“Are there any terms you would like to add?” he asks.

“Yes, but they’re minor.” I pull out my notes from my purse. I don’t really need them but I do need a paperclip, and this gives me an excuse.

“Let’s hear them,” Aiden says, smiling.

I run through my terms slowly, checking them as I go. Recognizing my dad in press releases, not using the supplement as a performance-enhancing drug, not turning it into a biological weapon. For each term, Aiden nods thoughtfully. As always, he takes no notes.

“We’d make good business partners,” he says as I check off my final term. “Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”

I take a sip of water and keep my voice even because this last one is important to me. “Only one thing: if you ever want to sell the supplement, will you let me know first in case I can afford to buy it from you? If I can’t, you would be free to sell it to someone else.” I’m not sure I’ll ever have the money, but at least I’ll have the option and I’ll follow its journey wherever it goes.

“I doubt very much I will ever part with it, Elisa, but if I do, I agree to your term.” That nameless strong emotion floods Aiden’s eyes again. I search his face for clues but he controls it immediately.

“Then, that’s all, Mr. Hale.” I smile hugely. This was much easier than I thought. I didn’t break down once and he didn’t argue. “Thank you for making this so easy.”

“I’m not known for making things easy, Elisa.”

Is he referring to our disastrous morning-after? Probably. But suddenly I don’t want to focus on the negatives anymore. What he said to me, what I said to him. They won’t help, and it’s not how I want to remember us. I want to think only about the good things he brought into my life. That way, with time—with a very, very long time—maybe I will be able to let him go. Until then, there is no reason for him to suffer in guilt.

I smile at him. “All is well that’s meant well.” I modify the expression, hoping he understands my olive branch.

He smiles without his dimple. “It’s only so far your intentions can take you. Now, there is something I’d like to discuss.”

“What is it?”

“What I do with the supplement and where you invest the money. I know you want to invest it in one of my companies. To be frank, it’s the fairest business deal anyone has offered me. However, I’d like to propose an alternative.”

He pushes a button on a triangular device on the table and a screen drops from the ceiling against the wall facing Aiden. It lights up with a massive organizational chart. It takes me a moment to realize that this is the universe of his companies. All 120 of them.

Aiden stands. He moves with fluid precision despite his unrelenting rigidity. The motion is so hypnotizing that I have to look away.

On the screen, he circles a few companies. “These are the companies that will meet the immigration standards. You’re welcome to invest in and work at any of them if you wish. But would that make you happy? Or wouldn’t you much rather work in a laboratory, inventing and testing?” He leans over the table, his eyes ablaze as if he is trying to extract my thoughts.

“Well, to be honest, science is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. But I can find a job in a lab once I have my green card, Mr. Hale. You don’t need to hire me.”

“I’d like to give you another option. Would you consider investing the money in a new company, a laboratory that you would own and run to do whatever you wish?” His voice is gentle, but his eyes bore into me with the same fiery intensity.

I sink back in my chair. My hand flies to my sternum where a new lifeblood is rushing strong and heated. Aiden just offered me my dream. Not just the American dream, but my professional dream. I have always wanted my own lab where I could work away from the influence of huge pharmaceutical companies.

“But wouldn’t it take more than a million dollars to develop a laboratory?”

“Easily,” says Denton, sounding awed by the offer too.

“That’s where I come in. As you know, I make money by owning equity in other companies. But I plan to transition into making, building and producing on my own. Especially products that can support the U.S. troops. Your supplement is a good example because it’s light and small so it packs well. It also has potential for charitable use, including emaciated civilians the troops are tasked with caring for.” He speaks fast—a tone of urgency in his voice. It sounds like he has been in the theater himself. An idea forms in my head.

He interrupts my hypothesis. “This would be my first venture into production. I’d like to start with you.” His eyes brighten, never leaving mine, as if he is implying more with his words.

“We would go into business together?” I whisper in astonishment.

“Yes. As you’ve just proven, our business ethics match. You’re bright, hard-working and shrewd. But I could be a passive investor, if you wish. You would have all management power.”

I know why he added this. With Denton here, he can’t say more but he just freed me if I didn’t want to deal with him after our nights together.

Denton is watching me. They’re both waiting for me to say something. How could I ever get over Aiden after this? After he hands me my dream on a lab tray? There would never be another man for me. Of that, I’m certain. I would want him every day for as long as I walked the earth, because it would be more than love for me. It would be that irreversible bond of origin, of the one who gave you life so you could live your dreams. And my only family would be that lab—that one thing we would share. He would move on, with a wife and children, but I would not. The loneliness of the image prickles the beauty of the dream.

I find some air and string the words together. “I think what you’re offering is a tremendous opportunity, Mr. Hale. If it’s okay with you, may I think it over to make sure I’m doing the right thing? For both of us?”

His eyebrows rise slightly at my last words, but he nods. “Yes, but don’t take too long. You have to let Bob know soon, and you don’t want any delays.” He looks intense, anxious even.

“I understand. I’ll let you both know by this weekend.”

“Good. Now, are there any other questions before we sign the agreement?”

I’m about to shake my head when I remember. In my astonishment, I almost forgot. “Why are you interested in military defense, Mr. Hale?” I try to keep my tone light and not give away how much I want this information for my theory.

The tectonic plates shift in his eyes abruptly. He takes a sip from his glass of water, looking like he was hoping this question would never come. I wait.

“You’re not the only one who has fought for the American dream,” he says after a few moments.

Bingo! “You were in the military?”

He nods once, keeping his eyes on me.

“That’s impressive, Mr. Hale. When?” Denton asks. With every word Aiden speaks, I think Denton is developing a man crush on him.

“When I was eighteen,” Aiden answers politely, but his voice is hardening.

“How long were you in the military? Were you in the Army?” Denton presses on. He’s in love.

“No, the Marines. For about five years.” Aiden’s sentences are getting shorter. I know I have only moments before he ends the conversation. I make my move for the final missing piece.

Chapter Thirty

Discovery

“Were you in combat?” I ask.

His jaw flexes for a millisecond and he turns to me. “Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll add your terms to the agreement.”

The moment he leaves the room, my brain jumps into overdrive but Denton interrupts me.

“What an inspiring creature. Marine, then college, then this. When does the man sleep?”

“I don’t know,” I mumble, grateful for my long hair in case my face betrays my intimate knowledge of Aiden Hale’s bedroom.