Interview with the Billionaire Read online

  Bridge: So what will we be talking about?

  * * *

  Bree: I guess we’ll see when you ask.

  * * *

  Bridge: Alright. Are you ready?

  * * *

  Bree: Um, sure.

  * * *

  Bridge: So tell me what you do for the Starks.

  * * *

  Bree: I’m a part-time nanny. I’m living in the guest house and writing.

  * * *

  Bridge: And how long have you been doing that?

  * * *

  Bree: I worked for them before the kidnapping, then I moved to New York for school. When I decided to switch to a low-residency MFA program and come back to LA, they took me back.

  * * *

  Bree: And you wanted to return?

  * * *

  Bree: I did. They’re great to work for. Easy going but not lax. They don’t make unreasonable demands, and they’re flexible. Honestly, it’s the perfect situation for me.

  * * *

  Bridge: I heard that they fired you after the kidnapping.

  * * *

  [Her eyes go wide.]

  * * *

  Bree: No. No way. But I did want to leave. I’d been accepted to a Masters program. I was moving to New York.

  * * *

  Bridge: Did they want you gone? I was under the impression that Stark essentially paid to make you go away.

  * * *

  Bree: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

  * * *

  Bridge: Well, he bought you an apartment in Manhattan. That’s a little extravagant for severance. Seems more like a bribe.

  * * *

  Bree: No. No way.

  * * *

  Bridge: Well, you’re young. Maybe you’ll see it differently in a few years.

  * * *

  Bree: Think what you want, but if you print your suggestion without my denial—if you print it at all—I will totally call Evelyn and get her to snag an appointment for me with Damien’s attorney. It wasn’t like that.

  * * *

  Bridge: You’re saying Damien’s not the kind of man who would pay someone off?

  * * *

  Bree: I don’t know. He didn’t pay me off.

  * * *

  Bridge: He’s a powerful man with a checkbook full of clout. People like him don’t have to do what they don’t want to do.

  * * *

  Bree: No. You’re—

  * * *

  Bridge: They thought you participated in the kidnapping. And you’re sitting here defending them?

  * * *

  Bree: You have this all backwards.

  * * *

  Bridge: Oh, so they weren’t suspicious. My source must be wrong.

  * * *

  Bree: Source? Who?

  * * *

  Bridge: Sorry. Confidential.

  * * *

  Bree: Well, you should know your source is a liar. They were suspicious for a while, sure. Who could blame them? It was their little girl. And it was my boyfriend behind it all. But they realized they were wrong. I even helped take him down in the end.

  * * *

  Bridge: Hmm.

  * * *

  Bree: What’s that supposed to mean?

  * * *

  Bridge: I was just wondering if you blame them. For thinking that you’d help kidnap that sweet child and pump her full of a drug to make her loopy and tired.

  * * *

  Bree: They … they would have been idiots if they didn’t suspect me. I mean, I disappeared at the same time Anne did. And trust me, neither one of them is an idiot.

  * * *

  Bridge: So you weren’t upset? Pissed? Feelings hurt?

  * * *

  Bree: Well, sure. I think that really ripped them up, too. That they had a moment of doubt, I mean. They’re good people. Some of the best I know. And I love their kids. The cousins, too. Jeffery and Ronnie. I secretly love when Stella’s unavailable to watch the Steele kids, and I get all of them. It’s exhausting, but I love it. And Ronnie’s old enough to help now.

  * * *

  Bridge: That’s all nice, but the fact that you love the job only makes their suspicions worse. And then to buy you off with an apartment … smells like a bribe to me. They gave you a nice gift. Now you’re supposed to be silent. Is that why you’re not answering my questions.

  * * *

  [Bree pushes back from the table. I’ve clearly pissed her off]

  * * *

  Bree: I am answering your questions, and you’re not listening. I meant what I said. I will sic Charles on you. And now, I think we really are done.

  * * *

  Bridge: I understand. You’re young. You’l l get clarity when you’re older.

  * * *

  [She doesn’t answer. She just leaves.]

  * * *

  Interview End

  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.

  * * *

  - Hold Me

  Transcript: Stark-3

  Day 2, Session 2, 1:00 pm

  Audio Transcription by All Access Enterprises

  Annotations added by client: Spicer, Magdalena

  Location: Stark Home, Malibu, CA, 1st floor living area

  Subject(s): Damien Stark, Nichole Fairchild Stark (Nikki)

  Interview conducted by Maggie Bridge

  * * *

  Begin Interview

  [They sit together on the sofa on the first floor, their fingers twined, their eyes on me. They have spoken with Bree. I am certain of it. And it is her they believe.]

  * * *

  Bridge: As I said, today will be mostly about your business ventures.

  * * *

  Damien: We’ll see how it goes. This may be a much faster interview than any of us anticipated.

  * * *

  [I glance at Nikki. She says nothing.]

  * * *

  Bridge: Alright. Let’s get started. As I was saying, I wanted to focus more on business relations. We’ve done family, friends, now professional.

  * * *

  [They do not return my smile.]

  * * *

  Bridge: I’d like to start with a basic question. What are you working for, Damien? What goal? What’s your endgame?

  * * *

  Damien: Endgame?

  * * *

  [He looks at me as if I was nuts.]

  * * *

  Damien: The endgame is creation and exploration. Scientific. Geographic. Mental. Philosophical. Any way that a human mind can examine and explore a place or an idea or a theory. Stark International isn’t about the money, though one of the main goals is certainly profit. On the contrary, that goal of creating—new tech, new art, new buildings—that’s the force. The money is a byproduct, and, thankfully a useful one.

