39. Orion

39

ORION

I walked to work with Remmy early in the morning, my thoughts a chaotic mess. Last night, I should have told Ember I had my own confession. I knew it even then, but the gut punch of hearing her admit to betraying me had knocked the sense out of me for a couple minutes. My opportunity to come clean had passed.

I wasn't sure how things would go today at the office, or if she would even show up. But I knew I needed to fix this.

"You're extra broody this morning," Remmy said. "Something to do with your little lover's spat last night? I know you stormed out and went home when I asked at dinner, but will you at least tell me what happened now?"

So I did, glossing over certain details a brother shouldn't share with his sister. I was surprised it only took me a few minutes to summarize everything to her.

"So let me get this straight," Remmy said, eyes narrowed. "She finally came clean about everything, and you just... let her walk away? Without telling her your own secret about Davenport?"

"It wasn't that simple."

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, you both kept secrets. She owned up to hers. You chickened out."

I adjusted my tie, a nervous habit I thought I'd broken years ago. "The situations aren't exactly comparable."

"No? She took a job under false pretenses but ended up genuinely caring about the work and the people. You planned to exploit an old man's trust and destroy his legacy, but changed your mind because of her influence. Sounds pretty comparable to me."

Sometimes I hated how easily Remmy could cut through my defenses. "Fine. You have a point."

My phone dinged with a text from Moira.

Moira: Just received a formal invitation for tomorrow night. Eleanor Golding is hosting some kind of joint reception for Foster Real Estate and Northman Group at the Metropolitan. Davenport will be there to make an "important announcement." Did you know she and Davenport were old friends?

Eleanor Golding? Something about the timing and the fact that it was Eleanor Golding immediately made me suspect Ember. In fact, this had her fingerprints all over it. But what the hell was the point? Was it some kind of trap? Or was this her attempt to fix the damage she imagined she had caused?

"What is it?" Remmy asked, trying to peek at my screen.

"Eleanor Golding is hosting an event tomorrow night. Both companies, Davenport..." I trailed off as another text came through, this one from Roman:

Roman: I’m hearing Cole Northman believes Davenport is going to announce his final decision about which company to go with tomorrow night. He seems unusually confident. Should we be concerned?

I typed out another message to Ember.

Me: Can we speak before tomorrow night? Please.

Like my previous attempts since last night, it went unanswered.

"She's planning something," I said.

"Good." Remmy's voice was firm. "Maybe it's time somebody did. You two have been dancing around each other for weeks, both carrying secrets that are eating you alive. If she's making a move to fix things, you better be ready to meet her halfway."

"If she would just answer my calls?—"

"Oh, like you gave her a chance to explain last night?" Remmy raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you have to let things play out the way they need to, big brother. Even if it means losing a little control."

Control. That's what this had always been about, wasn't it? Controlling my image, my company, my emotions. And now Ember had thrown all of that into chaos.

The strange thing was, I wasn't sure I wanted that control back.

"I need to find her," I said. "Before tomorrow night."

"And if you can't?"

"Then I'll show up to this thing and trust that Ember knows what she’s doing. I owe her that much."

"You owe her more than that," Remmy said softly. "You owe her the truth. All of it."

She was right. The property transfer documents I'd thrown away might be gone, but the intent behind them—my willingness to destroy Davenport's legacy for profit—that guilt was still there. Just like Ember's guilt over Cole.

The difference was, she'd been brave enough to face it head-on.

Now it was my turn.

I just hoped I'd get the opportunity. That whatever she was planning for tomorrow night wouldn't destroy any chance we had of making this right.

Because for the first time in my life, I was ready to choose something more important than winning. I just needed her to give me one more chance to show her.