“But this mentions his brother. Well, the brother that died. Tony,” she said, still confused.
Damien read over the paper. “It appears that Tony briefly worked for MD and stole some money from the company. One of the company attorneys was determined to prosecute. This says Max De Luca not only paid Tony’s debt, he also paid the attorney to keep quiet and accept a transfer. Wonder what the board would think of this.”
Emma gasped. “You wouldn’t tell them, would you? I can’t imagine why you would. It doesn’t have anything to do with the downsizing.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “Always protective of Max and Alex,” he said in a velvet voice with an undertone of bitterness. “Don’t worry. This is between Max and me.”
Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
He thumped the paper with his forefinger. “No. You wouldn’t. You remember the story I told you about how my grandfather lost the family home in a business deal where he was cheated?”
“Yes,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“Max De Luca’s grandfather was the man who cheated my grandfather. My family home is a Megalos-De Luca resort.”
“Oh, no,” she said, horrified by the connection. Her mind and heart racing, she reached out to him. “That’s horrible.” She could hardly believe it. “I can’t believe Max knows about this. He truly is an honorable man.”
“Some might not agree,” Damien said, tapping the papers that gave damning evidence.
Her stomach tightened in apprehension. “But you wouldn’t use that against him because of something his grandfather did.” A long moment of silence passed and she felt a terrible sense of dread. “Would you?”
“Three generations of my family have suffered in some part due to what the De Lucas did to my grandfather,” he told her.
His harsh expression made her feel as if she were looking at a different man than the Damien she’d come to know. “How long have you known this?” she asked, trying to make sense of it all. “Why did you accept this assignment if you hated him so—” She broke off, suddenly realizing that Damien had taken the job with revenge in mind.
Emma felt as if her world had been turned upside down. If Damien was so consumed with revenge, where did she fit into the plot? He’d known she was protective of Max and Alex. He’d known…
Realization broke through. Her mind flashed back to that time when she’d told Damien about Max’s and Alex’s vulnerabilities. He’d used that information to dig deeper into Max’s situation with his half brother. She’d given him the clue and he’d run with it.
Nausea swept through her. “You were just using me.”
“Just as you were using me. Do you think I didn’t know that you went to Alex and Max every time I told you something important?”
Humiliation stung. Overwhelmed, she shook her head. “I was doing my job.”
“You tried to spy on me,” he said.
The truth hurt, but her heart hurt even more. “I almost thought you cared about me.”
“The irony is that I do, and I know you care about me. The situation is unfortunate.”
“And you mentioned marriage last night. How could you even begin to think we could have a successful marriage?”
“You thought we could, too,” he said. “Admit it.”
Never, she thought. “I would never marry you, because I’d only marry for love, and you’re not capable of it.”
Thirteen
Damien tried to reason with Emma, but she recoiled at his touch. Concerned for her emotional state, he insisted on calling his driver to take her home. She left his condo without a backward glance.
The way she’d looked at him, as if he were a monster, sliced at his gut, but he pushed it aside. He had what he needed to bring down Max De Luca. For the sake of his family, he couldn’t stop now.
Damien decided, however, that he wanted an opportunity to talk with Max before he took his final action. Giving his assistant a call, he was immediately put through to Max, and the VP agreed to meet with him.
He carried the report sealed in an envelope in his inner jacket pocket. In a way, he may as well have been carrying a loaded weapon. Max’s assistant informed him of Damien’s presence and he was ushered inside the VP’s richly appointed office.
“Good morning, Damien,” Max said. “Sarah, can you get us some coffee please? How do you take yours?”
“Black,” Damien said.
Max nodded. “Same. Please have a seat,” he said, motioning toward the leather chairs and sofa on the opposite side of the room as the desk. The magnificent view from the floor-to-ceiling windows revealed the mountains in the distance.
“Nice view,” Damien said. It occurred to Damien that Max had never spent a day of his life outside the lap of luxury, a life far different than that of his family.
“I prefer the mountains to the strip. More serene.”
