Page 2 of Endgame

‘Yes, Maximilian and that trollop are here with the twins,’ she confirms cautiously.

‘Is everyone else here?’ Dominic asks carefully.

‘Yes, the powder keg is present and complete.’ MrsThompson raises an eyebrow.

‘We’ll wait for the allocation please,’ Dominic confirms, laughing.

MrsThompson nods, then shows us into a large drawing room and disappears.

‘Is the trollop…’ I start.

‘Yeah…’ His thoughts obviously drift away before he snaps back. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind staying close when everyone is around?’

‘Dom, that’s the only reason I’m here. I promised to stand beside you the whole time and that’s exactly what I plan to do; but I am going to need you to explain what the powder keg is.’ I smile.

‘That’s the name MrsThompson and I have for the whole family when we are together. It can be a little volatile. My mother is my father’s second wife, so I have three siblings from his first marriage and a couple from the many affairs he had during it. He has never played it safe.’

‘Wow. I thought Maximilian was your only sibling.’

‘Nope. There are seven of us. My mother had Max and me but there are other families, and my father insists that all his children come together whenever there is a celebration. As you can probably imagine, that comes with its own unique set of challenges. Believe it or not, Maximilian isn’t my biggest problem.’

‘Uh-oh.’

‘Yeah. There’s a whole family issue about me being called Dominic.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, my father is obviously Dominic the Fifth. Someone got drunk at my christening and made a joke that he’d clearly had six inadequate kids before he found his heir. Since then, I’ve been a bit of a target, and being the youngest doesn’t help.’

‘And everyone is here right now?’

‘Yup. With husbands, wives, kids – all with their own grievances and stories to tell. My mother is probably right in the thick of it too, being entertained and teasing my father for being promiscuous before he met her.’

We both chuckle.

‘I’m really glad you’re here, Aari,’ Dominic says, smiling sadly, changing the mood.

‘I’m so sorry that I can’t stay a little longer. I wish I could.’ I can tell being here is going to be hard for him.

Dominic carries himself with a gravitas that is intimidating to most people. My first impression of him as CEO of DMVI, and later, potential client, was exactly what he intentionally projects to the world. Dominant. Unrelenting. Focused. Entitled. His transition to friend evolved over an evening of smooth, jagged and barrier-setting conversation, revealing a warmer Dominic beneath his immovable solid exterior. Kind. Hilarious. Generous. Trustworthy. Cheeky. Wounded. Lonely. That’s the Dominic I am here to support. The Dominic who made being away from home less cold and barren; especially when I needed it. The Dominic I said yes to, when he asked me to stay in Singapore, even though I desperately wanted to return home. I want to show up for him, the way he did for me in Singapore, but I’m going to have to walk a fine line. More than friendly feelings occasionally surface when we are alone and, while I’msure Dominic would be an incredible partner to tackle life with, my heart is held captive elsewhere.

‘Me too, but I refuse to cut into your granny Grace’s time. You’re here for the worst days anyway, so you’ll have earned that time off. Maybe we can come back next year? It’s beautiful here in the summer. We can fly the other way around and stop in London on the way next time, if you like?’

‘If I don’t get to hit that tasting barn, I might beg for us to do that.’

‘Oh, we’re hitting the barn. It’s just a matter of how many times you’d like to. We have a lot of wine!’

‘Do not go into that tasting barn with Dominic unsupervised. I have almost been fired on more than one occasion because I made that choice!’ MrsThompson happily approaches us with what looks like a large wooden leaf with a key dangling from it.

‘Thank you for the tip.’ I laugh.

‘My pleasure. You’re in Maple. Your bags are in your cottage. Hit nine on your phone if there is anything you’d like and grab your walkie when you leave your room just in case you need some assistance. Cell phone service is intentionally non-existent on the property, but the Wi-Fi is strong and fast in all the bedrooms. Dominic, do you want to show Ariella to the cottage or shall I?’

‘I can show her where Maple is.’ Dominic gets up. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem.’ She beams. ‘Next time, please remember two words. Need Cottage.’

‘Yes, MrsThompson.’ Dominic laughs as he walks me down the huge corridor that runs through the entire building and out of the other side. We disappear into a covered wooded path and stop at the first building we encounter, with the word Maple carved in bronze on the white door.

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