The Domination Game Book 2

ADIRE

What on earth did this company want from me?

I’d been here for three weeks, and they still had me running up to the main office for trivial details about things we’d already discussed.

I knew what they wanted me to do for their company.

They must see me as a clueless woman, incapable of giving their company the sleek, modern look they were after.

Or maybe they were just a colossal pain in my ass.

My cool, composed exterior was starting to crack, and my professional demeanor was showing signs of strain.

I found dealing with some people at that moment to be draining and monotonous. I was convinced that stupidity was a contagious disease among wealthy men.

After the first week, I’d requested a move to the quieter lower offices. I needed some peace if they ever wanted me to get this job done.

Now here I was in my office with Mr. Chow’s secretary, going over the changes his boss wanted me to make to my work.

“Do you understand, Ms. Black?” he asked.

“Absolutely, Mr. Wu. I understand completely. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll start incorporating those requests into the format,” I responded.

He jumped up from his seat, looking pleased. “Thank you, Ms. Black. Mr. Chow will be very happy with the information I’ll bring back.”

Once he was gone, I slumped back in my chair, shaking my head against the leather.

At this rate, I was never going to leave Beijing. This company was going to keep me captive until I could creatively pull their heads out of their own asses.

I turned in my chair, looking out the large window at the neon-lit concrete jungle flashing around me.

Normally, I would thrive on this kind of challenge. A company with difficult, even seemingly impossible, demands usually kept me entertained.

This was my specialty. I would also usually find a plaything to distract myself from the heavy workload.

There were plenty of handsome men I’d met who would fit that bill…but it seemed even the desire to have men at my beck and call had deserted me.

It was 7:30 at night, the nightlife was calling out to me in neon below, and there was only one man on my mind.

I sighed, disgusted with myself and my traitorous heart that should be standing firm, not thinking of a gorgeous, pushy man with deep-blue eyes and the key to my heart.

But now that I was almost seven thousand miles away from Boston, I realized the truth in Lucy’s words. I missed Davis; I missed him so much it physically hurt.

But it didn’t matter now. I’d left Boston, and not just to go back to work. No, I’d left there, never to return.

What was once my home now felt tainted, so it was time to find a new home and move on.

I’d talked to Lucy and Mom last night. My mom seemed very happy with where she was.

They were near a hospital, and Lucy, as always, was taking care of everything when it came to my mother.

They were enjoying Savannah, and Lucy said she was even taking walks with her in the downtown parks.

She was trying new foods and enjoying the new sights and experiences around her. If I’d known that a move would be so good for her, I would have moved her years ago.

The man who almost killed my mother was walking around Boston, living a life of wealth and luxury like he always had.

He was probably living in a penthouse overlooking the Charles River, a place he had likely taken my mother to when they were together.

Now he lived there as if nothing had ever happened between them, while my mother’s life was shattered because of him.

Her world was destroyed by his lies of love and his selfish desires, and she was left bloody and beaten in an alleyway like the trash he thought she was.

I’ve watched enough crime shows to know that after thirty years, William Mills couldn’t be charged with his crimes.

Back when she was hurt, it was just considered an aggravated assault and not attempted murder. So the statute of limitations didn’t last as long.

On the long trip to Beijing, my mind had wandered into dangerous territory about that penthouse.

Questions brewed in my mind, knowing now that it had always been in his family. Was it the place where he took my mother when they had their affair?

Was it the place where she’d told him that she was pregnant with his child? Was it the place where he’d beaten her senseless?

I made a sound of disgust at my train of thought because now another Mills came to mind, another Mills who lived in that penthouse.

And that sick, twisted twist of fate: if what I believed about that penthouse were true, another Black went there as well, also to sleep with a Mills.

I looked at my computer screen at the same information I had pulled up on it over an hour ago. My head went to my hand as my elbow dug into the desk.

So much for getting my work done efficiently and promptly; there was no point in trying to continue this late in the evening.

My mind was elsewhere, and I knew it was time to get some noodles to eat back at the hotel.

My light-tan trench coat hung on the back of the door, and I slipped it on, glancing out my office window at the drizzle starting to fall.

It was time to get something to eat, distract my traitorous mind from the things I could no longer have, and return to my everyday routine.

The elevator dinged, and I walked through the brightly lit lobby, heading out to see what I was going to have for dinner tonight.

Because I sure knew what I was going to wash it down with. Let’s go see what pairs well with bourbon.

DAVIS

Davis Mills looked out his office window at the early morning sunrise. It was only seven thirty, and he was already at work.

He couldn’t bear to sleep in their bed right now. The sheets smelled of Abie, making him yearn for her with a hunger that cut him to his core.

The brownstone where he and Abie had been making their home was now a place of loss. He just wanted her to come home to him, and he would make everything right.

It had been a week since she’d left. A week that felt like an eternity, not just for him, but for his entire family.

When his mom discovered what had transpired, he was scared she might end up in the hospital from a mental breakdown.

His dad moved back into the penthouse without uttering a single word about what he’d done to Loretta or the child she’d been carrying. That part was almost too much for Davis to comprehend.

He and Abie could’ve had a sibling if all that crap hadn’t happened. What would’ve been their fate then? Would he still have fallen for her?

