Page 51 of Endgame

‘We do. Want to stay?’

‘It might be best if I leave.’

I understand. We both need the space.

I hear Akiko scream Dominic’s name before I see him. She runs towards him with her arms wide open, prompting the rest of the team to do the same. I’ve missed my friend too. He did so much to galvanise the team and keep the office motivated with his regular visits, impromptu team trips and sporadic lunch deliveries. We’ve all felt the change since Samir put a stop to all of that. We’re more organised and effective, but we don’t enjoy being here anywhere as much.

‘Hey, girls.’ I hear his deep laugh. He’s enjoying the attention.

‘Can you fire Samir? He sucks,’ Jess asks with an earnest urgency. She has taken the change the hardest, and she requests his termination so loudly, it’s almost like she wants Samir to hear her.

‘I wish I could. I’ve missed our lost lunchtime trips,’ Dominic admits.

‘She’s not joking,’ Bree confirms.

‘And that signals the end of the work day,’ Caleb grunts disapprovingly next to me, packing up the job applications I’ve been helping him work through.

‘We have more time, he’s got a meeting with Samir,’ I respond.

‘To be fair, all the candidates are beginning to look the same to me. I can take this home and work on it while he tries to put the moves on you.’

‘Caleb, stop it. You know I’m working with him and Christopher to stabilise Ivory Bow UK.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Caleb whispers, his narrowed eyes following Dominic as he strides into Samir’s office.

‘Aari, before you go, do you think you could look through Sian’s business cases for next week?’ Lydia swivels round from her desk to face us.

‘Absolutely.’ I nod quickly.

‘And that’s my invitation to get lost.’ Caleb finishes packing up, but before he stands I reach out and cover one of his hands with mine.

‘It’s just work, Caleb,’ I whisper to reassure him.

‘Maybe for you,’ he replies, and gets up to return to his desk.

By the time Dominic emerges I’ve cleared my tasks for the day, leaving my mind free to let the anxiety in.

‘Ready?’ he invites me warmly as he stands there confidently with his hands in his pockets. I try to put myself at ease.

‘Yes.’ He was my friend before he became my boss. I’ll be fine.

We exit the tower and get into his waiting car.

‘Are we going to your office?’

‘Nah. I thought we’d take the boat out. Chris is set to dial in. After that, we could have some food and just get away from it all for a little while?’

‘Sure.’ I swallow nervously.

‘This isn’t a date, Aari, don’t worry.’ His mouth tilts up at the corner. ‘You’re trying to work things out with Caleb and I don’t need another judgy “stop trying to date your employee” conversation with Samir; so I thought it might be a good idea for us to completely stay out of sight— Sorry, one sec.’

I relax as Dominic takes his call. His logic makes sense. He stays on the line, calmly thinking through an investment problem and sometimes laughs through parts of the conversation. It reminds me of why we became friends. He’s always steady, clever, considered, unafraid to take calculated risks, and makes you feel that you’ll never have to face your challenges alone. He’s the perfect investor for Ivory Bow. If he can find a way to give Christopher more than just money, there’ll be no limits to where the company can go.

‘We’ve arrived, Dom,’ his driver announces before getting out to open my door. I know what to expect but the quiet eveningmakes the craft even more beautiful. When Dominic finishes his call, he helps me on board and guides me to the dining area, where a screen and a conference table for two have been set up.

‘Please could we get some water?’ Dominic asks a member of his crew before we sit. Soon, Christopher is on the screen.

‘Hello, Ariella. Unusual conference room, Dom,’ Christopher observes happily. I see he is now in ‘Dom’ territory too.

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