Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Audrey
No matter what David and Mason said, Audrey still felt like a coward. It was just a phone call. It was just her parents. They might not even know anything. But the thought of asking made her stomach turn over. Her hands felt clammy. Rubbing them on her pants, she tried to push the discomfort down.
Still, at least David and Mason were there to support her.
Plus, doing so kept David from going for Mason’s throat.
She hadn’t missed all the dark looks her brother had been shooting Mason’s way.
And while she appreciated his protectiveness on some levels, on another, she wanted to tell him that it was none of his business what she and Mason did.
Except that maybe it kind of was, since David and Mason worked together, and Mason was one of David’s closest friends.
Maybe even his best friend. So, while his was not the most important opinion, it wasn’t like he was unaffected by her choices.
Especially while the team was already struggling after David’s injury and was now trying to figure out if Zeus was trustworthy.
So, yeah.
Better that she keep them focused on her while she made the call to her parents, and hopefully, after that, maybe some of their energy would have dissipated, and they’d be calmer. Maybe David would even forget. Unlikely, but a girl could dream.
Calling her parents and having a long-distance difficult conversation was definitely easier than having a difficult conversation with the two men in the room with her.
So, she picked up her phone and found her mother’s contact info, pressing the call button, which kept the men focused on her rather than on each other.
I will not throw up, I will not throw up, I will not throw up.
“Hello? Audrey? Is everything okay?”
Her mother sounded concerned, which took Audrey aback for a moment. Did she really not call her parents that often that it was cause for concern when she did?
Well… yeah, maybe. Especially lately. It was just easier not to than to have another conversation about how she wasn’t closing her bakery and moving back to Philly.
“Um, hello, Mother. Unfortunately, not really. Cash was just here, and he proposed to me.”
“He did? Oh, that’s wonderful!” Her mother’s gushing tone was genuinely happy, which made Audrey cringe because she knew she was going to have to burst her mother’s bubble now.
“We can start planning the wedding immediately! It’ll be difficult, moving and planning at the same time, but I will be there with you every step of the way. ”
Well, that sounded awful, and the very idea of having her mother standing over her while she planned a wedding was enough to have Audrey immediately tell her the truth, even though she knew her mother wasn’t going to take it well.
“I told him no, mother.”
There was a long pause, and Audrey glanced up at David. If he was bothered by hearing their mother’s voice after all this time, it didn’t show in his expression. He looked completely blank.
“What do you mean you told him no?” Her mother’s voice had gone from gushing to shrill. “Why would you tell him no? Oh, he botched it, didn’t he? He didn’t get the Cartier ring.”
Seriously, did everyone think she could be bought off by a Cartier ring? Granted, there may have been one wild moment when she’d been sad that she was saying no to her dream ring, but she needed the ring to come with the right man. Cash was not the right man.
“He had the ring, mother. He had a perfect ring. But he’s not the perfect man for me. He cheated on me at one of your parties. And I know you wanted me to forgive him and look the other way, but I can’t. I just can’t. Marriage is not the answer.”
“This is your father’s fault,” her mother said bitterly. “If he could just keep it in his pants, you wouldn’t have such a jaded view of things. Your father sleeping with everything that moves doesn’t mean Cash will.”
“Ask her about the business deal,” Mason murmured into Audrey’s ear, making the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up at attention.
Audrey cleared her throat.
“Mom, is the reason you’re pushing me to marry Cash because of a deal between Dad and Cash’s dad? For the company?”
There was another pause.
“Well, Audrey, you know that in our circles, marriage and business intersect quite often. I won’t deny that it would benefit both of our families immensely if you and Cash were to marry.”
“Even if his family is broke?”
“They’re not broke, they just need to liquidate some assets.
Your father and I are more than happy to help Cash and his father out, and they’re grateful for our assistance.
” Her mother said all of this airily, but Audrey knew what she meant.