But deep inside, he already knew the answer. The answer was yes. He would’ve fallen for that stunning girl the moment he laid eyes on her, with her curly blonde hair.

The only difference would’ve been that they would’ve found each other much earlier, without the broken hearts and scarred minds they now had.

Now, he had to give her room. Room to heal, to think, and hopefully, to miss him enough to return to him.

He truly believed that she would come back, that they could navigate through this mess that lay ahead of them.

The moment he held her in his arms again, and she confessed her love for him, he was going to propose.

There wouldn’t be a long engagement, no waiting for her to take his last name; he wanted it done as soon as possible.

He’d give her any wedding she desired, from intimate to extravagant, as long as she was his. He imagined her in a wedding dress, all curves and heels.

Then he thought of her belly, swollen with his child, and it felt like he’d plunged a knife into his own heart.

He just needed to get through the day and make it back to their house, and everything would be fine…or so he thought.

The nights came early in New England, and the winters could be brutally cold. He drove down their street lost in thought, almost missing the for sale sign now standing in front of their home.

That’s when the harsh reality of her feelings hit him, and he knew it was time to start looking for her.

He parked his car in the garage and stormed into the house, slamming the door behind him.

He chose to be angry because if he wasn’t, then the only thing left was devastation, and he just didn’t have time for that.

Their living room was exactly as they’d left it on the morning they’d gone to have Christmas dinner with his family. The TV Abie had gifted him still sat on the floor, unopened.

He pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and dialed Tony. As soon as Tony answered, Davis didn’t let him get a word in.

“Hey, I think I’m going to take you up on finding Abie. I just got home, and there’s a for sale sign in front of our house,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

“So she doesn’t plan on coming back like you thought, then,” Tony responded.

“No, it seems she’s planning to run.”

“Then I’ll get right on it,” Tony assured his friend.

Davis walked into the other room, spotting a card on the table with the real estate agent’s name and number.

“When you find her, don’t let her know you’re there. She’s upset, and she has every right to be.”

“Okay, so what do you want me to do once I find her?”

“Keep an eye on her. Make sure she’s safe and out of harm’s way.

“I don’t want any jerk coming on to her and her accepting his offer of comfort,” he growled, a knot forming in his stomach at the thought of her with another man to forget him.

“She’s confused and upset, Tony. I want to give her some space, but not so much that I lose her,” he admitted.

There was a chuckle on the other end. “What exactly do you want me to do? Follow her, and if she brings a guy home, wait till he’s out of sight to beat him up?

“Davis, when I find her, just get your ass to wherever I am and talk to her,” he instructed him.

“I will come, Tony. That’s my plan, but she needs time. If I show up too soon…

“No, I need to let her process everything that’s happened in the short time we’ve been together. She needs to find her footing with all this.”

He wondered what he would’ve done if someone had hurt his mother. What he would be capable of, and what he would be willing to sacrifice…

“But neither of us knows how we’d react if we discovered that our girlfriend’s father almost killed our mother,” he continued.

“Damn, my father ruined that beautiful woman, and in doing so, he ruined me as well.

“I don’t know if that’s something I could get past if I loved someone, and that’s exactly what I’m asking her to do,” he murmured, struck by the enormity of what he was asking of her.

“Davis, let me just find out where she is first. Don’t go there now when you can’t do anything about it.

“I’m starting on it right now. When I see her, I’ll send you a picture so you know she’s okay.

“And if I have to pull a guy aside to beat him up for hitting on her, well, you know I always love a good fight. But it might blow my cover,” Tony said.

Davis took off his coat and draped it over a kitchen chair. “Hey, find out where her mom went. I went by her place, only to be told that she no longer lives there.

“They wouldn’t even give me the damn address,” he fumed, walking back to the living room and settling on the couch with the small card.

Tony was silent for a moment before he spoke. “Why do you want to find her? Don’t you think that poor woman has been through enough?” he asked him.

“It’s not what you think, Tony. I’m not going to confront her.

“I want to establish a fund for her. Something that’ll ensure she lives comfortably and gets any treatment she needs. That’s it.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Davis could hear the sound of footsteps and a car door closing in the background. “I can’t promise I’ll find your girl immediately, but I’ll do my best to make it quick.”

Davis looked at the card in his hand. “Appreciate it, man. Looking forward to hearing from you,” he said before ending the call.

He took a deep breath before dialing the number on the card. “Hello, I’m interested in the brownstone on Chestnut Street. The one that just went on the market.

“Yes, that one... No, I don’t need to see it. I’ll take it. I don’t care what the asking price is. I want it, regardless of the cost.”

“That’s fine. I’d like to make a down payment, but I’d prefer to sign the papers at the end of the month. Yes, that works for me.

“I do have a couple of conditions I’d like to discuss when we sign the paperwork. You can meet me at the Gravin Building on High Street, Thursday morning around nine…

“Great. See you then.”

He ended the call and leaned back, reflecting on the whirlwind of events that had transpired in just a week. It was overwhelming for him to process. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what Abie must be going through.

Their home was theirs again, but his heart was on the line.

Davis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face with his hands.

He hoped Tony would find her soon. He had a feeling Tony was right. He needed to see her, and the wait was going to be unbearable.