Damon
I wake before dawn. Lila sleeps hard under half-naked. My female guard did what she was told—quiet, careful. The next phase has to start early.
I gently bump Lila. "Stay," I murmur. She groans and digs deeper into the pillow.
And the doorbell rings. I open it. Richard Hayes is there, a red face and two coal-like eyes beneath it. He don't even wait for any invitation.
"What the hell happened?" he asks right when he's inside the door. "Why was my daughter in your room? Answer me Damon!"
I keep my voice a flat. "I don't know all of it. I was in my room, working when the door opened. Lila stumbled in. She mumbled something about her fiancé being married and that she tried calling you but you didn't pick. She was upset."
Richard's face goes white and flaming. "Where is this man? Tell me now!"
"I don't know," I say. "After Miss Hayes came into my room, I could not leave because she looked like she needed company. Personal… company." I added, deliberately forcing the 'personal' to drive home the message.
Then he said, his voice going lethal. "Why are you in the same bed with my daughter? Why are you in the same room with my daughter!"
I shrug, which is meant to calm. "It's my room, Mr. Hayes. She came here. She came to me, not the other way around." I added as I adjusted my boxerband, baiting him ever further.
His eyes droop down at the pile of clothes on the floor-our clothes, tossed. I'm in just boxers. He sees that and something breaks in him. He explodes.
"You took advantage of my daughter!" he roared. "You slept with her! How dare you—"
"Sir," I said, voice low, holding him off. "She asked for help. She came to me. I didn't force anything."
He stomps closer, his voice cracking. "Do you know what this will do to us? To the company? To her reputation?"
Lila wakes up at all this commotion. Her eyes open wide on seeing her father. Then cast a look down at herself, then towards me. Her face turns pale.
"Dad!" she screams. "It's not—"
Richard grabs her arm. "Explain. Now!"
She gulps, tears welling already. "I-dad, I came here after the hotel. I tried calling you and you didn't pick-I was shaken. I asked Damon to help me calm down. It… it turned into something else. It was my mistake." She stumbles through the explanation, all her embarrassment and rawness on display.
Richard stares down at her as if he has taken a punch to the gut. "You slept with him? A business partner! Lila! You didn't even check the man you were going to marry? You—"
He stops short, with phone in hand, desperate. He pushes buttons, dials, waits. No answer. Again. Nothing. He stares at the silent screen as if it has utterly betrayed him.
I switch on the TV.
The business channel is already on. The anchor's voice is steady, brutal words. "Breaking: Hayes Holdings stocks have dropped sky-high this morning due to the scandal involving their heiress, Lila Hayes. Engagement reportedly called off with the international investor. Some pledges from major backers are being withdrawn."
Richard's face drains. He looks to the screen and then back at Lila before turning to me again. It's like watching a man realize he has lost the floor beneath him.
Lila grabs her phone, scrolling, calling, trying to reach the man. No answer. Her hands shake. She collapses back onto the bed, covering her face.
Richard stalks the room. He is furious and frantic at the same time. "This cannot be happening. We just closed deals. We had commitments. Who-who's going to step in now? Who will save us?"
His hand shakes. "If this goes public, if the board sees this-our stock will tumble. Our partners will pull out. We might lose it all."
Looking into the eyes of Lila now, you could see how furious he was, almost to the point where I thought he'd hit her.
"You! You! I trained you for years! And what did I get in return? This! You brought me an unreliable man! Last night, Lila, you humiliated me in front of the world."
"You!" she whispers quietly, "You! I trained you for years, and this is what I get? You brought me an unreliable man! You humiliated me before the entire world last night, Lila."
In a small voice, she whispers: "Dad, I did not clear him. I thought he was serious. I—" She couldn't finish her sentence. The weight of guilt and shame was heavy on her. Hiding her face in the pillow, she started crying in soft sobs.
Richard paces, muttering about phones and calls and lawyers; his image grows older with every minute.
I have sat back to watch him get burned. I let that moment stretch to really let him feel the panic, the fear, the pain of watching everything taken away from him.
Just like how I panicked, just as how I feared and then watched my family get taken away from me!