Sarah delivered the coffee and excused herself.
“I understand employees who are being laid off will receive the news tomorrow?” Max asked, taking a sip of his coffee. “I have to confess I was against you from the beginning. Your reputation precedes you. When I look at the new organizational chart, however, it looks as if you skillfully used a scalpel instead of a hatchet.”
Surprised by the praise, he nodded. “There is a right way and a wrong way to reorganize. Sometimes it takes an objective eye to spot redundancies and stay current with changing economies and needs.”
“It’s a painful process, but I think you made it as humane as possible. So, what do you have going next?”
The conversation felt surreal. Damien was talking to the man he’d targeted for most of his life. He worked to access his contempt for the man, but for some reason it wasn’t as strong as before.
“I may take some time off. I have a brother in Florida who is always bugging me to visit him.”
Max lifted his eyebrows. “Time off? You don’t strike me as the type. I know I wasn’t until I got married. Lilli changed my priorities. Hell,” he said. “She changed my life.”
“The love of a good woman,” Damien said.
Max nodded. “Yeah, although I would have been the last man to believe it was possible. Being a father will turn you around, too.”
Silence lingered for a moment. “I’m curious,” Damien said. “Did you know your grandfather well?”
“No. I do know that he was very focused on the company. He was determined to expand the empire, so to speak. My father had his own issues. It was left to me to try to rebuild the De Luca name. I had a half brother, but that’s another sad story. What makes you ask?”
“Are you familiar with the MD Chateau on the outside of Florence, Italy?” Damien watched Max’s face carefully.
Max furrowed his brow in concentration. “It’s not in the city? Right?”
“No. It’s in the countryside.”
“I have a vague recollection, but I don’t think I’ve ever visited it.” He lifted his hand and met Damien’s gaze. “Why? Is there a problem with it?”
“More the way it was acquired,” he said.
“Okay,” Max replied, leaning forward, lacing his fingers together. “What do you know about it?”
“I know that Chateau Megalos-De Luca was once Chateau de Medici and it belonged to my grandfather.”
Fifteen minutes later, Damien walked out of Max De Luca’s office feeling much different than he had going in. He stepped into the elevator thinking that Max De Luca had actually been somewhat reasonable. The damning report about the man felt as if it were burning a hole in his coat pocket.
Damien had spent most of his life fighting one thing or another, the loss of his family, an abusive foster parent, and poverty. He’d always thought that taking down Max De Luca would rid him of one of his biggest demons at the same time it would help right the wrong done to his grandfather.
Now that he had the chance to do it, his appetite for revenge had fled. It wasn’t that Max De Luca was Mr. Nice Guy, because he wasn’t. During that conversation with Max, though, Damien had seen glimpses of himself in the man he’d been prepared to hate.
Max was a family man. His top priority was taking care of his family. That was why he’d protected his half brother. Max’s growing-up situation didn’t sound all that rosy, either. His eyes lit up when he mentioned his wife and baby.
Exiting the elevator, Damien couldn’t squelch his envy at the man’s personal happiness. He couldn’t help thinking about Emma and how he felt when he was with her. Just her presence made the world seem better. It was odd as hell, but she made him want to be better.
Swearing under his breath, he walked into his private office and paced the length of it. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and stared at it. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for most of his life. He had the gun and the bullet. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
Five minutes later, he’d made his decision and his deed, as far as he was concerned, was done. Hearing the door to the office suite open, he glanced into the outer office, surprised to see Emma.
His heart stuttered in his chest. “I didn’t expect you to come in,” he said.
She met his gaze, her eyes colder than ice. “I made an agreement. I try very hard to keep my word.”
She slid into her chair and turned on her computer. She clearly hated him. The knowledge stabbed at him. The pain he felt took him by surprise. How had she become so important to him? He’d thought he had everything under control.
“I’ve done some thinking about our agreement,” he said.
She shot him a look of suspicion, but said nothing.
“I’m terminating it effective immediately.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t know how long it will take me to pay you back that kind of money, but—”