Chapter 113

Am I jealous?

“Well…I…I don’t think so,” I stammered a bit with Victor staring at me like that.

“Excellent,” Victor said, his gaze softened.

“But even if I were, I would never show it here in public,” I said.

“Let’s sit down then,” Victor said with a smile. “Our meal should be arriving soon. And then maybe I can arrange for you to dance with William.”

“That would make Diana very happy,” I nodded.

Right. Victor should be the one that help William and me. Why would I get nervous at that simple question earlier?

We sat down, and the waiter began bringing our meal. The pâté was good, and the venison carpaccio was exquisite.

We enjoyed every bite and washed it down with more sparkling grape juice. When our dessert came, William moved his chair to our table and joined us.

“Mom and Dad are across the room chatting,” he said. “They’ll be gone for a while. Do you mind if I have my dessert with you?”

“Not at all,” Victor said. “We’re having the chocolate-diamond ice cream.”

“Me too.” William grinned. “It’s my favorite thing on the menu here.”

“I can’t wait to try it now,” I said.

The waiter must have seen William join us, and he brought his dessert with ours.

I was pleased to discover chocolate diamond ice cream is made with the finest Madagascar vanilla and covered with chocolate chips and real gold flakes with dark chocolate sauce drizzled over the top.

It was incredible.

As we ate our ice cream, William brought up his dance with Karen Cameron. “I don’t like her,” he confided. “All she did was talk about how much trouble Daisy is making for her father and what she bought at the mall today.”

Victor’s eyebrows raised. “Excuse me. Daisy is making trouble for him? How absurd. But that gives me an idea.”

He ate the last bite of his dessert, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stood. “I will talk with him to let him know his interference won’t be tolerated. William, while I’m gone, will you dance with Daisy?”

“Sure,” William said with a grin. He stood and offered me his hand. “Shall we?”

Diana was quivering with excitement as we walked onto the dance floor, and William took me into his arms. The song playing was perfect for a tango.

As we danced, I felt just like the woman I had seen on TV dancing with her handsome, muscular leading man. All that was missing was the long stem rose in my mouth.

William and I looked into each other‘s eyes as we moved to the rhythm of the music. Then we strutted cheek to cheek across the dance floor before he bent me over his arm in a low dip.

When the tango was over, a slow two-step song came on, and we kept dancing. I could hear Mark and Diana chatting softly in the back of my mind as I looked into William’s eyes.

“I really was impressed with how you handled the press conference,” William said. “You have come such a long way in just a few months.”

“Thank you,” I said. “It was tough for me to speak until I got angry. When I get angry, I don’t stutter.” It was a relief to speak about my speech impediment without being embarrassed.

“Do you want to run your family’s business?” William asked.

“At first, I didn’t,” I replied. “But now I feel differently. It’s part of a legacy… a part of my family that’s been passed down for generations. How could I let it go to someone else? And there is so much good I can do with it.”

“I know what you mean,” William said. “Sometimes I feel guilty for not wanting my family’s business. But I want a career in football so badly.”

“Have you spent any time working with your father?”

William grimaced. “Weekends and summers since I was nine years old. And I had managed it for him a few times when he wanted to go on vacation with my mother.”

“Then you must know what you’re doing,” I observed.

He shrugged. “I know enough about it to keep my mom and dad from complaining.” He looked around the room for them. “I can handle working in an office occasionally, but it’s not what I want to do with my life.”

I didn’t know he had that much business training. It was hard to imagine William sitting behind a desk all day. But Mr. James wouldn’t trust his son to run things for him if he didn’t have confidence in William’s abilities.

He must be more capable than I had thought.

“Is it just football that keeps you from wanting to work with your father?” I asked.

“Even if I never make a pro team, I want nothing to do with the business,” William declared.

He shook his head. “I can’t stand working with these greedy old alphas like John Cameron. He doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he makes even more money.”

My admiration for William swelled. Although William grew up as a privileged, rich Alpha, he saw the injustices in the world caused by Alpha domination.

I was disappointed when the song ended, and it was time for us to return to the table. Dancing too many times in a row with William right now would cause gossip.

On our way back to our table, I saw William’s parents still chatting with another couple and Victor deep in conversation with a strange man.

I sat down and watched William pour me another glass of sparkling grape juice when I sensed someone come up behind me.

The male whispered into my ear, “You may have won a battle today, but I guarantee you’ll lose the war against me.”

It was John Cameron.

What a jerk! I couldn’t believe his nerve. Neither could Diana.

“Don’t allow him to think you’re afraid of him,” she advised and told me what to say.

I stood and faced him. “Mr. Cameron. I promise you will not cheat me out of my legacy and take my family’s company away from me. No one will. Find another company to steal.”

My legs were shaking when I sat back down next to William.

“Are you okay?” William asked. “He must have said something terrible to you to make you react like that.”

“He did,” I replied. “He wants to take my father’s company away from us.”

“I knew it,” William declared. “I knew it was him that told the press that your father was dead. He did it to make trouble. But you handled it bravely. I’m impressed.”

Victor returned to the table. “Why did John Cameron run out of here like the building was on fire after he spoke to you?”

“He was threatening Daisy, and she told him off,” William explained. “She was incredible.”

Victor smiled briefly. “I spoke to him, but he will be a problem for you, Daisy. It would be best if you spent as much time learning about how to run the business as you can. He’s going to come at you before you’re ready.”

“I have a study hall during the last period of every school day,” I said. “I’m going to ask if I can leave school early to work at the office instead.”

“That’s a good idea,” Victor agreed. “But I can’t work with you tomorrow. I have things to do for my company that you wouldn’t understand yet.”

“I could take her to the Wilson, Inc. offices tomorrow and stay with her in case she needs help,” William offered.

“I would appreciate it,” Victor said.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” I asked. “I know sitting behind a desk isn’t your thing.”

“I would do anything to help a good friend,” William said. “And I would hate to see an Alpha like John Cameron win.”