Chapter 343: Sorry, The CEO Is Not Accepting Marriage Arrangements at This Time

[Damien Lockwood]

He had put up with the conversation longer than necessary, mostly because he wanted to figure out how much his mother knew and if she had uncovered anything important like finding out that Oliver had now been staying with him after years of her trying her best to keep the two away from each other.

Now that he had that clarity, he found the rest of the chat pretty uninteresting.

"Let me be clear here," he said, his voice shifting into that calm, controlled tone that usually made board members rethink their objections. "I’m not discussing Isabella, and I won’t get engaged just because it’s convenient for you. The lawyers will reach out to the Sommers family when it’s time to settle this, and until then, I suggest you stop making promises on my behalf."

"Damien! What’s the matter with you?! You can’t just brush aside the legacy your father and I have built our lives around!"

"Actually, I can. I’ve got the signatures, the shares, and the authority to do it. What I don’t have is the need to sacrifice my life for your vision of my future."

"You’re making a mistake!"

"That’ll be proven later, I have to end the call now, Mother. I have work to do."

"Damien, I’m not done talking."

"Then you should have picked a topic that interested me."

He ended the call. For a few seconds, he stood there, holding the phone to his ear even though the line had gone silent.

Outside, the city continued its hustle under a pale afternoon sky, oblivious to the fact that one of its most prominent families had just lost a bit more influence over him.

Eventually, Damien set the phone down on his desk. He wasn’t angry, exactly. Anger would imply Evelyn had said something unexpected, but that wasn’t the case.

Her focus on reputation, legacy, and family duty was so typical that he could have predicted most of their conversation before even answering the call.

What really bothered him was the idea that Oliver could be dismissed as just a temporary distraction, something he would eventually forget about once his mother reminded him of his obligations.

But Oliver was more than a distraction for him. He was the reason Damien had invested four years learning to handle a life he’d never wanted, and the reason he was now determined to ensure no one could force him back into it again. That distinction was important.

Damien unlocked his phone and pulled up the picture he had taken on the sofa. Damien’s expression softened without him even realizing it.

If Oliver ever found out Damien had a stash of photos showcasing his amusing domestic quirks, he’d definitely demand some sort of payment for invading his privacy.

He might even try to negotiate a licensing deal, which Damien would have to turn down because no one should profit from falling asleep with a book on their face. He’d probably ask for royalties anyway.

Damien set the phone down, carefully stashing that photo away, and shifted his focus back to the task at hand. There were three things he had to tackle before Oliver could be fully integrated into his public life.

First, he’d terminate the Isabella arrangement, making sure there was no room for the Sommers family to claim they’d been misled.

Second, he needed to secure his position at the company so completely that neither his father nor any loyalists could use the board against him.

The company might be his now, but his Father still had people within it who still kissed his father’s ass.

Finally, he wanted to introduce Oliver on his own terms, with all the necessary protections in place and no chance for his family to turn the announcement into yet another negotiation.

He knew that once Oliver was publicly linked to him, the questions would start pouring in. Reporters would dig into his background, competitors would look for weaknesses, and those who had long treated Damien’s private life as just an extension of the Lockwood brand would suddenly feel entitled to weigh in on the man he loved.

He wouldn’t stop Oliver from living freely just because the world was filled with unpleasant people, but he would make sure anyone trying to harm Oliver knew exactly what they risked. Damien had no intention of repeating past mistakes.

A knock at his office door pulled him from his thoughts, followed by Naomi’s voice asking to come in.

"Come in," he replied.

She stepped in, her tablet held against her side, looking as put-together as she had that morning. If she had caught any part of his conversation with Evelyn, she wasn’t letting on, though Damien guessed she had learned to recognize the particular silence that came after one of his mother’s calls.

"Mr. Lockwood, your two o’clock meeting has been rescheduled to tomorrow morning," she informed him. "Mr. Harrington confirmed for Thursday, and the legal department has uploaded the updated Sommers documents to your secure inbox."

"Good," he said.

"But there’s one more thing."

Damien looked up. "Should I be concerned?"

"Depends on how you feel about surprise visitors you refuse to leave until they get what they came for, sir."

"I generally don’t like them."

"Then I’m sorry in advance."

Her face remained surprisingly neutral, but something in her eyes hinted she was enjoying this more than her job allowed.

Damien set his pen down. "Naomi."

"Yes, sir?"

"Who is it?"

"A...Mr. Oliver Reyes is here to see you."

For the first time that afternoon, Damien forgot about the papers on his desk. The slight change in his expression was almost too subtle to notice, just a slight softening around his eyes and a barely perceptible shift in his mouth, but Naomi had worked with him long enough to pick up on it. She also had enough sense to act like she hadn’t seen anything at all.

"Did he make an appointment?" Damien asked, even though he already knew what the answer was.

"No, sir. He arrived about ten minutes ago and told reception he was here to see you."

"And they let him come up?"

"Your security team confirmed who he was. I thought you’d want to know before anyone tried to send him away."

"Good call."

"I do sometimes have those."

Damien glanced at the clock, then at the paperwork still waiting for him, and finally toward the door where Oliver was apparently just outside, waiting to step into his neatly ordered life. The timing wasn’t ideal, of course.

Damien had spent the whole morning juggling meetings, reviewing documents, and ensuring the company stayed firmly under his control, only for Oliver to show up unexpectedly and disrupt his focus more effectively than his mother, the board, and even the combined financial interests of several international corporations could manage.

It was an impressive feat, really.

He wondered what Oliver needed. Maybe he’d forgotten something at home, or perhaps he had finally decided to check out the building after Damien had warned him repeatedly that the executive floor was no place for impromptu explorations of corporate architecture.

Then again, Oliver had never really needed a great reason to come and see him.

Just thinking about it brought a genuine smile to Damien’s face, small yet unmistakable, as he leaned back in his chair, feeling the quiet satisfaction of a man who’d fought for control over his own life and finally found something worth protecting.

His dear Sunshine had come to his office out of the blue, which could only mean a couple of things: either something had happened, or Oliver was simply missing him after he’d been gone for less than seven hours.

Either way, both thoughts were equally enjoyable.

He glanced at Naomi, whose perfectly blank expression suggested she was already making several unspoken observations.

"Send him in."

•

•

•

????????????’?? ??????????????????

i’m baaaccckk!! thanks for sticking with me, i finally finished my project! although, there’s gonna be another one soon. but here’s to hoping that i finish this book before then.

thank you all for your patience and support, i’ll try to return back to our regular update schedule from now on??