Billionaires' Secrets: Volatile Chemistry

Volatile Chemistry Part 11

Adrenaline shot through Dominic. "Wait. She's doing it because she's worried her mom is going to lose their family home."

"What the hell do I care about that? If her father sold me his damn research, it's mine. And I thought I was lucky to get her." He blew out a snort. "What the heck is that new HR number?"

"Dad." The word rolled off his tongue more smoothly this time, perhaps because he said it deliberately. He needed to appeal to Tarrant's emotions. He was beginning to suspect Tarrant did have actual emotions rather than simple reptilian reflexes. "The work she's been doing is at a crucial phase. If you let her go now—especially if she's angry—the project could fall apart and she's a loose cannon out there just when you least need to deal with one."

Tarrant exhaled a stream of acrid smoke. "Something tells me you have a plan."

"Keep her here. Watch her. Clean out the files so there's no way she can find what she's searching for. Lock her in somehow until the project is finished. I've talked to her already and I think she'll come to her senses once she sees that the future of her father's research is here, not off somewhere in her imagination."

Tarrant's eyes had narrowed to slits. "You seem awfully concerned about Miss Andrews. Or whatever her name really is." The corners of his mouth tilted up. "She is a beauty, isn't she? For a scientist, at least."

The last caveat raised Dominic's hackles and gave him a fierce urge to defend her beauty in any arena. He managed to get a hold of himself. "She's a smart woman who can take Hardcastle to the next level of product development. Scientists are like artists, they can be difficult to work with because they don't see the world the way others do."

He leaned toward his dad and held his gaze. "But we entrepreneurs need them. Their vision and creativity drive the world right alongside our energy and hard cash. One can't thrive without the other."

"Hmm..." Tarrant pressed a finger to his lips. "I always did like the advice to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Never followed it myself because I never can resist running an enemy through if he gets close enough, but it's the beginning of a new era."

Tarrant held his glass out for a refill and a waiter rushed to top it off. "Here's to the future, and my son's vision."

Dominic didn't want to drink to a toast that insinuated he'd be implementing that vision in his father's place, but he did.

Bella was safe.

The whiskey tasted sharp, almost sweet, and the woodsy thickness in his throat soothed him.

"I'll brief security and tell them to keep an eye on her." Tarrant's eyes glittered and one eyebrow lifted slightly. "Unless you want to keep this hush-hush and watch her yourself."

"I'll watch her." Dominic put down his glass. "I'll head over there and have the files moved before I go back downtown."

Tarrant nodded slowly. "You're different from me, all right. I like it. I really like it."

Before Dominic left they embraced. He held his father's frail body and a fist of emotion tightened in his chest. Maybe blood really was thicker than water? He felt relief that he'd come clean about Bella, yet managed to protect her interests, at least for now.

He'd be able to look himself in the mirror while he shaved tomorrow morning.

Or would he?

He stepped out into the streetlights of Fifth Avenue and started walking back to the Hardcastle building.