To the Highest Bidder Go the Spoils

Epilogue

"Zeke Daniels! My god, man. You have been missing for the entire season!"

Zeke smiled at Benedict Mortimer. "Come now, Morty. I was only away for the winter. Nothing major happened then, did it?"

"Anastasia Rockefeller married Dominic Ortiz. I think that is very important, don't you?" The leader of the Mortimer Group and lead gossip of Zeke's friend group looked him up and down. "And what about you, Mr. Eligible Bachelor? When are you going to tie the knot? Now that Anastasia is taken, you're the last of the billionaires still single."

"Oh, I'm not single, but I'm not getting married either."

"You're not single?" The three words caught Morty's attention as well as Benson Simon, president and partner of Simon, Lovell, and Kepler. "Who is the lucky lady to catch your eye?"

Zeke smiled into his whiskey then sipped it. His friends had always known when he was dating someone. There had always been a tall blonde on his arm in a slinky dress. If he wasn't dating anyone, Eva accompanied him. This was the first beginning of the year party he had come unaccompanied.

He saw Anderson pass by with a beautiful red head on his arm. Anderson never showed off in public, but he was on the Board of Medicine as a general surgeon. Since Gavin's diagnosis and treatments, he had been given a commendation by the Board. Angela Wright had turned it in for going above and beyond the call of duty for a patient. An article had been written on the good doctor, and a wing at the hospital had been named in his honor. The mayor had given him the award as well as the keys to the city. But Anderson was still Anderson, and he did his job with as much passion as he had started with.

"Zeke!" He turned his attention to Morty and Benson. They looked at him expectantly. "Who is this person who makes you go quiet? Usually you flaunt her off until we're all jealous."

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" All heads turned to the dais as the emcee stood in a spotlight. It was Mark Atwell, chairman of the Romsart Foundation who put on the beginning of the year fundraiser. "It is my great pleasure to introduce the new members of the Romsart Foundation. Please welcome President and CEO of Duquesne Construction Olivia Duquesne, and interim President of Internal Affairs Gavin Duquesne!"

Applause filled the room as mother and son took the stage. Gavin's hair shone brightly in the spotlight. It was growing back thicker and healthier. His skin had a bright glow to it, and his brown eyes danced excitedly. His mother dropped his arm and spoke into the mic.

Since the end of December, the young man had been healing. The bone marrow transplant had done its job. The cells had started regrowing normally, and within six weeks his strength and color had come back. Within eight, his hair had started coming back and curlier than ever.

After they had taken over Duquesne Construction, Raoul Duquesne had suffered a heart attack and had passed away peacefully in his home. Being eighty-nine had given him less of a chance of survival, but it was the minor stroke that had followed that had killed him. Gavin's grandmother had barely shed a tear at the funeral, catching everyone off guard when she'd called him a conniving bastard as they'd lowered him into the ground.

Though the headquarters of the company remained in New Orleans, Olivia and Gavin had brought to a vote whether or not they should open a branch where Gavin lived. Excited at the new prospects of going global, the shareholders and board had adamantly agreed. Zeke had helped open Duquesne Construction in the Northeast, and within weeks of opening, they had a multi-million dollar account.

When he had felt better, Gavin had enrolled in classes. His minor had been law so it hadn't taken too much to double major. Instead of working on his biology, he had started taking online law courses so when he was able to graduate, he would have both a law degree and a biology degree. Until they could hire more people, Gavin had taken the interim President of Internal Affairs. It had helped him immensely. Everyone thought he would continue with the job when he graduated from college.