Page 197 of Secret Heir For The Billionaire Twin

“Sophie.”

The use of my first name catches me more effectively than it should.

I stand anyway.

“Take the call, Julian.”

For a second, neither of us moves. Then Tamara quietly steps farther into the room, giving Julian no choice but to acknowledge the business waiting for him.

He looks at me once more before saying, “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I reply.

I walk out before my expression gives him anything else. The elevator doors close behind me, and only then do I realize how hard my heart is beating.

Julian’s questions have nothing to do with California operations, Vanguard Business, or the retrospective.

He wants to know what happened to my life after him. That is exactly why taking this assignment is beginning to feel like a mistake.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Julian

Friday evening, I walk into the apartment just after 8:00 and know something is wrong before Camille says a word.

She is sitting at the far end of the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, still dressed from the day, a glass of wine untouched on the table beside her. The television is off. Her phone is face down. A cream folder from Lydia, our wedding planner, rests on the coffee table between us.

I take off my jacket and drape it over the back of a chair.

“What happened?”

Camille looks at me for a moment.

“You missed the meeting.”

I stop.

The tasting.

I look toward the folder, and the entire afternoon rearranges itself in my head: investor call, revised projections, Elena asking for twenty minutes that became forty, Tamara moving one meeting and cancelling another. Somewhere inside all of it, the appointment with Lydia disappeared.

“Camille, I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“I lost track of the time.”

“I know that too.”

Her voice is calm, which makes my apology feel thinner than it should. I cross the room and sit in the chair opposite her.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Camille gives me a tired look. “I did.”

I reach for my phone and see three missed calls buried beneath messages from work.

“Fuck.”