Page 19 of Interview with the Billionaire

Intellectually, I know it’s not true. And yet despite this intellect of mine that has so often been praised, I can’t back myself away emotionally. The fear that I’ve inadvertently hurt her is like a knife through my soul, and even though it is Nikki that I fear I’ve hurt, I also know that it is Nikki I need to push past my own guilt. And Nikki with whom I want to revel in this miracle.

Perhaps the real miracle will be if I can read these pages years from now. Already, the pages are stained with tears, the ink running.

I so rarely cry. Beat the shit out of a punching bag, sure. Lose myself in Nikki, hell yes. But cry?

I suppose that is one more way Ashton has changed my life. And right now my most fervent wish is that he won’t hate me forever. And I will do anything in my power to make my own wish come true.

I lean against the tiled wall and watch him, this man who is so much more than physical beauty. He’s strength and intelligence, commanding and tender. He’s honorable and strong, fierce and loyal.

And he loves me.

- Hold Me

Chapter 5: Ground Rules

When Damien returned to the pool deck, he headed straight for Maggie. He wanted to shake her. To ask her what the hell she’d done to Ash. What game she was playing. But he didn’t. There were ways to play games, and right now he was playing to get through these interviews, to get this woman out of his home, and to go on about his life.

“I’m sorry, but Ash can’t get back into the country in time to do the interview.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. He would have been an asset for the article.”

“I’m sure he would have been,” Damien said.

“So are we ready to start with the photos?”

“I think so. But before we continue, I wanted to set some ground rules. And I want you to know that any deviation from these rules will cause me to reject the article. I have veto power. You remember that, right?”

She looked at him quizzically. “Has something happened?”

“What could have happened? I just want to speak to you without my wife and kids around. I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings, Lena.”

“Of course not.” Her expression was all innocence. But he knew her well enough to see the hardness in her eyes.

“I want it clear that if you try to use anything from these interviews elsewhere—verbatim or exaggerated—I will use every resource at my disposal to see that your life becomes very, very miserable.”

“Damien, I—”

“Mr. Stark. For today, I’m Mr. Stark. Nikki is Mrs. Stark.”

“I—well, of course. I thought we’d gotten the past out of the way and—”

“Let me be clear. I’m agreeing to this interview despite our history because I was assured you would comply with certain terms. I intend to make sure my conditions are maintained.”

“Well, of course they will be. I agreed, didn’t I?”

“Good. Then let me stress that I will not be talking about what happened to me and Sofia. Nothing about Merle Richter. You won’t be getting a deep, emotional interview about those days. If you want to write about it, there was plenty of coverage during the trial. You can plow through old articles from here and in Germany. But I won’t speak of it. Are we clear?”

“Of course.”

“The same holds true of Anne’s kidnapping. You can talk to Bree—that’s her choice—but Nikki and I won’t talk about that time. It was extensively covered, and we both spoke to the press at the time. Cover it in the article if you want, but you get your information from pre-existing materials.”

“Again, that’s not a problem. Anything else?”

“You won’t be interviewing the children. I believe Evelyn made that clear when she set up the interview, but if you’re expecting us to loosen that rule over these two days, you should know right now that you were mistaken.”

“I understand. Of course, Mr. Stone is different situation.”

“Ash is an adult. If he wants to talk to you, that’s up to him. So,” he continued, “are we clear?”