Page 51 of Mr. Blackwood

“Please, take a seat and hear what we have to say.” Mr. Lewis’s tone was pleading, and looking at the way the two of them sat side by side, it was hard to believe that they had been estranged. Maybe that was a lie too. It was all just a lie so that she could get me to let my guard down and trap me into telling her my story.

“If it’s not business-related, we have nothing to discuss,” I argued.

“When it comes down to it, it’s all related to business—yours and hers,” Mr. Lewis stated.

I slowly took my seat, but anger fired through my veins. I couldn’t look at Camilla, and I damn sure didn’t want to see the sorrow or the tears pooling in her big eyes. My heart couldn’t take the damage that I did to her when I looked at her face. Not being in her presence was much easier, because I could pretend that the way she felt didn’t impact me—that I didn’t care.

“Mr. Blackwood, like you, I’m a businessman, but first and foremost I’m a father. My greatest investment and my most important assets are my daughters and their hearts. I haven’t always put that into perspective, nor have I always put them first. Don’t get me wrong, they were always important, but I thought I was doing what was best for them. It wasn’t until it was almost too late that I realized the grave mistake I made.

“Jumping to conclusions and taking people for granted in any circumstance can result in disappointing outcomes. I understand that people like us have to be carefully guarded because people are always taking advantage of us and trying to leverage their knowledge of us to further their gain. My daughter knew better than to do that, but it seems that she did the same thing. I realize that it came from her pursuit of trying to understand me as her father. You shouldn’t have been the victim of that, and for that I apologize to you and her for failing to be what she needed.”

He turned away from me and faced Camilla and nodded at her.

Her gaze was on me. I could feel it in the way she devoured me, as though she had been hungry to be in my presence, to touch me, to see me, and to be seen and touched by me. Although I didn’t look at her directly, I sensed it. The reason I knew that was that was exactly how I felt.

“Jabari, my father may have apologized, but I don’t place the blame anywhere. Not at his feet or Mike Sullivan’s. My actions were my own, and I never should have used you for a story. At the beginning, I was focused on doing whatever it took to get your story to elevate my magazine and leverage an opportunity for expansion. I was wrong, and I apologize. I will not apologize for continuing to pursue you, because the more we got to know each other, the more I cared for you as a person—for your heart. It didn’t matter to me what you did for a living, where you came from, or what your name was. The only thing that mattered was who you are and the condition of your heart. I love you, Jabari, and that has nothing to do with a story. I’ve lost everything, but that pales in comparison to losing you. I want you, Jabari, not some story or expansion of my company, just you.”

She set her phone in the middle of the table and pressed something on the screen. I stood. “If you all are done now, I have another meeting to attend—one that’s actually lucrative and not a joke.”

Colton lightly grabbed my wrist, and I scowled down at him, baring my teeth. He gave a brief nod and then turned his gaze back to Camilla. I was prepared to walk out anyway despite Colton’s plea when I heard Mike Sullivan’s voice coming from Camilla’s phone. I listened to the entire recording, and I was growing angrier by the moment, but my heart was softening toward her. When the recording ended, she pushed the bank records of the small investments Mike Sullivan had made. She hadn’t touched a dime. I looked everything over and then pushed it all away.

“I need some time,” I declared as I stood and left the conference room.

21 – CAMILLA

ONE WEEK LATER

It had taken an entire week for me to hear back from Jabari. When I’d walked into that conference room and seen him, my heart had melted. Except for the one time he looked at me when I walked into the room, he hadn’t given me a second glance, and that had caused my heart to plummet. In my mind, he was done with us, over me, and disgusted with the entire situation.

He called me earlier today and invited me to dinner at an upscale restaurant that was more like a lounge. They served both Indian and Italian cuisine.

We were in a little room with a couch, low-slung tables, and paintings on the wall. There was a fireplace on one wall, but it wasn’t lit because it was a warm day. There was a wall that held nothing but windows, and it looked out onto a gorgeous stream and a forest of trees.

The place was an intimate and serene spot that I had never heard of before. Jabari had probably chosen it for its secluded location.

“How have you been?” he asked after our meal had been served and the servers had left the room.

“I’m trying to pick up the pieces of my life,” I replied.

I didn’t have much of an appetite as I stirred my fork through my fettuccine.

“Love and hate walk a fine line,” he commented grimly.

“I see. I’ve been angry before, and I’ve been hurt. I’ve never been so hurt that I didn’t care what happened next, or so angry that I wanted to destroy someone’s life the way you’ve been destroying mine.”

He set his fork down and sat back in his chair. “I’ve been so hurt that I didn’t care what happened next, and I didn’t think I’d find myself back here again, but you put me here.”

“I know, Jabari. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve to be deceived.”

He laughed bitterly. “I kind of expected it from you, though. You are who you are—a reporter. It’s in your nature. I ignored my own warning, so that’s on me. It was no worse than what the ones I truly trusted did.”

“You want to talk about it.”

He narrowed his gaze at me, and a small smirk tilted his lips.

“Let me guess, you don’t trust me,” I declared.

“Do you blame me?”