A marriage between her and Cash would allow his family to keep their reputation.
Everyone would assume they weren’t actually broke, and even if they were, they’d now be bolstered by her family.
They would owe her parents a great deal.
And not all wealth was built on purely money. Having a stable of favors from influential people could be even more lucrative than an actual financial deal.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, Audrey. Not just for yourself, but for the whole family. We can even fund a bakery here for you in Philadelphia if that’s what you really want.” Her mother’s tone managed to somehow be coaxing and judgmental at the same time.
“I don’t need you to fund a bakery for me in Philly. I have a bakery here that’s doing really well.”
“How well can it be doing when people are throwing bricks through the windows?”
Audrey felt Mason go still beneath her, and suddenly, it felt like bile was building up in the back of her throat. It tasted like acid as her stomach turned over. She blinked rapidly, the sting of tears threatening to fill her eyes.
“Mother, how did you know about the brick?”
Because she hadn’t known Audrey had said no to Cash.
She’d managed to get ahead of him—or maybe he was talking to his parents right now, trying to figure out their next move.
If her mother hadn’t talked to Cash about Audrey turning down his proposal, there was no way for her to know about the brick, unless…
Her brain tried to turn away from the possibility, but both Mason's and her brother’s reactions meant they’d had the same thought.
Mason slid his hands up to rub her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension now filling them, while David cursed under his breath and started pacing around the cramped space of the office.
The silence on the other end of the phone stretched on.
“Mother?”
“Excuse me, I hear your father calling for me,” her mother replied briskly. “I have to go.”
She hung up. Audrey’s mother actually hung up without answering the question. On the other hand, what was she supposed to say when Audrey had just realized that it wasn’t Cash who had been involved with the incident, but her own mother? Did her father know, too?
Of course, he did. Despite the fact her father was a serial cheater and her mother often seemed to loathe him, on matters of business, they were always a united front.
If her mother knew, so did her father and vice versa.
Although there was a small part of her, the childish part, that hoped she’d be proven wrong and that one of her parents hadn’t betrayed her so horrifically.
Audrey sniffed as the tears welled up, no longer able to be denied. Mason’s arms tightened around her.
“Fuck.” David kicked the wall. He turned, looking at her like he wanted to hug her, but she was on Mason’s lap and in his arms. “Fuck. Those assholes. I’m going to find proof, Audrey.
I’m going to find proof, and they’re going to pay for your window to get fixed, then they’re going to leave you the fuck alone to do whatever you want with your life. ”
With that, he stalked out the door.
Well, she’d hoped the guys would be too distracted to argue after her call. Now, she was regretting that wish.
Burying her head on Mason’s shoulder, she turned her face into his soft shirt and cried.
Mason
David and Audrey’s mother was a real piece of work. Mason was seething on Audrey’s behalf, but he did his best to focus on staying calm and soothing her. David could handle the raging vengeance; he had more reason to than Mason. Mason just wanted to protect Audrey.
Right now, they could split the tasks. Although if Audrey had started crying before David left the room, he doubted the other man would have gone anywhere.
“Just let it out,” he murmured, wishing he could tell her that it would be okay, that everything would be alright.
But how could he? Her parents had betrayed her on a level that was unfathomable to him.
Even though Mason knew there were parents in the world who cared more about themselves and their needs than their own children, it always astounded him when he actually met them.
He was going to have to call his mother later and thank her. As pushy as she could be, she would never hire someone to harass him in hopes that it would galvanize him into doing what she wanted.
Sometimes, the bar for parenting was so damn low…
“We’ve got you,” he said, rubbing his hand over her back as he felt her settle again. “We’re here for you.” Even if her parents weren’t. She still had her brother and grandmother. The team.
“I can’t believe they would do this,” she said, sitting up and dashing the tears from her cheeks with her fingers. “No, scratch that. I wish I couldn’t believe they would do this.”
“Is this kind of thing why David went no-contact with them?”
