Page 77 of Daddy's Game

I instantly felt worry replace my despair.

“They’re fine, they’re fine. But look at what’s on the advertising loop at Times Square.”

He turned his phone toward me. I took it from his grasp, frowning as I stared at the screen. He reached over and pushed the arrow to start a video.

A shaky cam shot of the Times Square digital billboard appeared. A cat devoured moist food while an advertiser’s text promised maximum nutrition.

“You want me to watch a cat video now?”

“No, they had to wait for the real thing to come up again on the loop– there it is now, watch!”

I sighed at his insistence and dropped my gaze back to the phone.

“This had better not be a prank, or you’re cleaning the toilets on every floor…”

My voice trailed off as I stared in shock at the screen. A wall of text scrolled across the digital billboard.

FREE performance in Central Park! Come out and enjoy our city’s finest up and coming dancers as they put on a thrilling rendition of perennial favorite Swan Lake. Enjoy catered food and one dollar beverages. All proceeds go to the Save the Mizrani Center fund.

The text was interspersed with still shots of dancers from the academy. I shook my head.

“How? How is this possible…”

I saw Brock’s company logo in fine print at the bottom of the screen and growled.

“Oh hell no. He is not going to worm his way back…”

I shoved Mal’s phone back into his hands and stormed out the door.

“Where are you going?” Selma called after me.

“Downtown. I have…I have something I need to take care of.”

I fumed with anger as I rushed through the parking lot.

I don’t know what your game is, Brock, but I’m NOT going back to you just because you opened up your bank account again. You betrayed me.

And nothing is ever going to make that better. Not ever.

32

BROCK

Clean shaven, in a freshly pressed suit with a three hundred dollar a pound cup of coffee in my hand, I felt like I was back in business.

No more did I mope around in the dark, shirking my responsibilities while pining for Grace. I had returned to form.

My heart still ached painfully. I knew I would never be the same, but I still wanted to do the right thing by Grace.

I hoped my advertising spot worked. I’d done a full press blitz about the free performance in Central Park. It felt like the least I could do, considering a company I was heavily involved – and invested in – had been working against Grace from almost the start.

I sent off a memorandum to my staff on the West Coast about disinvestiture in several shell companies owned by TGRIU, then checked my itinerary. I had a bunch of meetings scheduled that week. When I’d been depressed and moping, my business really started to pile up.

Now, though, I was back in form. Losing Grace felt like the end of the world…but I didn’t have to act like it was.

I tried to put her out of my mind, but it didn’t take. Even burying myself in my work wasn’t enough to stop the pain in my chest. I’d lost the love of my life.

I don’t think I’ll ever date anyone again. No one else would possibly compare to what I’ve lost.

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