Page 28 of Endgame

‘He’s currently recruiting for the Singapore sales team, so he’ll need to be around, but I’m sure he’d like to support Christopher in order to make amends for any problems he has caused. You’d have to ask him though.’

‘If you’re happy with that, Dominic, I’ll arrange for him to come in for a chat,’ Christopher confirms.

‘It’s still Aari’s call until the new CEO starts.’ Dominic shrugs. ‘I’m just the money guy.’

‘I’m going to need a little more than a money guy for a thirty-three-per cent stake in the business,’ Christopher stresses. ‘I’ve lost my sounding board, I don’t have a finance department because they all had to go and Ivory Bow has lost its frontman. Cash isn’t the entire solution. You’ve built and acquiredbusinesses; I need your experience and expertise to weather this.’

‘You now own a third of Ivory Bow?’ I ask Dominic, confused.

‘Sort of.’ Dominic looks like he has just been caught doing something extremely naughty. He clears his throat. That bit of news was obviously meant to stay a secret. ‘So, what does the hiring timeline look like?’ he says, changing the subject.

‘I’ve started on a job description; the team has been helpful with that. Once we’ve had a chat with Caleb and he’s had a look through, we’ll go live with it. I’ll set a week aside for the first interviews. I’ll need him here then. Once they go through the interview process and we’ve selected someone, I’ll need Caleb for another week to help with their induction.’

‘Aari?’ Dom asks.

‘That isn’t a huge ask at all. I’m sure he’ll be happy to help.’

‘Great,’ Dominic says as he stands. ‘I have to be in Whitehall in thirty minutes. Is there anything that we can’t discuss on the golf course tomorrow?’ he asks Christopher.

‘No, see you there.’ He stands to shake Dominic’s hand.

‘Okay. And see you at dinner tonight.’ I nod. Dominic walks over and strokes my shoulder affectionately. I let him, but make a note to set some boundaries with him at dinner.

Christopher waits for Dominic to leave before he turns to me. He looks very worried.

‘Ariella, Dominic may have started off as a client and become a friend, but he now owns Ivory Bow Asia in its entirety and is largely responsible for funding Harrison’s buy-out. I’ve never had anyone hand so much money over so easily. I’m not sure what’s going on, but be careful.’

‘Nothing is going on, Christopher. We’re just friends.’

‘I’ve known you for two and a half years longer than he has and we’re still at “Christopher” and “Ariella”. Dominic comes across as someone who is used to getting what he wants. That’susually fine if the person at the other end of his demands wants the same things too. If they don’t, I suspect that he will make it almost impossible to say no. In your case, it will be especially difficult now that he is your boss. Your relationship is no longer a level playing field, Ariella. Friend or not, the power balance has shifted. He’s now in charge.’

Dominic is already sitting in a private corner booth right at the back of the restaurant when I arrive.

‘Hey.’ He gets up when he sees me, and only takes his seat again when I have taken mine. ‘I don’t come to London often enough. I’ve forgotten how much I love the city. It’s so walkable.’ He’s light and upbeat, like he always is. That’s something I’ve always admired about Dominic. His energy always has a sparkling playfulness to it. It’s not something that comes easily to me, so I welcome it. Usually.

‘Welcome to my home. Sounds like you’ve been busy.’ I may be glad to see him, but I’m not letting him off the hook.

‘I have, but we can talk about that later. I picked this restaurant because I know it’s one of your favourites, so I’m going to need some menu guidance.’ He shakes the menu at me and opens it in front of him.

‘Can we talk about it now?’

‘I knew you weren’t going to let me get away with that,’ he says with a laugh, shutting the menu and putting it to the side, then interlocking his fingers in front of him. ‘There isn’t much to tell. Chris wanted Harrison out. He called and asked me to help. I said yes, mostly because of you. I told him I’d take fifty per cent, he said that he didn’t want to hand over half of the control. So I told him to raise what he could and I’d mop up the rest when he felt he’d done all he could. That’s it.’

‘Dom, you can’t bankroll Ivory Bow “mostly” because of me.’

‘We did our due diligence. It’s a solid business that was about to crumble because a few people got greedy. That’s fixable. But also, yes I can. You love this job. You’re incredible at it. I’m not going to stand by and watch something you love die. I knew that I could do something about it, so I did.’

‘It’s a lot, Dom.’

‘This is my challenge, Aari. What isn’t a lot? Right now, on my list of things that make you happy, Korean zombies and your job are all I’ve got. We’ve spent quite a bit of time together and, aside from those two things, I have no idea what puts a smile on your face.’

‘This dinner is nice,’ I offer.

‘It is, but it’s a cheap shot. Everyone likes to eatsomethingand Lydia arranged it. Even tonight, I’m willing to bet that we’ll sit here and spend a couple of unforgettable hours together, but I still won’t know any more about you than I did before we sat down.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘How do I get in here?’ Dom asks, tapping his forehead.

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