“No.” She laughed. A sharp, brittle sound. “They’ve gotten worse since he did. He knew to get out early. They were always a little controlling, but even so… I didn’t expect this of them, yet I’m surprised by not being shocked, if that makes sense.”
“It does.” Mason kept running his hand up and down her back. She looked pale. Sad. And exhausted. “We should get you home.”
“I need to…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of something she needed to do and came up blank. If there was something the team was good at, it was organizing in a hurry.
“You need to go home and rest,” Mason said firmly, putting a little Dom into his voice. Her shoulders hunched inward, and she peeked at him with a worried expression. “Is there a reason you don’t want to go home?”
“No… I guess not.”
There clearly was, but not one she was willing to come out and state. Mason tilted his head.
“I could go home with you. Or you could come home with me.”
The relief that immediately suffused her features said he’d hit his target. She didn’t want to be alone, which wasn’t surprising. Having seen the lengths to which her parents would go to get her to do as they wished, he didn’t blame her.
“Either one sounds good.”
Maybe, but she’d fully relaxed after he’d offered to take her home with him, not when he’d offered to go home with her.
“Let’s go to my place.”
Still relieved. Eager even. Her eyes were shining with her emotions.
“I do need to swing by my place, though, to pick up some things,” she said apologetically.
“Of course. I’ll go with you. I can drive you and bring you back here tomorrow morning.”
Immediately, she started shaking her head.
“Oh no, I can’t ask you to do that. I have to be here way too early.”
“You didn’t ask me to, I offered,” he reminded her. She looked like she wanted to say yes, but was struggling to for some reason. “That’s what we’re doing. I’ll drive you back and forth. I need to be at Black Fox early tomorrow, anyway.”
He didn’t, but it wouldn’t hurt anything, and it allowed her to nod her head in acceptance of his offer.
The only problem with it was the fact she had to get off his lap. Mason kept his arm around her as they went to the front again to see what was going on. The window was fully boarded up, and Claudia and David had their heads together, talking. The rest of the team had already left.
“Hey, how are you doing, Audrey?” Claudia asked sympathetically when she caught sight of them. Her sharp gaze also noted Mason’s arm around Audrey’s shoulder, but she didn’t say anything.
“Um, about as okay as I can be, I guess.” Audrey’s exhaustion was even clearer now, as was her sadness as her gaze drifted to the window.
“We’re going to find out who your parents hired and make sure tonight is the last of it,” Claudia said, while David nodded grimly.
“You’ll still need to call the insurance company tomorrow, but the police report has been filed.
When we find the asshole who did this, he’ll be charged.
No matter what our parents paid him, I’ll make sure it wasn’t enough.
” David raked his hand through his hair, scowling. He glanced at Mason and Audrey.
“Audrey’s going to spend the night at my house tonight,” he said, and felt her wince as she averted her gaze from her brother’s scowl. Not that David was willing to say anything right now, especially in front of her. Mason expected to get an earful tomorrow. “I’m going to drive her.”
“Fine,” David said shortly. The look he gave Mason said that if any more bricks came Audrey’s way, he expected Mason to throw himself in front of them. As far as Mason was concerned, that went without saying. He was getting Audrey a panic button as soon as he could, just in case.
Claudia smirked at both of them, then winked at Audrey, who didn’t seem to be paying attention.
Coming forward, David opened his arms, and Audrey left the shelter of Mason’s to step into her brother’s for a hug.
He gave Mason the big stink eye. Mason just let it glance off him.
He didn’t need to rile David up any more than he already was, and he didn’t want to upset Audrey by having a conflict with her brother.
They’d work out any issues while they weren’t around her.
Claudia, on the other hand, had no such problem.
“Have a good night,” she called after Mason and Audrey as they headed for the back, her voice full of throaty innuendo.
David growled.
Mason tightened his arm around Audrey’s shoulder to keep her from turning back.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.