Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“Gideon?” his father prompted, and he gave his parent a look of flat dislike that appeared to take the older man aback.
“She left.”
“What? Why?”
“Did you really think she had any reason to stay after your chat this afternoon?” he asked bitterly, and his father looked surprised and then disappointed.
“I honestly thought she was made of sterner stuff. Not one to scare that easily. She’s a good one, Gideon, try not to fuck it up with her.”
“You want me to keep her around so she can continue being your little spy? Why would I do that? So that you can keep fucking sabotaging every good thing that happens in my life? Really, Dad? You had to fuck up every major contract? I’m five years behind where I should have been in my career and, all this time, I thought it was because I was a pathetic fucking failure. And you made damned sure I would continue to feel that way, didn’t you? So that one day I could come crawling back to your precious company. In Beth you found the perfect weapon, right? Someone only too happy to throw me under the bus.”
His father was staring at him, face rigid, eyes cold… he looked furious and, right now, Gideon couldn’t care less if he burnt every single bridge with his family. Not after this stunt.
He became aware that conversation had ground to a halt, even though the string quartet continued to play like the consummate professionals they were.
Kenny looked horrified and Gideon felt a twinge of remorse for doing this here. Now. After she had begged them not to create a scene. But he’d seen his father and years of suppressed anger had simply come pouring out. Beth had been the last straw. The sting of betrayal was still too raw for him to simply swallow down yet another slight.
“Lennox,” their father said, his voice low but authoritative. “Niall, Gideon! Follow me. McKenna, entertain your guests. We have some unfinished business to take care of—in private—and then we’ll join your party again.”
He dropped a kiss onto Kenny’s pale cheek and patted her shoulder in awkward apology before striding from the room like a majestic ship leaving port. He didn’t check to see if his sons were following, but he damned well knew that they would all be trailing in his wake.
“Lennox,” James Hawthorne said as soon as they were all gathered in the small study, far enough away from the party for their raised voices not to be heard if it came to that. “What the fuck did you do?”
Nox, whose nose was swollen and eyes were blacking up, looked surly. He shrugged and poured himself a large measure of scotch from the drinks tray.
“I’ve only ever done everything you’ve wanted me to do,” Nox said, after tossing back half of the drink.
“Start with Gideon’s contracts,” their father demanded, seating himself behind the desk and steepling his fingers before glaring at all of them like a king from his throne.
“You wanted him with the company,” Nox muttered. “I kept that possibility alive.”
“You did?” Gideon asked, his tone dangerous. He was aware of Niall swearing shakily from one of the easy chairs close to the door. His older brother looked wholly confused by the unfolding drama.
“I did what was expected of me.”
“I wanted your brother to fail or succeed on his own merit. I did not want you to fuck with his life. I’d hoped Gideon would come to the realization that he wanted to be a part of the company by himself and not be driven to it out of sheer desperation. How many fucking contracts are we talking about here?”
“Three, maybe four?”
“Try ten, arsehole,” Gideon seethed, and Niall inhaled sharply.
“Now explain to me what this has to do with Elizabeth,” their father commanded Gideon, who was starting to feel sick to his stomach as he stared at his middle brother, who was tossing back another drink and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.
“Nox told me you and Beth had a conversation. She told you about the tattoos I’ve been doing for Kenny’s patients—”
“Kenny told me about the tattoos and when I heard about it, I was damned proud of you, son,” his father interrupted in what—for him—was an uncharacteristically gentle voice.
Gideon blinked at the heartfelt compliment and at his easy exoneration of Beth.
“He, uh, he said…” his voice faded as he remembered the sheen of tears in Beth’s eyes, the helpless stutter as she fought to defend herself. “Beth called me a first-class leech.”
His father sighed and slanted another deeply disappointed look at his heavily drinking middle son.
“She told me she used to think of you as such. But that she was wrong. She then followed it up with some sickeningly sweet stuff about how ambitious and hard-working you are. There was a lot of fawning. I tuned out.”