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But maybe that was too weird. Damn, she had no idea how to behave. He’d saved her life, he’d taken care of her...did that mean they were serious now? When not one word had been exchanged between them about what this relationship of theirs was all about, aside from sex?
She kept mulling it over until she heard the door to the penthouse opening. Her heart leaped and she sprang to her feet, spinning around, expecting to see Damien.
It wasn’t him. Instead, a maid stood there, offering her a weak smile and then gesturing to someone in the hall.
Sylvia walked into the room, handed the woman some cash and then shut the door once the housekeeper had left. Dressed in a designer pantsuit, wearing more jewelry than was technically tasteful for a weekday afternoon, the woman didn’t even pretend to smile or act social.
Viv watched her, bracing herself for what she suspected was going to be a very unpleasant scene.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence, and then Damien’s mother said, “Are you at least going to ask me to sit down?”
“Of course. Where’s Damien?”
“He’s in a boardroom downstairs, meeting with the corporate lawyers I brought with me. They’re trying to deal with this catastrophe.”
“Catastrophe?”
“Yes,” Sylvia said, sitting on the sofa. “You, dear.” Sylvia peered at Viv’s lip, which still had a small scab from the attack. “Tell me, do you take advantage of all the noble men who rescue you from abusive boyfriends?”
“I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but I was attacked by a former coworker. I had no personal relationship whatsoever with the man.”
“The incident at the press conference a few weeks ago would say differently,” Sylvia said with a shrug. “You had a lover’s quarrel then, too, right? Isn’t that why you slapped him?”
Viv couldn’t believe how the story was being spun. “Absolutely not. I have no idea who’s saying these things, but they are not true.”
“Well, whatever the truth, you’ve certainly managed to drag my family into your sordid nightmare. Do you have any idea how much you’ve cost us?”
Viv’s head was pounding now, a headache slamming into her from out of the blue. “No, I don’t.”
“Millions, dear,” the woman said, the words ground out from between clenched teeth. “After the news about our CEO brawling in the corridor of his own hotel, our stock plummeted.”
“Oh, my God,” she groaned.
“I hear the sporting world is investigating this situation with the player. He’s claiming he was traded because of a love triangle between the three of you.”
“That’s a lie.”
“He’s also threatening to sue, claiming Damien attacked him.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Whoops. Sylvia obviously didn’t appreciate the language and she sneered in distaste.
“How can he possibly sue someone for stopping a crime?”
“Stranger things have happened. Damien could lose control of this team he cares so much about.”
That got her attention. “Why?”
“My son doesn’t own one hundred percent of the team, naturally. He has investors who aren’t happy about this negative press right before the first season. They could push him out.”
This couldn’t be happening. How was it even possible?
“Bad press is deadly to people in his position, don’t you understand? Of course, he’ll survive it, we all will. He just has to come home to Florida, get to work and stop, er, putting himself in ugly situations with inappropriate people.”
“Meaning me.”
She didn’t even try to soften the blow. “Yes. Meaning you.” Sylvia rose to leave. “If there is an ounce of decency in you, if you care about Damien, do the right thing. Take your sordid drama and get away from him. Frankly, he can’t afford it otherwise.”
Viv didn’t reply. What could she say? This woman—Damien’s mother—had just made herself Viv’s enemy. The relationship could never be fixed. Never. Which didn’t bode well for Viv’s future with her son.
After Sylvia left, Viv sat in the living room of the suite, pondering everything that had happened. First, she mourned for Damien—how sad to have grown up with such a vicious bitch for a mother. And then she began to wonder what she could do to make up for all the problems she’d brought into his life.
“Getting out of it might be a start,” she whispered.
The idea pained her and brought hot tears to her eyes. She didn’t want to lose him, didn’t want to end what had become the most important relationship in her life. But she also didn’t want to cost him so many things that meant so much to him. His family, the team, even his home in Florida, which he’d never set foot in as long as Viv and his mother were enemies.
