Page 31 of The Darkest Knight

I drag a weary hand down my face, the weight of it all pressing into me like concrete. “I don’t have time to babysit you. Either you’re up for this job or you’re not.”

Her voice shakes, but she holds her ground. “I made a mistake, and I’m sorry. But maybe if you didn’t pile everything on me, I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Her words hit like a gut punch, and she doesn’t stop. “I’m doing my best, Jett. I’m here, holding your life together, while mine is collapsing around me.”

Her voice cracks, and she looks away, blinking rapidly.

Fuck.

I exhale hard, guilt threading through my anger. I sound like a monster. Iama monster, and she doesn’t deserve this. But all I can see is the deal slipping through my fingers. All I can hear is my father’s voice, smug and gloating.

I take a step back. “Please. Just fix this.”

She lowers her head, and I can see I’ve broken her.

Without another word, I turn and walk into my office, slamming the door harder than I need to. For both our sakes.

Chapter 16

CARI

He doesn’t care about me. All he cares about is money and his precious deal.

I know it’s important—it’s everything to him, apparently—but my mom is lying in a hospital bed, and I made a genuine mistake. I’ve been worried sick for days, and my fears were not unfounded.

But none of that matters to Jett. To him, I’m just someone to fix the problem.

My phone buzzes with a text, and I snatch it up. It’s Aunt Scarlett.

Treatment is working. Your mom is doing well! She might come home soon!

My heart leaps with happiness and I am buoyed up by this good news. I spring into action. The tiredness I felt earlier when I was on my way home for a nap? Gone.

I’d jumped into a cab and when Jett sent me that terse message, I rerouted to here. I read my aunt’s text again and feel something I haven’t had in days—hope.

I stare at the florist’s flowers on my desk and smile. The vibrant daisies and lilies are a bright burst of kindness that I so badly need. Some people are loving and kind, and do what they can to make lives better, even for strangers. While others—I stare at the closed door of Jett's office—are unfeeling and unaware.

Anger simmers just below my skin. He can be cold. Brutal. Unforgiving. But this? This wasn’t just on me.

He was the one who should have signed it.

I had the addendum on my to-do list, marked and ready, but I got distracted. Overwhelmed. My mom’s illness, and the immense overwhelming feeling of everything piling up—made this slip through the cracks.

But I’ll fix it. I’ll work through the night if I have to.

I call Vanhelm’s team directly, my voice steady as I apologize. I take full ownership of the mistake without letting my voice tremble, without offering excuses. It wouldn’t matter anyway. When it comes to multi-million dollar deals, these things don’t factor in. I don’t tell them my head hasn’t been in the right place. That I’ve been living on hospital vending machine coffee. That my mom’s illness is consuming me.

To my relief, they agree to pause the deal for 48 hours to allow us to submit the missing document. The manager on the other end—sharp, composed—says, with a hint of humor, “If you ever want to leave Knight Enterprises, Cari, let me know.”

I exhale, forcing a smile into my tone. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Going to someone who appreciates me wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I pull the addendum together, double-check it, then triple-check it, refusing to let a single detail slip past me again. Then I march into Jett’s office with it in hand, my nerves coiled tight.

He’s there, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his tie loosened and looking like death—gaunt, tense, his eyes shadowed with the same exhaustion I feel. He doesn’t say anything when I hand him the file, just grabs a pen and signs it with a sharp flourish.

We both review it again, side by side, in complete silence.

When he hands it back to me, his voice is low. “Thank you.”

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