Xavier made eye contact with several of those around the table. Then he turned to François. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, François. But I think that not only does Dominique Clark have her finger on the pulse of what today’s woman desires to read, I believe that she is the very embodiment of Capricious. The idea I find intriguing and which brought me to the decision to put my influence and money behind this publication has at its heart the woman who not only helps tell these women’s stories, but lives it. Ladies, gentlemen, when the next issue of Capricious goes into planning, my strong suggestion is that Dominique Clark come out from behind the scenes and leap onto the very pages of the magazine she helped make a household name.”

Later that evening, Dominique recounted the events as she and Jake shared dinner in his dining room. Justin was at home doing his homework, under Tessa’s watchful eye. While he knew that Jake and Dominique were very good friends, she’d purposely stopped short of using the word “dating” to describe their relationship. Justin didn’t know that Dominique had met Jake’s family. When asked, she’d told him she was going away on business. Initially Jake had balked at the deception, but Dominique explained that she didn’t want to get Justin’s hopes up until she was more sure of the relationship’s potential for longevity. Fortunately, Leland had called, and Justin spent the holiday with his dad and half-siblings. He came back too excited about their time on the Gulf of Mexico to ask too many questions about her trip.

“So, in the boardroom old boy had to back that thing up and recognize, huh?” Jake said, scooping up a succulent bite of baked halibut.

“He was pitiful,” Dominique replied, picking at the steamed vegetables on her plate. “As soon as he realized the winds had changed, he was running up behind me like a Pekingese in heat.”

“What’d you do?”

“Well, I didn’t bitch-slap him across the room the way I wanted.”

“Ha!”

“I was gracious. But François Deux has torn his coat with me. I’ll never forget this.”

“Who’s this French guy who came to your defense in such a hurry.”

Dominique’s hand stopped midway to her water glass. “What does that mean?”

“Are you sure a stake in the magazine is all he wants?”

Dominique smirked before taking a drink of water. “Jealousy doesn’t look cute on you, baby, but I appreciate it. For the record, Xavier is married to a gorgeous sistah. I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Well, for the record,” Jake said, mimicking her statement, “you’d better not be thinking of going anywhere anytime soon either.”

Dominique leaned over and kissed Jake full on the lips. “Baby, the only place I’m going is home to my son.”