AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Four more weeks. Four more weeks, and then she would move on. Their affair would end, and he could return to the life he’d led before she’d walked into his life.
The thought should have relieved him. Instead, it just made him feel depressed.
His phone vibrated, pulling his attention back from his morbid musings. He glanced at the email alert and then smiled as satisfaction returned him to the present. He walked down the hall at a brisk clip.
“There’s an update from Royal Air,” he said as he walked into Evolet’s office.
She sat up straight, alert and ready. “And?”
“Bengtsson has selected two to move forward. Including,” he said as pride filled his chest, “Bradford Global.”
A smile broke across her face. She clapped her hands as a delighted laugh escaped her lips. “That’s incredible!”
“Yes, but there’s a catch. The CEO, Bryant Bengtsson, wants representatives from the final two to meet with him. A final interview of sorts before he makes his decision. He’s invited two from each company.” Damon looked up at her. “I want you to go with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
“You know that proposal as well as I do, perhaps even better.”
“And you want me to go with you to Sweden?”
“Not Sweden,” he said with a smile. “We’re flying to Bali.”
Evolet looked down at the cobalt-blue waters of the Pacific. She’d never been to the West Coast, and now she was flying across it in a private jet.
She stole a glance at Damon. They’d both read and reread the proposal, privately and out loud. They’d talked through potential questions Bengtsson might throw at them, discussed risks and benefits.
Finally, she’d needed a break and had moved to the leather sofa that stretched along one wall of the plane.
Not just a break from work, but also from the turmoil still churning inside her.
The past two weeks with Damon had been some of the best of her life. More often than not, she spent the night at his penthouse, making love in his bed, the jet tub, the thick rug in front of the fireplace. She cooked him meals, replicating some of the Haitian dishes Constanza had taught her. They talked about music, books, movies, debated over which art pieces they’d liked best when they’d visited the Met and the places they wanted to travel. The more time they spent together, the more she shared about her upbringing with Constanza, her late-in-life musical training.
They talked about everything but Damon.
A soft sigh escaped her. It was his prerogative to keep his own secrets. He was a considerate, generous lover, thoughtful of her, yet still he held back. When she shared her own stories, like the first time she’d seen the Central Park Carousel, he’d held her in the circle of his arms, kissed her forehead and murmured quiet words that had wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. She hadn’t anticipated letting herself become so vulnerable. She hadn’t opened up to anyone except for Constanza in years. Yet it had happened naturally, her barriers coming down as she shared her body, and then the deepest parts of herself, with a man who listened, who cared and encouraged her.
And yet still he remained silent on his own past, his own desires beyond what he wanted for Bradford Global.
The more time she spent with him, the more vulnerable she allowed herself to be, the more acutely she felt his lack of confidence in her. In four weeks, she would be gone, both from Bradford Global and from Damon Bradford’s life.
The longer she indulged in this affair, the harder it became to contemplate walking away.
Stop it, she ordered herself as she rubbed at her temple. He’d set boundaries, clear ones. If they were in an actual relationship, that would have been one thing, but they weren’t. They were casual lovers.
She let her head drop back against the arm of the couch. The hum of the engine and the events of the past day made her eyelids heavy.
“There’s a bedroom in the back of the plane.”
She opened her eyes to see Damon crouched next to her. He reached out and smoothed a strand of hair back from her face, the simple gesture making her breath catch in her throat.
“That sounds nice.”
He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll walk you back.”
She shook her head as she walked into the small room. A queen-sized bed covered in a silky emerald comforter took up most of the space, with a bathroom at the back and a closet off to the side. “This is amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Damon paused. “Sit with me a moment.”
