81. Like Father Like Son

81. Like Father Like Son
Emara Stone

“Here.. I want you to meet my father.” Ryan says, pointing at someone.

I turn and find myself looking at a man who is clearly an upgraded version of Ryan. Dressed in a three piece, deep charcoal colour suit, with a pocket square folded with the precision of a perfectionist.

Salt and pepper hair adorns his head with deep laugh lines around his eyes, and neatly trimmed silver beard that gives him a mid 50s sugar daddy look, who worked out all his 40s.

He steps forward, all calm and controlled. Taller than Ryan, but still shorter than Dakota. Maybe 6’2’’.

“Amara Stone.” He smiles at me warmly, yet his hash brown eyes remain sharp, “It’s lovely to finally meet you properly.”

I control my eye roll at not-my-name again. Like father like son!

“Last time I saw you was at your convocation ceremony a couple of weeks ago. But never got a chance to talk to you.” Just then he extends his business hand towards me.

“I am Robert Damison.” He says like he chews up banks and spits out money. 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Damison.” I politely shake his hand because my parents taught me to be kind to old people.

“You are even more beautiful than Ryan described.” He hums, then gently twists my palm and brings it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of my hand.

Dakota’s body goes still beside me, then I hear his jaw crack as if he is controlling the entire army of demons from breaking the wall of professionalism.

Mr. Damison notices too. He slowly lets go of my hand, and straightens up, staring at Mr. Psycho Black beside me.

“So, who is the lucky man to be your date tonight?” He asks me, confusion clouds his gaze as it flickers between Ryan and Dakota.

Well..

The air thickens with tension. I stand there quietly, sipping my champagne between two maniacs who look ready to tear each other apart.

“Chica!” Daniel’s loud voice cut in like a chainsaw at Hans Zimmer’s concert. 

“Oh! Hi, Uncle. Did you meet my date?” He slides up beside me like a sparkling unicorn, and casually throws an arm around my neck.

“Isn’t she cute? We even got matching purple theme.” He beams like a proud ostrich.

I want to shove Daniel’s toe in his goddamn mouth and turn him into a human pretzel.

Instead, I glare at him like a psychopath on the verge of murder, and slowly mouth, “I-will-kill-you-painfully.”

Daniel gulps, slowly dragging his hand away from my shoulder and smiles, “Anyway, I gotta run real quick. My other date is alone. Catch you later, people!” And strides away with his purple hair disaster.

Mr. Damison stares awkwardly, like a man who just witnessed something deeply concerning.

“Amara.. I believe you are a smart girl.” The old man says smoothly, recovering like a professional, “And a smart girl should choose her partner wisely.”

I blink at him, wondering where this women-should-do-this podcast by a man is going.

“In a few years, Ryan will be taking over the entire Stallium Group empire.” He says like he eats a hundred businessmen for breakfast.

“And as you can see tonight, his startup MindDrive is already creating quite the buzz in the market. It’s one of the highly funded AI projects and projected to be one of the biggest success stories of the decade.”

Dakota stays completely silent beside me. Not a word. But any normal person could sense the tension rolling off him in waves.

“Clearly, he is the next billionaire in line. And men like that don’t come around very often, Amara.” Mr. Damison’s voice lowers, like a devil offering me a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

“Strong, ambitious, driven. Ryan already has an empire most men would kill for.” He pauses, staring at me, “Now all he needs is the right woman beside him.”

Even his gaze feels like a silent negotiation.

“Someone smart, beautiful, from a decent family to build a legacy with him.” Brown eyes twinkle at me with a calculative charm, that could even manipulate the Gods to forgive Satan.

“And you Amara, strike me as exactly that kind of woman. Sharp. Elegant. Someone who understands the value of real security, real power, and real wealth.”

I take a slow sip from my glass, learning new things about myself that I didn’t even know.

“Between you and me..” Ryan’s father whispers in his smooth, influencing voice, like he is offering a premium package deal, “You won’t find a better man than my son.”

Dakota’s jaw tightens beside me. His green eyes darken with an unreadable aura, like something inhuman is building behind them that he is not letting out.

“And most importantly..” Mr. Damison leans in like sharing a top secret with me, “He is completely smitten with you.”

I twist my jaw and glance up at Ryan, who is already looking down at me. He smiles at me as if he is possessed by obsessed-with-some-Amara spirit.

“Like they say, old love is hard to forget and harder to fade.” Mr. Damison continues like a love guru.

“Think about it, Amara. You don’t have to start from zero with Ryan.” Creases form at the corner of his eyes as he smiles warmly at me, “And I would personally love to have you as my daughter-in-law.”

I blink at him, completely ignoring Ryan’s possessed gaze, and Dakota’s clenched fists.

“So, what do you say?” The old man asks me, tilting his head.

“What I really want to say is..” I lick my champagne lips, before stating clearly, “My name is Emara. Not Amara. Emara. With an E.”

“Oh! My apologies, Emara.” He corrects himself instantly.

“And I hope you would teach that to your son as well. Because it seems like he is smitten with me, but never listens to me.” I grit, glancing at his loser son.

Ryan raises his thick bushy brow, as if objecting the accusation on his royal ass.

“Once you both get married, his ears will be all yours to listen.” His dad quips, smartly steering the conversation right back to his original plot.

Selling his son to me. Or buying me for his son.

“You have very convincing skills, by the way.” I speak in a velvety smooth tone, learning from the old master.

Robert Damison lets out a deep, rich laugh from his belly, the kind that billionaires does, “I am just a father who wants the best for his son. And I truly believe the best thing for him.. is you.”

Hmm.

“I’ll think about your son, Mr. Damison.” I smile, before excusing myself from the group of wolves dressed up as respectable sheep.

Old love my ass!

The long purple trail of my bow drags dramatically behind me as I march away, fast and furiously, only to get slammed into someone walking in front of me.

“Oh, shit! Sorry.” I blurt out, balancing my glass so I don’t spill all over someone’s expensive dress.

“Emara?”

I look up to see my bestie-from-another-panty, straight out of a revenge fantasy in a stunning red slip dress, having same surprised expression as mine as if we just caught each other hiding a body.

“Ana! What are you doing here?” I almost scream, but my voice suddenly dies as my gaze slides to the man standing beside her. 

Standing very close to her. Too close. Like he belongs there.

Dr. Xavier Lance.