Chapter 12: King of Pride: Chapter 12

“Is there a reason we’re doing this here instead of at the club?” Dominic cast a disdainful look around the simulation room. It was the best money could buy, with the latest state-of-the-art technology, a glass case of autographed golf paraphernalia, and a full wet bar, but he looked thoroughly unimpressed. “Valhalla has better facilities. This is adequate at best.”

“Don’t be a snob.” I uncapped a bottle of single-malt scotch. “Sometimes, a change of scenery is necessary.”

Dominic, Dante, and I were gathered at the new entertainment complex in Hudson Yards for our semi-regular lunch and exchange of information. I supplied the news and whispers, Dominic the market insights, and Dante the corporate wheelings and dealings. It was a mutually beneficial relationship all around, though we’d yet to find a meeting spot up to par with Dominic’s standards.

The quiet foster kid with the chip on his shoulder had come a long way since his days in the Ohio projects. Dominic had the most expensive taste of anyone I knew, and I’d grown up with people who hadn’t blinked an eye at shelling out tens of millions of dollars on objectively questionable art.

“And sometimes, people use change as an excuse to avoid a certain location,” Dante drawled from his seat along the wall. “You haven’t set foot in the club for three weeks unless it was for boxing.”

I poured the alcohol into a glass and avoided his eagle-eyed gaze. “I have other responsibilities besides loitering at the club. The holiday season is a busy time of year.”

“Hmm.” The sound weighed heavy with skepticism.

I ignored it. I wasn’t lying about my workload. It was the week before Thanksgiving, which meant I had a tight window left to close the DigiStream deal before everyone signed off for the holidays. My team had stressed the importance of completing the deal before the end of the year for various financial reasons. It wouldn’t be a total disaster if negotiations spilled over into January, but I didn’t settle for “not a disaster” when it came to business. I wanted the deal sealed before the CEO vote.

Of course, Dante wasn’t wrong. I’d avoided Valhalla like the plague since the fall gala. Since the night I took Isabella to my hideaway—my favorite place at the club, which I’d never shown anyone—and almost kissed her.

I tossed back my drink. The scotch burned a path down my throat but couldn’t erase the memory of those big brown eyes and lush, red mouth.

One tiny dip of my head and I could’ve tasted her. Discovered for myself whether her lips were as soft as they looked and whether she tasted as sweet as I imagined.

Heat rippled through me. I set my jaw and brushed it off.

Thank God reason had prevailed before I gave in to my baser instincts. It would’ve been poor form to take one woman on a date, then kiss another woman the same night, even if the former had already left.

, an insidious voice sang.

, another voice snapped.

I rubbed a hand over my face. Great. Now I was silently arguing with myself.

Dominic finished his round at the simulator. I took his place, eager for a distraction. I wasn’t a huge fan of golf, but DigiStream’s CEO loved it, and I wanted to brush up on my skills for our post-Thanksgiving game at Pine Valley.

I’d just lined up my shot when Dominic’s phone dinged.

“Kai.”

Something in his voice snapped my senses into high alert. I straightened, a cold rope of dread twisting through my gut when I saw both Dominic and Dante staring at their cells with grim expressions.

Did something happen to my mother? Maybe she was sick after all; she’d collapsed and been rushed to the hospital. Or perhaps it was my sister and newborn nephew, who were flying to Australia today. There’d been a plane accident, or a fire, or…

My dread solidified into ice as worst-case scenarios flipped through my head at lightning speed.

I reached for my phone and scanned the headlines blaring across my screen. Not my family. Relief loosened the fist around my heart, but it was short-lived.

“Jesus fuck.” Dante verbalized my sentiments as only Dante could. “That’s some bad timing.”

“You don’t say.” I didn’t indulge in profanity often, but the temptation to curse pushed against my lips as the implications sank in.

I knew Colin had a nasty drug habit; so did half the people on Wall Street. I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t police my business associates’ personal lives. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they weren’t hurting other people or the bottom line. Plus, of the two co-founders, Colin had been the most amenable to the deal. His co-founder Rohan Mishra had resisted until Colin brought him around. Now, I either had to deal with Rohan or postpone closing talks until next year, likely the CEO vote had already happened.

