Chapter 2 - “I am literally eating now.”
Claire’s shoulders shook.
“No, I am not working.”
His mother said something else.
Dominic closed his eyes.
“I’m having dinner with someone.”
The volume from the phone doubled.
Claire lost control and laughed.
“Ma.”
More rapid questioning.
“No, you cannot talk to her.”
Claire mouthed, Coward.
Dominic pointed at her warningly.
By the time the call ended, Claire was wiping tears from her eyes.
“Terrified.”
“I respect my mother.”
“You answered before the second ring.”
“She worries.”
“You are thirty-seven.”
“She considers that temporary.”
Claire raised her glass.
“One point.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“There are points?”
“There have always been points.”
“What’s my score?”
“Classified.”
“Am I winning?”
“You’re assuming there are other contestants.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Claire froze.
Dominic’s smile disappeared.
Not because he was upset.
Because suddenly neither of them was joking.
The air between them changed.
Claire looked at his eyes and had the uncomfortable realization that she wanted him to kiss her.
Then Jenna arrived at the table holding her phone.
“Claire.”
One look at her friend’s face ended the moment.
“What happened?”
Jenna glanced at Dominic.
Then back at Claire.
“You need to see this.”
She placed the phone on the table.
A photograph filled the screen.
Dominic.
But not the Dominic sitting across from her in an open-collar shirt.
This Dominic wore a black suit and stepped from a dark sedan surrounded by security.
Claire read the headline.
Russo Holdings Expands Legitimate Portfolio Amid Renewed Questions About Family’s Criminal Past.
Her stomach dropped.
She scrolled.
Photographs.
The hotels.
The restaurants.
Commercial developments.
Old court cases connected to Dominic’s father.
Former associates.
Federal investigations that had produced no charges against Dominic but had kept the Russo name in headlines for years.
Claire slowly looked up.
“You’re Dominic Russo.”
He did not insult her by pretending otherwise.
“Yes.”
“You own this resort.”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“And the other hotels?”
“Several.”
Claire released a strange laugh.
“Hospitality.”
“Claire—”
“No. I’m appreciating the creativity.”
She looked down again.
One phrase seemed to grow larger on the screen.
Russo crime family.
Her voice dropped.
“Is this true?”
There were many ways Dominic could answer.
He could say his legitimate companies employed thousands of people.
He could say his father’s world had been different.
He could say most of the family business had been cleaned up under his control.
He could explain that newspapers still used the most dramatic vocabulary because it generated clicks.
Every statement would contain truth.
None would answer her question.
“Yes,” he said.
Claire stared at him.
Then, absurdly, she almost laughed.
“Of course.”
“Claire.”
“Of course the one man I meet after finally trusting my judgment again turns out to be the one occupation I specifically banned.”
Jenna stepped away, sensing that Claire no longer needed an audience.
Claire’s eyes hardened.
“Did you know?”
Dominic understood immediately.
“That first day?”
“Yes.”
“You heard everything?”
“Yes.”
“Including the mafia part?”
“Yes.”
“And then you came over.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were some hotel manager.”
“I am involved in management.”
The pain in her face stopped him.
“Don’t.”
Dominic went silent.
“Don’t do that lawyer thing where you make a lie disappear by choosing technical words.”
“I wasn’t trying—”
“Did you know this information might change whether I wanted to get involved with you?”
He could not answer anything except the truth.
“Yes.”
“Then you hid it because you wanted a chance to influence my decision first.”
“I wanted you to know me before you knew my name.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“And who gave you the right to choose the order in which I learned the truth?”
The question hit harder than anger would have.
Dominic had no answer.
“You listened to me tell you what Ryan did,” she said quietly. “You listened while I explained that he always had a reason. Every secret was technically something I hadn’t asked about. Every decision was supposedly for our relationship.”
“I know.”
“You knew exactly what I was afraid of.”
“Yes.”
“And you did it anyway.”
Dominic felt every instinct that had kept him powerful for eight years rise at once.
Explain.
Persuade.
Control the damage.
Win.
Then he remembered Claire saying, I watch what people do when kindness costs something.
“I should have told you.”
She blinked.
Perhaps she had expected resistance.
“You should have.”
“Yes.”
No defense.
No qualification.
Claire stood.
Dominic rose automatically.
“Claire.”
She stopped.
He wanted to tell her his family was changing.
He wanted to tell her who he was now mattered more than what his father had been.
He wanted to ask for ten minutes.
Instead, he let his arms fall to his sides.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire waited.
Dominic added nothing.
She picked up her purse and walked away.
Ethan found him outside the restaurant ten minutes later.
“You want the car?”
“No.”
“Want me to make sure she gets to her room?”
Dominic almost said yes.
Then stopped.
“No.”
Ethan looked surprised.
