C13 The First Kiss

By evening, Naomi had arranged for the storage-unit documents to be copied and independently examined.

Amara should have felt victorious.

Instead, she felt hollow.

She stood on Damian’s balcony, watching rain gather on the glass railing.

Behind her, the office door opened.

“You disappeared,” Damian said.

“I needed air.”

He joined her.

Neither spoke for a while.

Then Amara said, “My father told me not to spend my life clearing his name.”

Damian looked at her.

“That sounds like something a good father would say.”

“He knew I’d try anyway.”

“Probably.”

She turned toward him.

“What would you do if you could speak to your father again?”

Damian was quiet.

“I’d ask why he didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was happening.”

Amara nodded.

“That’s what I’d ask mine.”

He looked at her.

“Perhaps they were trying to protect us.”

“Perhaps they underestimated us.”

Damian smiled faintly.

“That too.”

Amara studied him.

When she’d first met Damian Cross, she’d imagined him as a man without weaknesses.

Now she knew he carried disappointment like a second skin.

“You’re different from what I expected,” she said.

“Better or worse?”

“Don’t ruin the moment.”

He laughed.

Then his expression grew serious.

“Amara, there’s something I need to say.”

Her heart beat faster.

“What?”

“I’ve been trying very hard to keep this professional.”

She looked at him.

“Have you?”

“Not particularly successfully.”

A nervous laugh escaped her.

Damian stepped closer, then stopped.

“I know this situation is complicated. I know you’re investigating my family. And I know I’m still your employer.”

“All excellent reasons to stay away from you.”

“Exactly.”

Neither moved.

Amara could hear the rain.

She could hear her own heartbeat.

Damian looked at her carefully.

“I don’t want you to feel pressured. If this is a mistake, tell me now.”

She thought about every argument they’d had.

Every time he’d infuriated her.

Every time he’d surprised her.

And the way he’d sat beside her in a dusty storage unit while she read her father’s last words.

“I don’t think it’s a mistake,” she whispered.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

Damian leaned closer.

Amara met him halfway.

Their kiss was gentle and brief, but it changed something neither of them could pretend hadn’t happened.

When they separated, Damian rested his forehead lightly against hers for a moment.

“Well,” Amara murmured.

He smiled.

“Well.”

“This is going to be complicated.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“And you are still incredibly annoying.”

“I was hoping the kiss might improve my reputation.”

“It didn’t.”

He laughed.

She stepped back, smiling despite herself.

Then reality returned.

“We still have to work together.”

Damian nodded.

“And I need to make sure your position at the company isn’t affected by this. We can speak to HR about changing your reporting line.”

Amara looked at him.

“You’re not going to make decisions about my career for me.”

“No. We’ll discuss the options together.”

She smiled.

“Good answer.”

His phone rang.

Naomi.

Damian answered.

His smile disappeared.

“What do you mean the property records have been altered?”

Amara went still.

Naomi’s voice was sharp enough for her to hear.

“Someone filed new ownership documents this afternoon. The land is being sold.”

Damian looked at Amara.

“To whom?”

A pause.

Then Naomi answered.

“Cross Urban Holdings.”

Amara frowned.

“That’s not Cross Industries.”

Damian’s expression hardened.

“No,” he said. “It’s a company I’ve never heard of.”