Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Not until four-thirty.”
“Right.” Lilah pushed a shaky hand through her heavy fall of hair. “I just need to dash out for a bit. I’ll be back in time for the next shoot.”
“Of course,” Kirby agreed, unable to disguise the curiosity in her eyes.
Lilah grabbed her bag and coat and left without another word.
Before she could move forward, she needed one crucial question answered first. And that required an urgent trip to the pharmacy.
TWENTY-FIVE
Nine Months Ago
Ben stared at Cyrus, not wanting to believe what the man had just told him.
“Are you sure?” he asked hoarsely, unable to think of anything else to say.
“Yes.”
“Cyrus, there are other doctors. Other treatments, experimental drugs… medical trials. It’s not like you to simply accept a prognosis like this.”
“Of course I didn’t just accept this, Ben!” Cyrus all-but-shouted. It was so uncharacteristic for the gentle old man to raise his voice that Ben actually jerked in shock. Seeing his startled reaction, Cyrus softened his tone and continued. “I’ve been poked and prodded dozens of times over the last six months, and every doctor I’ve seen has come to the same conclusion. Inoperable. End stage. No longer than a year to live—well, six months now, I suppose. I’m dying, son. And I’ve already endured months of intensive chemo and radiation. And I can’t face the prospect of more of the same.”
“I never even noticed,” Ben whispered, horrified. His eyes tracked over his mentor’s lined face, only now seeing how much weight he’d lost, how pale and shaky he was. Cyrus had already been balding, so the hair loss from his treatment hadn’t been obvious. “How could you keep this from me? I could have helped; I would have taken up more of the slack.”
“Ben, you’ve been the de-facto chief for nearly a year as it stands. You do everything already. I’m past ready for retirement, we just need to make things official. Nobody will be surprised when I nominate you for CEO.”
“Lilah,” Ben suddenly remembered. “Jesus. Have you told Lilah?”
“Not yet. I’m not sure I will.”
“Cyrus, you can’t leave her in the dark. She deserves to know.” Ben felt a little resentful that he had to bear the burden of this knowledge alone, while the precious little princess was sheltered from all the ugliness in life as usual.
“Not yet. But soon. Maybe,” Cyrus said, exhaustion in his voice. He sank back in his massive, black leather desk chair wearily. Cyrus had always commanded attention in this room—his lavish home office. He’d sat on that chair like it was a throne and everybody on the other side of the desk mere peasants. Now the chair seemed to swallow him. He looked like the tired, sick old man he was, and Ben felt a lump form in his throat, while his chest constricted as he finally registered that his mentor, the man who’d been as a grandfather to him for so many years, would be gone soon.
“Tell me what I can do to make this easier, Cyrus?”
“Just promise me you’ll take care of Lilah. I worry about her; she’s been quiet since her return from Paris. She’s always getting involved with the wrong men. I do wish she’d find someone solid, dependable. Someone like you…” His voice faded and he coughed, a full body spasm that rattled deep in his chest. “Once, long ago, I’d hoped you and Lilah would—” He shook his head and laughed tiredly. “Of course, that was just a foolish dream. You two soon made it clear that you’re not compatible at all. But an old man can wish. It would just set my mind at ease if Lilah could find someone like you. But I doubt I’ll live to see it.”
Ben stared at his mentor, his friend, his adopted grandfather, seeing the concern etched on his face. Lilah was the only one who could make the old man fret like this. Flighty, carefree Lilah, who’d always been spoiled to within an inch of her life. Ben didn’t want Cyrus to spend his last months worrying about what would happen to Lilah after he was gone. He would have to find a way to lessen that concern.
A plan began to form in the back of his mind. A crazy, dumb plan that would only work if Lilah was fully on board with it. Which meant Cyrus had to tell her as soon as possible.
“When will you tell Lilah, Cyrus?”
Cyrus made a vague gesture with his hand and shrugged, before saying, “Later. Soon. I worry it’ll upset her. And stress can trigger an asthma attack.”
The thought of Lilah suffering another severe asthma attack sent a shudder of pure dread down Ben’s spine. That was a complication he hadn’t considered.
“Sometimes, the best way for Lilah to deal with bad news is to pretend everything is just fine. I like to humor her… especially if it means keeping the stress reaction at bay.”