“She asked for space.”
“What are you going to do?”
That question had always had an answer.
Dominic could send flowers worth more than Claire’s monthly rent.
He could arrange a private yacht.
He could have the executive chef prepare her favorite meal.
He could manufacture coincidence after coincidence until she was forced to speak to him.
Money created access.
Power created opportunities.
Influence created second chances.
Suddenly all of it seemed ugly.
“Nothing.”
Ethan frowned.
“Nothing?”
“She doesn’t owe me a conversation because I want one.”
Dominic started walking.
Behind him, Ethan remained still for a second before following.
For perhaps the first time since inheriting his father’s empire, Dominic Russo deliberately chose not to win.
The next morning, no flowers appeared outside Claire’s room.
No note slid under the door.
No invitation arrived.
Dominic did not appear at breakfast.
By noon, Claire was irritated.
The fact that she was irritated made her furious.
Jenna noticed.
“You keep looking at the lobby.”
“I’m looking at people.”
“You’re looking for one person.”
“No.”
“Good. Because Mr. Absolutely-Not-Mafia just walked past.”
Claire turned so quickly her coffee nearly spilled.
Jenna smiled.
“Very subtle.”
“I hate you.”
Dominic crossed the lobby with Ethan and two department managers.
He never looked toward Claire.
Then he disappeared through a staff door.
Claire stared at her cup.
She had demanded space.
He was giving it to her.
Apparently respect was also irritating.
An hour later, she found Lily crying beside the service hallway.
Claire hurried over.
“What happened?”
Lily wiped her cheeks.
“They’re firing Mr. Harris.”
“The supervisor?”
She nodded.
“Because of what happened with you?”
“It’s worse.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
Lily explained that the minibar problem had not been the first complaint. Harris had altered disciplinary reports several times to protect department metrics because he was competing for a regional promotion.
Junior employees had absorbed the blame.
One had even quit after receiving two false write-ups.
“Where’s Dominic?”
Lily pointed toward a conference room.
Claire walked that direction before reminding herself she had no reason to involve herself.
Then she heard voices through the partly open door.
“This does not need to become public,” a man said.
Claire stopped.
Another voice answered.
Dominic.
“Why?”
“Because it embarrasses the company.”
“He knowingly falsified employee records.”
“We terminate him, compensate the affected employees, and move forward quietly.”
Silence.
Claire stood where nobody inside could see her.
Then Dominic spoke.
“No.”
A man sighed.
“Dom, think about the headlines.”
“I am.”
“This could cost the resort.”
“Then it costs the resort.”
Claire forgot to breathe.
“We can handle it internally.”
“That is what Harris counted on.”
The room went quiet.
Dominic continued.
“He chose employees with less power because he assumed protecting management mattered more than protecting them.”
Someone said, “We’re talking about a handful of disciplinary records.”
“No. We’re talking about people discovering that telling the truth was more dangerous than accepting blame.”
Claire’s throat tightened.
Nobody in that room knew she was listening.
Dominic had no reason to perform.
He had no reason to impress her.
He believed she was avoiding him.
Inside the room, another executive said, “A formal review exposes us to liability.”
Dominic answered immediately.
“Then let it expose us. If our people were treated unfairly, the company pays for correcting it.”
“Dominic—”
“I inherited enough men who believed reputation mattered more than truth. I’m not building that again.”
Claire stepped back.
The world did not suddenly become simple.
Dominic had lied to her.
His family history remained what it was.
She was not required to forgive him because he did one decent thing.
But for the first time since learning his name, the question changed.
Was his lie the whole man?
That evening, Claire found him sitting on a quiet section of beach beyond the resort lights.
Dominic saw her and stood.
“Claire.”
“Sit.”
He immediately sat.
She almost smiled.
“Still afraid of women giving orders?”
“Only you and my mother.”
“Excellent survival instinct.”
Claire sat several feet away.
The ocean moved darkly before them.
For a minute, neither spoke.
“I heard about Harris.”
Dominic’s expression sharpened.
“How?”
“I was outside the conference room.”
He looked at her.
“You were listening?”
“Apparently private conversations at this resort are public entertainment.”
A reluctant smile touched his mouth.
Claire did not return it yet.
“You didn’t know I was there.”
“No.”
“That matters.”
Dominic looked back toward the water.
“There’s something else you should know.”
Claire waited.
He told her about Samuel Vance.
About being twenty-nine.
About approving the bad shipping deal.
About Samuel warning him.
About allowing another man to carry the consequences because Dominic had been terrified of looking weak in front of his father’s old associates.
Claire listened without interrupting.
“When did you fix it?” she finally asked.
“Financially? Three years later.”
“And otherwise?”
“I didn’t.”
May you like
She looked at him.
Dominic gave a humorless smile.
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