Imogene ScottMy fists clenched beside me as I take a deep breath. I wait for the team members to exit the conference room and as soon as they’re all gone, I start talking.“Why the fuck did you not tell me Damien is involved in this project?” I say as evenly as I can, although my face is growing hot with anger. “Because I know you.” Keith replies, relaxing in his seat.His expression is neutral and it angers me more that I don't know what the fuck he’s thinking about. Or why he’s barely giving me a reaction. “You don’t know me, Keith.” I say under my breath. “Because we went on one fucking date doesn’t mean you know shit about me.”He sighs heavily as he rises to his feet. He takes a step closer to me and places a hand on my shoulder. I want to shake his hand off like it’s a snake, but I hold back. Who the fuck does he think he is to be making decisions on my behalf?“I’m so sorry. I just thought you would turn down the offer if you knew Damien was involved.”“Hell yes, I would.
Imogene Scott My heart clenches as I try to understand why on earth my father would reach out to me after so many years. For the past three years that I was gone from LA, he never tried to find me. Even way before that, he stopped contacting me when Damien and I got married. So it’s been approximately eight years. Why now?“Hello?” a voice comes from the other end of the line, hoarse and low.I force myself to hold back the pain that claws at my insides. The pain of hearing my own father’s voice after so many good years. “Hi.” I say slowly.“It’s me, Imogene.”“Dad?” I manage to say.Damien’s eyes snap up as I mention his name. He cocks his head, a lot more confused than I am. But I don’t seem to care about his reaction. He continues to look at me as I try to gather my words into one piece.“Imogene. How are you?” my father asks in a low tone.I want to yell and ask him if “how are you” is the first thing to say after abandoning me for eight years. An apology would do.“I’m fine
Imogene Scott I narrow my eyes and hope the nurse recognizes how inappropriate it is that she’s saying this to me in a gossip-py way right now. She doesn’t. “They say he brought this upon himself by…” I cut her short. “I’ll go in now.” I say rudely. As I step into the hospital room, the first thing that strikes me is the overwhelming sterility of the space. The lighting is dim, but it still catches on the white sheets, giving the room an unsettling glow. My eyes land on my father, lying motionless in the bed. His once strong and commanding presence reduced to this fragile, weakened state. It’s jarring, to see him like this. A faint beep from the heart monitor punctuates the silence. I walk toward the bed, my footsteps muted on the linoleum floor. The chair beside him creaks slightly as I sit down, and I can’t help but feel a pang of worry. His face is pale, almost ashen, and the deep lines etched into his skin seem more pronounced than ever before. His chest rises and falls wi
Damien Shaw As I leave the hospital, the cool evening air does little to quell the storm raging inside me. The confrontation with Imogene still echoes in my mind, her sharp words cutting deeper than I’d like to admit. And the fact that she might be thinking of rejecting a huge business deal all because she wants to be away from me, is heartbreaking.She’s as fierce and stubborn as ever, and I can’t blame her. I’ve earned every bit of her anger. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to fight for her, for us, and for our daughter—Lily.I unlock my car and slide into the driver’s seat, the leather creaking softly under my weight. For a moment, I sit there in silence. I grip the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white.My phone buzzes in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts. I pull it out and see Breonna’s name flashing on the screen. I’ve not heard from her all day and it’s a surprise. She usually cannot go a day without hearing from me. I hesitate for a moment before
Imogene Scott When I get back home, I’m surprised to see that Lily has calm down. Breonna’s voice seemed serious on the phone and I didn’t expect everything to be so calm when I got back home.“I just sang her a few lullabies and she stopped crying.” Breonna says to me as she prepares to leave.I watch her pack her bags, mentally warring with myself. Should I pay her? Of course I have to. But what about tomorrow? Elinor’s going to be really busy henceforth so I doubt she can look after Lily.Breonna is my only option. But it’s going to be rude if I keep asking her for favors when I want nothing to do with Damien. Asking her for favors is gonna be far fetched but…what if I employ her back instead? That way the relationship will remain professional.“I’ll be leaving now.” Breonna says as she makes for the door.“Wait,” I say and Breonna turns to look at me. She’s grinning. Shit, she already knows what I’m about to say. “Do you perhaps want your job back?”Her smile widens. “Of cour
Imogene Scott “I really can’t let Dad lose Scott Luxuries to that witch. I need to do something about it.” I keep muttering to myself as I drive to City Hospital. Dad said he needed two hundred million dollars, will that even be enough to get the company back? I doubt that. I don’t have that kind of money right now though with the gallery opening and everything. But I can woop something up in a few days. I just need to talk to Dad first. I pull up in the parking lot and walk into the hospital. I brace myself and walked towards Dad’s room. I can hear murmurs coming from inside. Does he have a visitor? I take a deep breath and step in. I’m immediately greeted by that familiar clean, woody scent fills my senses. I stiffen, my eyes locking with Damien as l step closer to Dad’s bed. “Okay, why the fuck are you here?” I snap, my face red with anger. Why does he always have to fucking appear everywhere? And why is he even here after I asked him to stay away? Is listening so hard? “I’
Damien Shaw I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Imogene just apologized to me. How’s that even possible? She must be really desperate?“It’s fine. I don’t deserve a chance after everything I’ve done.” I say.Her features relaxes. “Glad you know.”We both walk back into the hospital room and Ethan seems a lot relieved that I’m back. My initial plan was to buy Scott Luxuries and hand it over to Ethan. But since Imogene insists on not accepting handouts from me, we have to go with another plan.I made a lot of research and realized Imogene’s mother founded the company so I guess that’s one of the reason she’s so desperate and even willing to hear me out.“Spit it out.” she snaps, her gaze boring into mine.That temper of hers.I turn to look at Ethan. “Your late wife founded Scott Luxuries but she’s dead. She was a fourty percent shareholder of the company and when she died, the shares automatically got transferred to Imogene.”Imogene and Ethan glance at each other. “Huh?” the
Imogene Scott After Damien leaves, I go over a few things with Dad before heading back to the gallery. I just hope Damien doesn’t try to do anything after I’ve baltently told him not to. I don’t need his help.When I get back home, I take a few hours to brainstorm on the concept development for the Art Convention. Even though I’m seemly distracted by everything that’s happening, I make sure to complete the research because l’ll be sharing my ideas with Keith and possibly Damien tomorrow.*** The conference room at KJ Tech is sleek, all glass and chrome, with a view of the city sprawling beneath us. I specifically chose to have the meeting at KJ Tech since I’ve vowed never to step into IMU again after Damien and I separated. But with the way things are going, I’m not sure I’ll be able to avoid it anymore.I’m seated across from Damien and Keith, both of whom are flipping through their notes."Alright, Imogene," Keith says, leaning back in his chair. "What have you got for us?"