BENEATH THE BILLIONAIRE SILENCE

rknob as the knocks echoed again, t

of her own breath, the creak of the floor,

ight of her phone and st

er voice was steady despi

use,

me, Da

e on his face-wet from the rain, hair dripping,

u here for?" she aske

didn't think you should be a

fine. You didn'

said. "But

s shirt clung to him, soaked, then she tossed hi

near the fireplace.

h, lit one on the mantel, and the ro

d. "The feeling is

Like everything around me is moving out of co

-

through his damp h

o figure out how to move forward without m

g it all dow

him, skeptical

ss. Told Ivy this morning to begin the transition.

guard by the calm in hi

. But it also took more than I ever realized. It's not just about

What about your team? The

a path. And I'm redirecting a portion of my holdings t

rrowed. "Yo

for the headlines. For the k

uld've a

er everything, the least I could do was plant somethi

andle for a long moment. "I don

rn it. Slowly, if t

-

led in the distance, and the wind began t

dles and set them bet

storms," she said quietly. "We'd talk or read

ch. "She sounded like someone who

ling apart." Maya glanced at him. "She

iling faintly. "She probably woul

h in the kitchen until you c

"That sounds

come back. The st

between them softened-

-

d the streets. The awning over Maya's café had partially collapsed under the wind. Water had

her arms crossed, surv

lding two coffees from a nearby

ave to fix i

replied. "But

ng longer this time. "We can't

ding," he said.

ed once,

"Then see if we can get someone to reinf

you. But she didn't

-

Maya's regulars-came by to help patch up the wall temporarily. The ins

de under the p

ian. "So what's ne

. "I stay. I help. I build. And I w

d. "You might be

be h

before he caught the flic

-

a car pulled up in front of the café. A sleek, bla

n fro

in a tan trench coat and dark heels. Her

up. "Do you

ch dropped. "Y

at him. "Yo

e wouldn't be

fessional smile in place.

re the one helping h

ut I'm here because som

Damian an

pene

a photo. An

blurred, but unmistakably not Damian-t

le

s resignation had been proc

s repl

been waiting

t for a long momen

k on his face and a

envelope slo

just lost e