Page 110 of Battle with a Billionaire

Grant’s fingers eased a little. She’d been alone. It brought him some measure of relief. Though the idea that she’d been comfortable enough there to fall asleep troubled him. Her connection with Kyle grew stronger by the minute.

Yet another memory had led her to Kyle, not him.

He wanted her to find solace, to heal, but the thought of her finding it with Kyle was a bitter pill. Each remembered memory with Kyle felt like a betrayal, even though he knew it was irrational.

And one frightening question lingered in his mind. By the time she remembered him, would she already have given her heart to another man?

CHAPTER 24

JULIA

Julia stared up at her husband, imagining a cold outburst similar to her memory of him. It was all she knew of him. His reaction seemed subdued but the tension in his shoulders and his jaw suggested he’d rather have it out with her.

Perhaps he didn’t want to say anything because of her condition. But she couldn’t stand people holding back anymore. She needed reality, truth, not a veiled representation of it.

“Is it?”

His brow creased as he eyed her.

“Okay, I mean. Is it? I feel like no one tells me the truth because everyone is afraid of damaging me beyond repair. But I’m struggling to piece my life together with no information. The only thing that seems clear to me is that you and Kyle really don’t get along.”

He let his gaze fall to the floor as his lips curled into a fleeting smile. “We don’t. It’s not gotten any better recently.”

“Why?” she asked.

He flicked his eyes to her. “I didn’t know he existed until recently. He’s got a lot of anger about that. He expresses it by blaming me for everything.”

Julia pinched her eyebrows together. That could explain quite a bit. Were Kyle’s overtures less about her and more about ruining the contract? At the very least, it explained why he constantly painted Grant in a bad light.

Had his negative emotions about his father caused her to experience a single negative memory of Grant? Or were Kyle’s assessments simply closer to the truth than the picture Grant was painting for her?

“Right,” she answered after a moment. “I’m sorry for bringing him here this morning, he insisted–“

“I’m sure he did,” Grant said as he held up a hand. “Kyle has a real knack for crossing lines. You don’t need to apologize for that. Or for seeing him if it’s helping you parse through your memories.”

Something about the way he said the last statement seemed hollow. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes that she couldn’t read.

“I don’t know why almost all of my memories are of him. It’s frustrating.”

He snapped his gaze to her, his eyes narrowing as though he was trying to assess the statement.

“I have a sister,” she said with a shrug. “I can’t remember her either. You would think we spent a lot more time together than I ever did with Kyle, but not a single memory of her.”

“I’m sorry, Julia.”

“She called yesterday. I thought her voice would trigger something but nothing. This is just so frustrating.”

“Believe me, I wish you had all your memories back.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I’ll bet. Maybe then you could put this whole DG Industries mess to rest and move on with your life.”

The statement seemed to make him uncomfortable. He shifted from his lean against the desk and circled around it.

She suddenly wished she wouldn’t have said it. “Anyway, I think I’ll go let Kyle know he can leave and…well, I don’t know. I don’t remember anything that I used to do, so I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“I’ll call James. He can drive him back to his place. Why don’t we plan to go out to dinner tonight?” Grant asked. “Maybe that’ll trigger a memory for you.”

She tilted her head before a smile crept across her face. “Okay. As long as you have time. I’m sure you’re very busy.”

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