⋆ Chapter 33: His Divided Attention
Damon left the penthouse with a smile tugging at his mouth. Lindsey’s reaction had been enough...more than enough for him. It wasn’t surrender, not yet, but it was a crack in her defenses. She was loosening, slowly, whether she realized it or not. He could feel it. Every small shift in her tone, every flicker of hesitation in her eyes told him he was getting under her skin. And once he was under, she wouldn’t be able to shake him off.
As he relaxed in the back of his car, the city was already beginning to gray with the late afternoon light. The traffic flowed steadily as his driver navigated away from the curb.
When he finally made it home, Valerie was still at the office. Although no surprise there. She’d always been a hard worker, and it was something he genuinely admired about her. It was also why he hadn’t thought twice about pushing his mother to offer her the CEO role.
He loosened his tie as he made his way upstairs. The weight of the day clung to him, not in the obvious ways, a man in his position was used to carrying burdens, but in the subtle exhaustion that seeped deeper than muscle.
He stripped down, turned on the shower, and let the water beat against his skin until the steam blurred the mirror. It was the only place he could let his guard drop, even if only for a few minutes.
Afterward, he dressed in fresh clothes and moved through the motions, trying to gather himself. The house remained still. He rested against the dresser, exhaling slowly, letting the quiet sink in. The moment didn’t last. His phone buzzed on the bed.
The number wasn’t saved, but he didn’t need to check twice to know who it was. He picked it up. “How many times do I have to remind you about our agreement, Kayla? You don’t call me. I call you.”
“Damon, thank God! I’m so sorry, baby, but I’m so worried,” Kayla's voice came fast, tight with worry. “Tell me you’re alright. I heard about the shooting at Porta Vecchia. What happened?”
He rubbed a hand over his face, the corners of his mouth tightening. “I’m fine, sweetie.”
“That’s not what I asked. And you didn’t even call me. I waited and waited. What happened? ”
“Trouble with the Germans,” he said, tone clipped. “Don’t worry about it. It’s been handled.”
“That’s not much of an answer,” she pressed. Her voice softened, but the worry underneath only deepened. “You could’ve been killed.”
Damon moved to sit on the edge of the bed, one elbow resting on his knee. “You’re wasting your energy, Kayla. You know the kind of people I deal with every day. If I were in danger, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.”
“That’s supposed to reassure me?” she shot back. “You brush it off like it’s nothing, but it isn’t nothing, Damon. I haven’t seen you in days. And you haven’t called me. I don’t even know what’s going on with you anymore.”
“I told you,” he said, the annoyance creeping into his tone. “It’s handled.”
But Kayla wasn’t finished. “No. I want to see you. You can’t keep me on the outside like this.”
“I’ve just been really busy, Kayla,” Damon said.
“No, Damon. You always do this to me. Why do you always say that? Why do you keep me at arm’s length when all I want is to be there for you? To take care of you?”
Damon leaned back on the bed, phone pressed to his ear, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “Because this isn’t about you right now. You know what happened to Valerie, to your friend. She just survived an attempted abduction, and the mess with the Germans shook her up. She’s been having nightmares. My attention has to be on her. Why is that so hard for you to accept?”
The pause on the line stretched, then Kayla's voice broke through, tight with frustration. “You make it sound like I’m selfish for even asking you to let me take care of you. Like I should sit here quietly and pretend I don’t care what happens to you.”
“Well, yes, you are being selfish,” he said finally. “You’re asking for my time when Valerie’s barely holding herself together.”
“That’s not fair,” she snapped. “I don’t want to take anything from her. I just want to know where I stand with you. You act like I’m demanding, but every time I try to reach you, you turn it back on me.”
Damon’s jaw tightened. “Because you twist it into guilt. I tell you what’s happening, and you make it about how you feel neglected.”
“And you make me question if I even matter to you,” she shot back. “You bury yourself in her, and I’m left wondering if I’m just a distraction.”
“If that were true, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. I would be done with you, Kayla.”
Their voices circled each other like sparring partners, each one defending, deflecting, refusing to yield. Every sentence turned into proof for their side, both of them tugging the rope tighter until the strain threatened to snap it.
Damon was the first to ease his grip. His tone changed, no longer hard but coaxing, steadying the edge of her anger. “Listen to me. I’ll see you, okay? You know I will. But right now, if I don’t stand by Valerie, questions will come. People will notice. That attention puts us both at risk.”
Kayla's breath caught on the other end, but she wasn’t convinced yet. “So I just wait? Again?”
“You wait,” he said firmly. “Because keeping our secret safe matters more than you getting what you want right now. And when the time is right, I’ll come to you. That doesn’t change.”
Her resistance faltered. He could hear it in the way her voice softened, the fight draining. “You always make it sound so logical, Damon. But it still feels like I’m the one left in the shadows.”
He closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. “Then trust me to bring you out when it’s safe. That’s all I ask.”
The silence stretched again. Finally, Kayla muttered, “Fine. Just don’t make me wait too long.”
“I won’t.”
The line went dead, and Damon sat staring at the phone. He couldn’t always explain why he kept going back to Kayla when Valerie should’ve been enough. Valerie had everything he could want. But with Kayla, it was reckless and dangerous. Thrilling in a way his marriage no longer was.
Setting his phone aside, he leaned forward, a rough breath slipped out as his mind shifted, already working through what needed to happen next.