  * * *

  Bridge: How so?

  * * *

  Damien: Reinvestment, for one. Comfort, for another. I’m not ashamed of the property I own, the toys I have. Also, a significant portion of the income I earn from Stark International goes directly into the Stark Education Foundation and the Stark Children’s Foundation. Not to mention a number of other charities. There is no end game, Maggie. No trophy at the end. There’s just the game.

  * * *

  Bridge: A game. exactly.

  * * *

  [He pinches the bridge of his nose as if I’m merely the lead-in to a headache.]

  * * *

  Damien: Tell you what. Let’s move on to more tangible concepts.

  * * *

  Bridge: Actually, let’s start with the foundations. What was the impetus for creating them?

  * * *

  Damien: I think you know. I assume you’re aware that the mission of the SCF is to help abused, neglected, and other kids in need?

  * * *

  Bridge: And that was a personal cause for you.

  * * *

  Damien: You’re not back-dooring me into this conversation.

  * * *

  Bridge: You’re the one who—

  * * *

  Damien: Lena.

  * * *

  [I take a step back. He’s clearly in a pissy mood.]

  * * *

  Bridge: Moving on.

  * * *

  [I clear my throat.]

  * * *

  Bridge: In that case, I’m curious about your business relationship with your wife.

  * * *

  Damien: It’s an excellent relationship. She created a fabulous product. We licensed it.

  * * *

  Bridge: You mean you financed it.

  * * *

  Nikki: The hell he did. He offered. I said no.

  * * *

  Bridge: And so he came in through the back door. Paid you for a nude portrait. But you both knew what it was for. And that’s fine. But my question is if you’ve worked together in any other capacity.

  * * *

  [The look at each other. I’ve clearly hit a nerve, as he’s obviously been pulling strings so that his wife’s software gets a massive contract with Stark International.]

  * * *

  Nikki: No. But I don’t think either one of us would rule it out.

  * * *

  Bridge: I don’t imagine you would. But you do work with Jackson.

  * * *

  Damien: I do. Yes.

  * * *

  Bridge: That must have been an unusual situation. He’d grown up knowing about you, but you didn’t know about him.

  * * *

  Damien: It wasn’t ideal, no.

  * * *

  [He crosses his arms. Looks at me.]

  * *
*

  Damien: Lena, what’s going on?

  * * *

  Bridge: Just trying to put together an article.

  * * *

  Damien: My relationship with Jackson has been thoroughly explored in pretty much every form of media out there. What aren’t you telling me?

  * * *

  Bridge: Not a thing. You don’t know me as well as you think you do. You never gave us the chance.

  * * *

  [Beside him, I see Nikki raise a brow.]

  * * *

  Damien: What would you like to know about Jackson and me?

  * * *

  Bridge: What’s in the works next?

  * * *

  Damien: We’re expanding the Resort at Cortez, actually. Building a second residential section. Adding on to the resort. Increasing transportation to and from the mainland. We’re very excited about the project.

  * * *

  Bridge: So you started out brothers, became coworkers, and now you’re friends?

  * * *

  Damien: That’s accurate. Does that bother you?

  * * *

  Bridge: You don’t think it smells of nepotism?

  * * *

  Damien: I think it wreaks of talent.

  * * *

  Bridge: And you, Nikki?

  * * *

  Nikki: I definitely smell talent.

  * * *

  Bridge: Are you intimidated by the scope of your husband’s business ventures. He’s everywhere. I imagine there’s not a person in the world he couldn’t connect with in well-under six degrees of separation.

  * * *

  Damien: Lena, what’s this about? Even if that were true, what does it matter?

  * * *

  Bridge: It matters if you use those connections to overpower others. To push them out and put your own people in.

  * * *

  [He cocks his head. He has that dangerous look I’ve seen before.]

  * * *

  Damien: I don’t know what you’ve heard, but that’s not me.

  * * *

  Bridge: No? Didn’t you create Stark Security to solve your problem?

  * * *

  Damien: By the time Stark Security was created, we had Anne back. That organization was formed to hopefully prevent others from going through what Nikki and I did.

  * * *

  [His knuckles are white; he must be close to crushing the bones in Nikkis’ hand. Gently, she releases his fingers. He grimaces. She stands.]

  * * *

  Nikki: Magdalena, it’s time for you to leave. No need to file your article. Evelyn’s going to pursue different avenues for publicity.

  * * *

  Bridge: So that’s it.

  * * *

  Nikki: Yes. That’s it.

  * * *

  Bridge: Fine.

  * * *

  [I walk away, but I turn back at the door. Damien is standing now, and he’s pulling Nikki into his arms.]

  * * *

  Interview End

  Damien’s Journal

  Truth Does Nothing

  Jeremiah was gone for two entire days, and it was heaven.

  * * *

  I’m not supposed to call him that. Makes me call him dad. But he’s not my dad. Biologically, sure. No escaping that. But if he’s my dad then I’m a — I don’t know. Anything other than me. Because I can’t be me and have come from that man.

  * * *

  I told him what Coach does. With me. With Sofia. What he makes us do.

  * * *

  I told him, and he pretended not to understand. He said we need Coach, and that means we do what he says.

  * * *

  That I do what he says.

  * * *

  I hate it, but I’d do whatever that Coach Asshole says if he’d just keep Sofia out of it. I don’t know how to describe it, but she’s breakable. And Coach doesn’t care. Her own damn father, and he doesn’t care.