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Losing. Taking orders from Tobias. Becoming a laughingstock. The taste of ashes filled my mouth.
“I hope so.” My mother didn’t acknowledge my rare loss of temper; there were bigger things at stake. “Or you’ll go down in history as the Young who lost control of his family’s empire. Remember that the next time you feel like running around town with your new girlfriend.”
After I hung up, I sent the rest of my calls to voicemail and took a car to Isabella’s house. I had the driver follow a winding route in case I was still being tailed, but it didn’t matter much if I was. The photos had done their damage.
Isabella looked remarkably calm when she opened the door.
“I’m okay,” she said before I could ask. If it weren’t for the redness tipping her nose and rimming her eyes, I might’ve believed her. “It’s just a job. I’ll find another one. See? I’ve already started looking.” She gestured at the job search site pulled up on her computer. “I’m thinking about addingphotogenic even in candid photosin the special skills section.” A small wobble betrayed her joke.
I didn’t smile. “Isa.”
“I’ve been fired before. Not as many times as I’ve quit but, you know, the end result is the same.” A semblance of a smile strained across her face. “What’s one more failure on the books? It doesn’t—”
“Isa.”
“It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The only shitty part is if Parker blacklists me with other bars. She knows everyone in the New York nightlife industry. I don’tthinkshe will—”
“Isabella.” I opened my arms. “Come here, love.”
She fell silent, her eyes glassy. Her chest heaved from her rapid-fire rambling, and she didn’t move for a long, drawn-out second.
Then her face crumpled, and she fell into my open arms with a quiet sob that ripped through me like shrapnel. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her as she cried, wishing I didn’t feel so damn helpless.
No one was above Valhalla’s rules, not even the managing committee. I could easily find her another job or pay her bills so she didn’thaveto find new employment, but that wouldn’t go over well. She was too independent to accept anyone’s charity. Besides, I knew Isabella well enough to know her termination from Valhalla was not the root issue here.
She confirmed it less than a minute later when she lifted her head, her eyes red and swollen from her tears.
An ache clawed its way into my chest and stabbed at my heart.
“I’m sorry.” She hiccupped. “This is so stupid. I totally didn’t mean to cry all over your really nice and probably very expensive shirt.” She rubbed her thumb over the mascara-stained cotton like it would magically erase the black marks.
“It’s just a shirt.” I grasped her wrist, stilling her. “And it’s not stupid. You’ve had a…taxing day.”
“Kai Young, the king of understatement.” Isabella’s watery smile dissolved almost as soon as it formed. “It’s not even the getting fired part that gets me. I mean, obviously I’m upset, but part of me expected it to happen. I just…” Her throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “I feel like such a failure. My mom’s birthday is in a few weeks, my book isn’t done yet, and I’ll have to go home and tell my family I got fired. It’s worse because they’ve been so supportive. Well, besides Gabriel, but that’s another story. They’ve had faith in me this entire time, and I keep letting them down.”
“You’re not letting them down. There’s no time limit to success, and they’re your family,” I said. “They want you to be happy.”
“I’m happy when I’m with you or my friends. But when you leave and I’m alone, I just feel…lost. Like I don’t know where I’m supposed to be in life.” The last word came out as an achingly vulnerable whisper.
The ache intensified, creeping into my bones and veins like poison without a cure. I had billions in the bank and the most powerful people in the world on speed dial, but I’d never felt so powerless.
“You’re not alone,” I said softly. “You have me.”
If it were anyone else, they’d have to pull the words out of me with pliers. But with Isabella, the admission floated as easily between us as a gust of air.
Her eyes brightened with a fresh sheen. A tear streaked down her cheek, and I brushed it away with my thumb, wishing I could offer more than words and a promise. I’d give anything to see her happy—truly happy, not just happy in the moment. No fears, no anxieties, just the freedom to bloom to her fullest potential.
“We’ll be lost together.” A smile edged my lips. “Lucky for you, I have an excellent sense of direction.”
“Funny, because I don’t haveanydirection.” Her expression dimmed further before she shook her head. The tense melancholy retreated an inch. “Every man thinks they have a great sense of direction. I bet you refuse to ask for help even when youarelost.” Isabella sniffled out a laugh. “Anyway, enough about me. What about you? The board must be freaking out about the photos. I’m not exactly CEO partner material.” Concern swallowed the fleeting humor in her eyes. “It’s not going to affect the vote, is it?”
Her question grabbed hold of my heart and squeezed. She was the one who’d gotten fired, and she was worried aboutme.
In that moment, I wanted to hunt down every person who’d ever made her feel like she was a failure, a disappointment, or anything less than fucking perfect.
“It’s caused some complications, but they’re nothing I can’t handle.” I smoothed away the furrow in her brow with a kiss. “Don’t worry about me, love.”
“I know we should’ve been more careful,” she said quietly. “But is it bad that I don’t regret what we did?”
