Chapter 6 The Challenge

Dominic's POV

The obsession in Jocelyn's resolute eyes was deathly intense. "You think you can walk away from this, from me? I'll never let you, Dominic. I'll ruin anyone who dares to try to come between us."

It was barely veiled. I saw the madness dancing behind, reacted to tattering threads that said she'd do damage, dangerous to herself if need be, to make those words stick.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" I asked in a drop of voice, deadly in its whisper. "That you could pull the strings and make me fall in love? Or that I would ever buckle to you running my life? You guessed wrong, Jocelyn."

She folds her arms across her breasts, and belligerently, she slants her lips sideways as she smiles. "You may say that now, but in the heart of your heart, we both know how this one is going to end up. You will see that I am the only one for you, the only one who can give you all you need."

I must have clenched my fists at my sides, but I did try to rein in my temper. "Jocelyn, you are playing with fire now. Take this any further and I can't be responsible for whatever happens next."

"You're threatening me now?" she asked, her eyebrow rising. "Is that how low you're willing to go, Dominic?"

"It's not a threat," I said, my voice cold. "It's a promise vouchsafed. Leave me be. Leave my life be. And stop telling people those lies of yours. Or I'll make sure you regret it, and I won't go easy on you anymore."

The air between us seemed to crackle with tension in whatever confrontation we were about to have. She was almost acting out in her mind about what to do next.

Finally, she spoke, her voice coming out even now and a little scary. "I have never regretted anything I have done for you, Dominic, and I will not have begun now. You will come to realize, Dominic, that I am right, that I alone can stand beside you, and when you do, I shall be there."

She just walked off from there, so back I watched her walk, unnerving with the walk she had going. I watched her go, knowing Jocelyn, knowing that this wasn't going to be this easy with her, and that, in turn, meant she was very dangerous.

I crashed into the car, slammed the door shut behind me, and clasped the wheel with both hands as I tried to temper down the boiling tempest in my head. What she was doing, after all, was stepping across lines already bound.

The way back to the office was just a blur as all I could think of was ways this whole situation could be sorted out. I had to act fast, lest Jocelyn's lies go further and end up hurting anyone else. But first things first- I needed to make sure Leila and Michael were safe. This fact, that Jocelyn was obsessed about everything that there was to know about me more than any other thing, would have been a tale in itself, but if she began suspecting them, too, I knew she wouldn't feel an ounce of remorse in using them against me.

I parked the car and walked toward the building's entrance.

"Stefano, you're already here for the early bird moment I set up for you?" I said as he met me at the doorstep.

"Yes, I've been watching Jocelyn as you instructed. She's visited every media house, ranting about your supposed engagement," he replied.

I swore under my breath. "Yes, she has. Out to soil my name if she doesn't get what she wants."

"Put her under observation," I ordered. "But don't do something that might raise a red flag with her. We should be cautious, too. Jocelyn isn't brain-dead; she'll know it when we become too threatening."

Stefano nodded; he knew just how sensitive this situation was. "Of course, sir. I will make it a point, as a lookout, that we stand off at a safe distance."

I stepped inside the elevator, alone. The doors closed as I looked back, and off we started. The elevator jolted into action as it began its ascent, and for that second, all of my thoughts seemed to cease. Jocelyn was indeed a worthy adversary. At the same time, though, she wasn't the worst I'd ever had to put up with. As long as you were one step in front of her, you were fine.

Luca was already there and smiled as I walked into the office.

"How'd it run with Jocelyn?" he asked the minute I walked through the door.

"Terribly," I told him as I went down to my desk. "She's bugging out now; she's more hopped up than ever to strong-arm her way into my life."

The concern twisted its way around Luca's face. In moments before, he had seemed carefree. Now it was business all over him. "So now what?"

I leaned back on my chair, in powerful and slow reflection. "We've got to get in front of this and be in complete control of the narrative before it does become something really bad. What I'm gonna do is make an offer statement, and uh, basically repute everything she said, but not an inch of giving her something to use against us."

Luca nodded, understanding. "Right. If we can get out in front of it, maybe stop it before it makes the rounds."

"But that's not all," I went on. My mind was already racing with what to do. "The most important thing is we need to keep Leila and Michael a million miles away from Jocelyn. If Jocelyn knows about either of them, she's going to go after them just to spite me."

We just have to stay ahead in this deal. Jocelyn is unpredictable, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes.

Luca held my gaze a second before his tilted a little. "Dominic- really, are you okay? This whole scenario's opening to look personal, really not business."

He was right, his eyes told me. This was no longer about my reputation; it was about the people I was responsible for, keeping them safe. Now was not the time to think with feelings, though.

"I'm fine," I went on firmly. "This is just another challenge, like all the rest."

Luca found that convincing, but he didn't show it and just nodded. "Just don't let her get under your skin. Jocelyn's always been good with manipulation."

"I know," I breathed out, rubbing out my tone. "But I won't let her win."

And we talked about it there, what was in front of us, and I put in the most minute detail exactly how we'd handle the press to make sure Jocelyn's lies would not get more air than they already had. But no matter how we talked over strategy, my mind kept coming back to Leila and Michael again. Whatever it took to protect them and make them live a comfortable life...

As we finished the report, Luca started to get up, but he caught himself on his way to the door. "If you need help with anything, Dominic, at all, just let me know."

"Thanks, Luca," I said grudgingly; I did appreciate his loyalty.