.

“Once upon a time, the thought of walking away from the company would have wrecked me.

But now, I just feel peaceful. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to make this move. But if my mother accepts my resignation, life will move on.” He opens my refrigerator door, grabs a couple of beers, and hands me one. “My doctor sent me here to take time off, and I’ve failed miserably at that. But one thing I did figure out is what I wanted from my life.”

I feel exactly the same way. The last few weeks have really crystallized what's important. It's not my career. It's not whether this pilot gets made. It's not whether Francisco Florez cooperates with me.

No, what truly matters is the people in my life. Hannah having her wedding at Kincaid Castle. Finding Sophia again, rekindling a relationship with her. Being happier than I’ve been in a long time.

“Things are good.”

“They really are,” Damien agrees. He fiddles with the beer label, worrying it with his fingers. “I'm in love with her.”

“Welcome to the club.”

He flashes me a grin in response. “I've been thinking,” he says. “If I'm still working at the Cardenas Group next month, I can work out of the Manhattan office. I'll probably need to be there two days a week, but I can work remotely the other three. I don't know where we’re going to live, but?—”

I hold up my hand, laughing. “Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?”

“It's an occupational hazard,” he replies wryly.

Just then, my phone rings. I pick it up, and it's Damien's brother, Cristiano. “Julian, Damien’s phone is turned off, and I need to reach him in a hurry. If you hear from him, can you ask him to call me back?”

Yeah, Damien’s family won’t let him walk away. “Sure thing,” I tell Cristiano. “I’ll pass on the message.” I hang up. “That was for you. Cristiano wants you to call him back.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Damien swears. “I would have expected a call from Tomas or Vicky, but I thought Cristiano would stay out of it.” He grimaces. “There will be yelling. I better step outside for this. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” I tell him. He doesn’t need it, though. For the first time in a long time, things are really going to be okay. Everything is going to be amazing. I just know it.