Chapter 107: Blackstone Announcement

Adrian could barely contain his excitement. He sat behind his desk the next morning, pretending to work while checking the clock every few minutes. His boss had called him last night.

His boss.

Dorian Heathcliffe.

The emotionally constipated, three-divorces-deep, I am never falling in love again Dorian Heathcliffe.

And what had he said?

I am in love with my wife.

Adrian had stared at his phone for almost an entire minute afterward. Then he had laughed so hard he nearly choked.

Now he was beginning to wonder what order he should tease Dorian in. There were simply too many options.

Truthfully, he had seen the possibility almost from the beginning. There had been something different about Dorian around Naomi.

His shoulders relaxed around her. His voice changed. He pretended he was merely enduring Naomi’s endless talking when Adrian could clearly see he was listening to every word. He complained about her chaos while quietly rearranging his life to accommodate it.

Then came the sex negotiations.

Adrian had watched the entire thing develop like someone observing a slow-motion car crash. Except both idiots seemed delighted to be inside the vehicle.

And Naomi brought something else into Dorian’s life.

A mystery.

Dorian loved puzzles almost as much as he loved winning. Every answer seemed to create three more questions. He considered Naomi’s life a mystery, and once Dorian Heathcliffe started pulling at a loose thread, there was almost no chance he would stop until the entire thing unraveled.

Still, as entertained as Adrian was by all of this, there was one part he was absolutely not looking forward to.

The contract had an expiration date. And if Naomi actually walked away when those five months were over?

Adrian leaned back in his chair and grimaced. Dorian would be a bitch to work for and with.

Finally, Dorian appeared. Adrian looked up from his desk and immediately had to fight the urge to smile.

His boss looked terrible. The slightly heavier eyes. The tighter jaw.

Adrian got to his feet immediately and approached him with his tablet in hand. Dorian barely acknowledged him before speaking.

"Do you have any idea why my family are blowing up my phone?" Dorian hadn’t bothered answering a single call. He hadn’t even opened the family group chat.

Usually, Dorian at least checked the messages before deciding everyone was annoying. Today, he had skipped straight to avoidance.

Then again, he had reasons. He and Naomi hadn’t gone to bed until around two in the morning. After that, sleep had become almost impossible.

First, Dorian had finally admitted the thing he had spent weeks denying. He was in love with his wife.

Unfortunately, the woman he had fallen in love with had quite openly informed him that she didn’t think she was capable of love.

Then, because his brain hated him, he had spent a substantial portion of the night thinking about Saturday and Naomi’s promise of a little sexual experimentation.

So somewhere between emotional devastation and inappropriate anticipation, sleep had lost the battle completely.

His brain had become one endless whirlpool of Naomi.

Adrian looked down at his tablet. "The Blackstone Leadership Forum was announced this morning. You were listed as their guest speaker."

"That shouldn’t have my family calling me like someone died."

"No. This part probably does." Adrian glanced at the screen. "They also included that you would be having the talk with your wife."

Dorian stopped walking. "What? I said she would be my plus-one!"

"That was also my understanding."

"Fucking Camille must have twisted it." Dorian dragged a hand down his face.

"I can send a message to that effect," Adrian offered.

"Please do." Dorian groaned as he walked into his office.

Adrian followed. "Clarify that Mrs Heathcliffe is attending as your guest only? And that she is not scheduled to participate in any interview or panel?"

"Exactly."

Adrian made a note. Dorian moved toward his desk but didn’t sit.

"I’ll be heading to Bedford Hills today."

Adrian checked the calendar. "I do not have a client scheduled for today."

"Pro bono," Dorian answered immediately.

"Again, I do not have a client scheduled—"

"Just drop it, okay!"

Adrian tightened his lips. So the bitchiness had begun early. "Anything else?" Adrian asked.

Dorian rubbed the back of his neck. "No."

Adrian nodded and started to turn away. Then stopped. "Actually... do you want me to shred your marriage contract?"

Dorian turned slowly. Adrian kept his face perfectly straight. Dorian sighed instead. He was too tired to indulge Adrian’s teasing. "My wife is crazy, but I love her. She is a lunatic, but I love her. She’s guarded... God, I love her. She talks too much and I still fucking love her. And the sex..." he looked toward the ceiling wondering why this had happened to him. "I love her. She’s an absolute maniac..."

"I believe maniac and crazy are synonyms."

Dorian narrowed his eyes at him. Adrian lifted one shoulder.

"I’m just trying to move the pros and cons along."

Dorian groaned and dropped into the chair behind his desk. "What am I going to do?"

Adrian cleared his throat loudly and disguised two very obvious words inside the cough. "Tell her."

"Oh, didn’t I tell you? Love frightens my wife. She is allergic to the word. A mere mention of it and she is headed for the cliffs. Besides, I just swore three days ago never to fall in love with her."

"Again... tell her."

Dorian threw both hands up. "Why do I bother talking to you?"

Adrian opened his mouth to answer. His phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. "It’s Miss Heathcliffe." He quickly clarified, "Miss Genevieve Heathcliffe."

"Tell her I’m not here," Dorian said.

"Of course." He answered. "Miss Heathcliffe?...He says he’s not here."

Dorian’s head snapped up. Adrian continued as though this were perfectly normal.

"Uhn-huh... okay..." He pulled the phone away from his ear. "You’re on speaker."

Ginny’s voice exploded through the office. "Check your goddamned messages, Dorian!"