Even without the CEO position at stake, the DigiStream deal was essential. The board might not believe me, but the video streaming service was the future of news as the world shifted from traditional media apparatuses to citizen-driven reporting.

And now, the deal that would cement my legacy was in jeopardy because a twenty-four-year-old tech bro couldn’t keep his nose out of cocaine long enough to sign a contract that would’ve made us both legends.

“Go,” Dante said, accurately reading my mood. “Let us know if you need anything.”

I responded with a curt nod, my initial panic rearranging itself into to-do items and checklists. By the time I hit the lobby, I’d already sent flowers to Colin’s hospital room via my assistant, reached out to Rohan’s office to set up a call, and assembled my team for an emergency meeting at the office.

The actions took the edge off my adrenaline, and when I stepped out into the crisp fall air, I’d regained my usual cold, practical clarity.

Colin was in the hospital, but he wasn’t dead. DigiStream was still operational, and Rohan had sat in on all the meetings. I didn’t need to catch him up on the latest developments. He might need more wooing, but the deal was in both our interests. Even someone as stubborn as him could see it.

I might be able to salvage the deal before the holidays after all. If I didn’t, I’d still become CEO.

Everything would be fine.

I reached the main intersection and was about to hail a cab when a familiar laugh hit me square in the chest.

I wasn’t conscious of stopping. All I knew was, one minute, I was moving; the next, I was frozen, watching as Isabella walked toward me. Her face was alight with animation as she talked to the vaguely familiar-looking guy next to her. Her ruby-red coat popped against the black-clad masses teeming on the sidewalk, but even without it, she would’ve been the brightest spot of the day.

She laughed again, and a sliver of something green and unpleasant curled in my chest.

I tensed, awaiting our eventual encounter. She was only a few steps away.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer…

Isabella walked past, still deep in conversation with her companion.

She hadn’t even noticed me.

“Isabella.” Her name came out sharper than I’d intended.

She glanced back, her face blanking for a second like she was trying to remember who I was.

My irritation doubled alongside the suspiciously-like-jealousy-but-couldn’t-possibly-be-jealousy tendrils snaking through my veins.

“Oh! Hi.” The blankness gave way to a surprised smile. “Kai Young outside the Upper East Side. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Miracles happen every day.” I assessed the man beside her with a cool once-over. Late twenties or early thirties. Tall, lanky, with curly brown hair and a distinct European artist vibe amplified by his plaid scarf and ink-stained fingers.

I disliked him on sight.

“This is Leo Agnelli,” Isabella said, following my gaze. “He’s the author of one of my favorite books, Have you read it?”

was why he looked familiar. Leo had been the darling of the literary world a few years ago. He was still well-known, but his two-year hiatus from publishing had stunted his momentum. Rumor had it he was working on a new book, but nothing had been confirmed.

“Yes.”

Isabella was too busy gushing about him to notice my unenthused reply. “I joined a local writing group to see if it would help with my block. Today was my first meeting, so imagine my surprise when Leo showed up!”

“I’m friends with the organizer,” Leo explained. “I’m in town for some meetings, and I dropped by to say hi.”

“Perfect timing.” Isabella’s dimples flashed. “It’s like fate.”

“How fortuitous.” I didn’t understand her excitement over Leo. He was good, but he wasn’t good.

Unlike most writers who stuck with one or two genres, Leo’s works spanned literary, contemporary, and historical fiction.

was the most introspective piece in his catalog, and Isabella hated lit fic.

They carried on like I hadn’t spoken.

“Are your meetings about your next book?” she asked.

“Some of them,” Leo said with a grin. “I’m working on a travel memoir about the two years I spent abroad.”

So the rumors about a new project were true. Normally, I would’ve texted my books and culture editor with the news, but I was too distracted by the way Isabella’s face lit up at the confirmation.

“Yes! I read your guest column in I can’t believe you went diving in Silfra,” she breathed. “That’s one of my top bucket list items.”

