Chapter Eighteen

Damien

I hated visiting my mother's office. In addition to owning several designer stores and event centers, she also owned an oil well and a transportation company.

In case something happened to her, she wanted me to know everything there was to know about them. I followed her into the boardroom where a dozen of her employees were waiting for us.

Other than a few photos of my mother holding various honors and certificates, the walls were blank. She looked like a fierce businesswoman, wearing a red suit and matching pants, with her hair pulled back into a stylish bun and sparkling jewelry.

It was an extremely dull meeting. My mother talked endlessly about company policies, objectives, tactics, and other things that I did not know or care about.

I tinkled with the fountain pen on the table, poured water into my glass from a pitcher, and tried not to yawn. I fell asleep to the soft hum of the air conditioning.

I missed something someone said, but the others leaned in to nod and whisp