“Don’t you babycakes me” Flair snapped “I told you to delete that video” she said angrily “How could you give it to the media?”
“Well to be fair,” Knox said calmly, as I listened, trying to fight back my laughter, “you asked me to delete a video. You didn’t ask if I had anymore.”
“Didn’t they check your phone before you left?”
“Flair” he sighed sounding a little disappointed “I’m a whiz with technology and encryption. As is Ian. If we wanted to hide a video or one we had sent, we could have. I stuck to your rules. I deleted the video I took but I hacked into the security system and got a better one from there which then got sent anonymously, I might add, to the media.”
“Oh god Knox” Flair groaned as I chuckled “Why would you do that? You’ve embarrassed Charlotte on national television.”
“I don’t like her you know that,” he said nonchalantly “and I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. By embarrassing her to an extent I’ve embarrassed your bastard of an ex-husband as well.”
He was unapologetic. I admired him. Flair looked like she wanted to strangle him, but also looked as though she was on the verge of laughter.
“Does father know what you’ve done?” she demanded.
“Nope. Only Ian and he’s only upset that I got to do it first” Knox said breezily “You’re welcome by the way sis.”
She choked. My shoulders heaved with laughter. “Oh and speaking of husbands. Your new one” he began and I fell silent, curious to see what he was going to say, while Flair desperately looked for the button to take it off speaker but didn’t find it in time “Grayson is a good match for you. Not stuck up and pretentious like a lot of other wealthy people. He might have a bitch for a sister, but that can’t be helped. I approve and so does Ian who knows Grayson much better than I do. You could have done a lot worse for a second husband” he told his sister blandly “I give you my blessing” he added magnanimously.
“I didn’t ask you for it,” she said with a strangled noise, but Knox had already hung up, leaving her there holding a phone with a beeping tone.
Roscoe nudged her and she patted his head while I burst into laughter.
“Your brother is something,” I said approvingly.
She frowned “He is but he shouldn’t have sent that tape” she muttered, “if Charlotte ever finds out who did.”
“She won’t. Besides, do you think she’s going to go after a Grant? Please” I snorted “that video wouldn’t even exist if she hadn’t chucked such a tantrum in the first place. Stop feeling sorry for her” I added, as she sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“Where are we going to put Roscoe to sleep” I added, glancing down at the dog, who was staring pitifully at Flair, before he moved and jumped onto the sofa, resting his head on Flair’s legs and whimpering.
Flair looked at me as though I was a brainless fool. “On our bed,” she said simply and I shook my head.
“No, no, no,” I said reluctantly “I am not sharing a bed with this heifer. What happens when we want to be intimate” I pointed out, causing her to blush “Do you really want him watching us?”
She bit her lip “But Grayson” she said, pleadingly, causing my heart to skip a beat as she fluttered her eyelashes at me, her eyes doe-like and innocent “he’s a rescue. He needs to be loved and feel secure. It’s his first night in a real home. How can you even think of making him sleep away from us? He’ll be scared” she argued as I began to put the empty food containers in the bin, standing up with Roscoe following “surely we can just have him on the bed for one night” she said.
I shook my head and then sighed, looking at the dog who was staring at me, along with Flair. Damn. I was turning into a softie. “One night,” I said, determined to set a boundary with them “Flair but after that, he sleeps in his bed on our floor or in a separate room” I proposed satisfied that I had made my point. Naturally, things did not work out that way and Roscoe became a permanent fixture on our bed, regardless of what I had intended.
Johnathon POV
I stayed at the pub for as long as I possibly could, drinking and considering my future with Charlotte Deluca. I kept to myself and as long as I continued to pay for my drinks, nobody bothered me, which suited me just fine. My phone went off several times but I ignored it. I had already informed my staff I was not coming in today, so I knew without a doubt that it would be Charlotte calling and I could not bring myself to speak to her right now. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed by her. Humiliated by the video that continued to play on the news outlets as she lost her temper over a ring. I was seeing Charlotte in a new light and I didn’t like what I was seeing, but at the same time, I was so close to getting my hands on the wealth she had that I could taste it. Did that make me a horrible person?
I was noticeably tipsy when I ventured forth and notified the driver to pick me up outside. I smelt heavily of alcohol and as I climbed into the back of the limo, I saw the driver wince, a look of revulsion on his face. “Where to Sir?” he asked, wrinkling his nose as the pungent fumes filled the air.
“Home,” I said gloomily “the Deluca mansion” I added in case he thought I meant otherwise.
I was going to have to face her. Eventually. It might as well be now. The driver nodded and pulled out, heading towards the mansion in silence as I shifted on the seats, feeling grim and morose.
I had barely stepped out of the limo when Charlotte opened the front door, an angry expression on her face. I sighed and pushed past her.
“Where have you been all day?” she shrieked as I groaned, the sound piercing my eardrums and causing my head to throb painfully “I kept calling and calling and you didn’t answer” she yelled angrily.
She already sounded like a nagging wife, I thought with a wince.
“Stop yelling,” I said tightly, stomping into the living room and plonking down onto a comfortable sofa, staring upwards at my fiancee, who looked like a raging bull. “What’s the big deal? So I didn’t answer for a few hours, so what?” I said rudely “I was taking time for myself.”
Her nostrils flared “So what? So what?” she shrieked “I had no idea if anything had happened to you or if you were in trouble. The media have been trying to come to the house all day” she snapped “Not that you care. You’ve evidently been drinking, I can smell the stench of beer on you” she added in disgust.
“I had a few,” I said without apology “sue me. I needed to loosen up a little.”
“Well sober up,” Charlotte said annoyed “Mother and I agreed that having a fancy wedding might do more harm than good at this rate, especially when the future of the company is at stake as well.”
I blinked. What was she talking about? She had her heart set on a fancy wedding when I left. The grandfather had given, what was it, two weeks to plan. So why was she speaking as though there was no time? I didn’t even know if I wanted to go through with a wedding right now. I felt trapped as I looked into her eyes which were gleaming with satisfaction and triumph. I began to feel a sense of foreboding.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.