My jaw tensed as she rambled on about his adventures. Personally, I didn’t think they were a big deal. So what if Leo went diving between tectonic plates? He didn’t the Silfra Fissure, for Christ’s sake.

Isabella brushed a strand of hair out of her eye. Her tattoo peeked out from the sleeve of her coat, and I tried not to think about tracing its lines and swirls with my tongue.

I had a meeting to get to, but I couldn’t leave her alone with Leo. His timing was too suspicious. He just to be in town for meetings? Likely story. What if he was a stalker or, worse, a serial killer?

My phone buzzed with a new message from my assistant informing me the Whidby crisis response team was onsite. I reluctantly pulled my attention away from Isabella and typed out a quick response.

Isabella was still gushing over Leo’s travels when I looked up again.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Bungee jumping from Victoria Falls. Sailing through the Drake Passage to Antarctica.

Was he a writer or Indiana fucking Jones?

Unmistakable jealousy gnawed at my gut. She’d never smiled at me the way she was smiling at him, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d let him kiss her the way I almost had.

My sense of self-preservation and propriety had kicked in at the last minute, but for once in my life, I wished they hadn’t.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. My mouth opened before my brain could stop me. “There’s a big event this Saturday. It’s the VIP opening for a new piano bar in the Meatpacking District,” I said when Isabella paused for breath. “I have an extra ticket, if you’re interested in attending.”

It wasn’t hiking Mount Everest, but it was an exclusive event. Leo wasn’t the only one who could have fun.

“Oh.” She blinked, clearly caught off guard given how our last interaction had ended. It’d been three weeks since I left her in the library without so much as a goodbye. It wasn’t my finest moment, but she had a way of pulling both the best and worst out of me. “Um, thanks for the invite, but I have to work—”

“Hina Tanaka is the opening act.” I banked on the hope that Isabella would know who she was. Hina was one of the top pianists in the world, and she hadn’t performed in the United States in years.

“Oh.” This time, Isabella’s face lit with excitement. “Well, I think I can find someone to cover for me.”

“Apologies, but I only have two tickets,” I told Leo with a forced, polite smile. “Otherwise, I would offer you an invitation as well.”

“No worries,” he said easily. “I’m not a big piano guy anyway.” He checked his watch. “I’m meeting my agent in half an hour so I have to run, but it was nice meeting you. Isabella, I’ll send you the signed copy of when I get home.”

“He’s a bit full of himself, isn’t he?” I said after Leo left. “All that bragging about his travels.”

Isabella slanted a strange look at me. “

? He’s one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met.”

“Yes, well, you only met today. How do you know your assessment of his character is accurate?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you sick? Because you’re behaving very strangely.”

She wasn’t wrong. I was acting like an ill-mannered boor, but I couldn’t stop myself. Seeing her laugh and converse so easily with Leo had triggered my worst caveman impulses.

“I’m not sick. I’m—” I caught myself and took a deep, calming breath. “I’m late for a meeting. But send me your address and I’ll pick you up at seven on Saturday.”

“No need. I can meet you at the club.” Isabella paused. “You’re not going to leave me there without saying goodbye, right?”

A flush singed my cheeks at the indirect reference to what’d happened in the secret room. “No.”

“And this isn’t a date?”

“Of course not.”

It was simply a friendly gathering of two acquaintances at a predetermined time and location.

I said a curt goodbye and called Alison on my way back to the office. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I said. “In the meantime, please reschedule my dinner with Russell on Saturday. Tell him a personal emergency came up.”

I was supposed to take our company’s visiting COO out this weekend, but plans changed.

“Of course. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine, but I changed my mind about the piano bar opening. RSVP yes for me and a plus-one. Thank you.”

I hung up. I should have been brainstorming strategies to manage the DigiStream crisis, but as the cab sped toward midtown Manhattan, I couldn’t stop my mind from fast-forwarding to the weekend—or my pulse from hammering at the anticipation of a completely innocent, one hundred percent platonic non-date.