Once the bartender placed a scotch in front of me, Walter took a drink of his and then said, “I spoke to Joanna after you left the restaurant last night.”
“I assumed.”
He kept his eyes straight, not looking at me. “She told me the story of how you two met. You didn’t know who she was; therefore, you didn’t stop it from happening.” He gradually moved his stare, locking with mine. “But once she told you the truth, what happened, Jenner?”
I didn’t know if this was a test or if he truly didn’t know the answer.
“I ended things.” I wiped the corners of my mouth. “I told her it couldn’t work, that I wouldn’t do that to you.” I sighed. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, Walter.”
“But you found your way back to her.” His voice was flat.
I had no idea where this was going.
“Yes.” I attempted to lift the scotch to my lips but didn’t. “Our second trip to Utah is when that happened.”
“That’s quite a gap in between.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m trying to understand this, Jenner. To wrap my fucking head around it.”
“I love her.” I looked at the bottles that lined the center of the bar, my heart remembering that feeling when I’d walked away and the feeling when I couldn’t fight her any longer. “And every day she wasn’t in my life, I wanted her to be. It was miserable.” I turned toward him. “I wouldn’t have rekindled things if I wasn’t serious about her. I wouldn’t have taken the chance, not with the relationship I have with you. You need to know that—that I went into this, knowing I would more than likely lose you as a client and I was all right with that as long as I got her.”
He exhaled. “Jenner, you’ve been with me a long time. We’ve worked on billion-dollar projects together. Last night, I was willing to give that up.”
“And today?”
He drained his scotch and called the bartender over for another. “Today, for the first time in a long time, I saw my daughter’s smile not as bright as it usually is. I saw her mope through meetings and eat lunch at her desk instead of going out with her colleagues. That’s not her. That’s the result of this.” His finger traced the air between us. “Prior to today, I’d never seen her happier. Hell, I thought it was her job that was giving her that smile.” He paused. “Now, I know it was you.”
I was silent for a few moments before I said, “I won’t hurt her.” I halted and then added, “You need to know that Jo’s safe with me.”
That was a promise I’d never intended on making, one I’d never even contemplated before.
But I could say those words to Walter and mean them.
“You bet your ass you won’t hurt her.” He gripped his cup like it was a gun. “I’ll hang you by the fucking balls if you do.”
I took a breath. “Walter, you can trust me. I know that’s easy to say from this end, and given what you just learned, you’re doubting that, but my personal life has absolutely nothing to do with the decisions I make for your company and the way I represent your brand.”
“One of the things my daughter emphasized was your loyalty to me.” He circled the glass over the wooden bar top. “I’ve calmed down a lot since last night. I’m not saying I’m going to shred our contract. I’m also not saying I’m going to invite you to my poker game next week.” He licked the scotch off his lips as he emptied another glass. “It’s going to take me some time to accept the new role you have in my family.”
A role I wasn’t ever stepping down from.
But I kept that point to myself.
“My ex-wife would tell you I’m inconvincible, stubborn as an old mule. And maybe so, but I need you, Jenner—something I don’t want to admit. But like I’ve said in the past, I’ve gone through enough lawyers to know I have a good one. And since I can’t replace you, the best thing for me, my company, and my daughter is to find a way to accept this.”
Any man with an ego like Walter’s would have had a hard time, admitting that. I knew this conversation wasn’t easy for him, but he also knew I respected him, and I wouldn’t be sitting here if Jo were just another girl I wanted to fuck in a restroom stall.
“I won’t do you wrong,” I told him. “You have my word.”
I shot back my whole drink and chased it with some water that the bartender had poured for us at some point.
As I was setting the glass down, Walter said, “I think you forgot this.” He placed my credit card in front of me. “I should have used it for the dinner that none of us ate.”
I chuckled, sticking the card in my pocket. “That’s why I left it.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll be deducting the amount from your bill this month.”
“I expect nothing less.” Knowing we’d reached the end of this little talk, I got up from my seat and held my hand out to him. “Hopefully, our next dinner will end a little differently.”
“Let’s hope.”
He shook my hand, and once he released me, I patted his shoulder and walked out of the bar and through the lobby, climbing into my SUV that was parked outside.
“Where to, Jenner?” Steven asked.
“One second,” I told him and checked the screen of my phone.
Jo: Oh boy. Call me when you leave him. I’m at the office, catching up on work. I’ll be here for a while.