Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
NATHANIEL
I had a million and one things to do, and yet my brain was still firmly in bed with Savannah and Cutter. I hadn’t moved even when my shoulder screamed at me and went numb. Spending time with Cutter yesterday had started rocky. I had no idea what to do. I could negotiate with the best of them. I ordered my men around with no problem, and killing had become second nature, but getting to know my son was terrifying. It didn’t take very long to realize that no matter how angry I was with the situation, there was simply no denying that Savannah had done an amazing job raising Cutter. He could probably look after me better than I could him.
It helped that Titus stayed for about an hour with Hailey and Holly. They seemed to be just as in love with my son as everyone else. My guards were still talking about how he took to Mahjong and cleaned them out of quarters. Titus even played hide and seek with him, which was impossible when the two dogs pointed out his hiding spot. Was Savannah right to keep him from this life? I hated to contemplate that, but the thought tickled my brain.
Tearing my eyes away from the gardens outside, I turned to glance around my office, and it felt shallow. A shell of a life that I never really wanted but embraced because it was my duty. There wasn’t a single personal item that spoke of who I was but instead mirrored what my father loved and what he felt was important. Expensive artwork from an artist I didn’t know hung on the walls, crystal awards that I didn’t win sat on a shelf, and trinkets from influential people were strategically displayed.
It was a ruse, a show of wealth and power, and I couldn’t deny that I’d enjoyed my fair share of the perks that came with being a Mikhailov. But did it feed my soul? Did I wake up and look forward to what the day would bring? No. Most days felt the same as my office—empty.
“Was there anything else?” I looked up and pulled myself out of the introspective thoughts.
Cassandra was leaning over my desk, gathering files and paperwork that I needed her to take care of for me. She glanced up when I didn’t answer.
“Is everything okay, Sir?”
“Yes, just lost in thought. That should be everything.”
Everyone, including my brothers, thought I was fucking her, but the joke was on them. I’d never touched her, and she wouldn’t want anything to do with me. She was a designer smokescreen. Not only was she highly intelligent and could easily handle the day-to-day of my legitimate businesses, but she was the only one who didn’t flirt or offer more than what they could do for me professionally to get the job.
She stuffed the latest marketing ads into her briefcase and nodded. “I’ll head to the office. If you need anything else, you know how to reach me. Don’t forget that I’m away next week. You shouldn’t need to do anything. I’ll have the changes made to the documents and send them to you electronically for approval. The calls and issues with the buildings and contractors will be taken care of, so unless there is a natural disaster, no one should bother you. Oh, and before I forget, Mr. Rivera called about the paperwork you wanted. He said he will be by next week with everything for you and your wife to sign.”
I nodded. “Excellent work as always, Cassandra. Enjoy your vacation.”
“Thank you, Sir,” she said and then apologized as she almost bumped into my father on her way out. She excused herself and disappeared quickly. She wasn’t stupid and knew my father would love to commit his millionth round of adultery with her. I glared at my father. His eyes trained on her as she walked away. By the angle of his head, I would guess it was her ass that kept him so focused. Such a dick. I begged my mother to leave him again last week, but she said that being close to her children was more important than what my father did. Fuck, I hated him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to loan me your assistant for a few days,” he asked.
Ignoring the question, I walked to my desk and sat down. “Did you want something?”
“There is no need to be rude, Nathaniel.” That was a matter of opinion, but I kept that to myself. The more I argued with him, the longer it would take for him to leave. I opened the top file from the pile that Cassandra had left for me to sign and scanned it before scribbling my name across the line already tabbed for me to find. It was one of the first things she started doing when I hired her, and though it was a small change, it saved me so much time flipping through pages.
My ignoring him didn’t seem to be doing anything, so I glanced up. “I’m not rude. I’m straight to the point. It’s why my business meetings take half the time that yours or Ronan’s do, and yet I still make more money. Imagine that.”
“You always were more talented with getting people to agree with you. Born with a snake’s tongue and perfect for whispering in our investor’s ears,” he said, sitting down.
“Calling me a snake, that’s nice of you, Dimitri.” I wished not for the first time that he would go back to traveling. Then, I’d only have to see him for a day or two every few months.
“It was meant as a compliment, and you know I don’t like it when you call me by my first name. I’m your father. Address me as such.”
I initialed the final page of the document and took a deep breath to control the simmering rage at having him in my space. It always felt like I needed to be prepared for an attack of some sort.
“There is obviously something you want to speak to me about, so out with it. As you can see, I’m extremely busy today.”
“Are you not going to offer your father a drink?” He adjusted his cufflinks, not that there was anything wrong with them.
I glanced at the time. “It’s not even eleven yet.” He shrugged. I pulled out a glass from my bottom drawer and slid it and the bottle of vodka across the desk.
He poured himself a generous three fingers and sighed as he took a sip. “That is good.”
He lifted the glass to look at the contents, like that would somehow magically tell him my secret recipe. I guarded it with my life. No one in the family knew, and they were never allowed in my distillery. Hell, they didn’t even know where it was anymore. I’d moved it three times in one month to keep them guessing.
The distillery was my first legitimate business without the family’s help to build, and the dark, smoky bottle and red writing had become a crown jewel among our holdings. One day, I’d leave it to Cutter.
“You seem determined to keep this woman that you’re insisting on calling your wife around…I still do not understand why you can’t just keep her as a mistress in a house away from here, but nevertheless….” He was walking a very thin line. “I’ve decided to have a family dinner.”
“No,” I said and pulled the next file to be signed. “We won’t be attending.”
“Nathaniel, the dinner is happening tonight, and you will be present with your wife and my grandson.”
I placed the pen down on the desk before I jumped across the wide slab of wood and stabbed my father in the eye. It was an appealing image and far too tempting.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you holding this dinner? We never have meals together unless we are entertaining influential guests. You killed that family tradition years ago. You obviously disapprove of who I chose to marry, so what is your reasoning?”
“You misunderstand who is still in charge of this family.” My teeth ground together. I needed no reminding. “I do not need a reason, and I can hold whatever meals I want or do not want to have. That is my right as head of the family,” he said and took a sip of his drink.
“So, this dinner is an order,” I asked, leaning back in my seat.
“It is. I want to get to know my grandson.”
I snorted before I could hold it back, and he glared at me. “You may meet him, but that’s all you’ll get.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”
“I don’t care what seat you hold in this family. You’ll never treat my son the way you treated me. It’s a line I suggest you do not cross.” My threat was in the words unspoken. With my hands on the edge of the desk, my thumb ran over the butt of the gun strapped underneath.
“Are you threatening me, Nathaniel?” My father gulped down the rest of his drink and slammed the glass down with a bang.
“Take it however you like, but I will protect what is mine from anyone. That includes you.”
He stood and buttoned up his blazer. “I merely came in here to offer an olive branch, and I’m met with insubordination and hostility. How are we supposed to get past this animosity between us when you don’t even try?”
“That is not the reason you came in here. You’re saying that to try and manipulate me into believing you and falling in line like I once would.” I stood up so he wasn’t towering over me, forcing him to stare me in the eyes. “And it is too late to heal the wounds between us even if it was the real reason. As I said, I will let you meet Cutter, but do not try to undermine me, or I will move my family out of this house and away from you. Keep pushing me after that, and we will learn where the soldiers’ loyalty lies. That is a promise.” His jaw twitched. Ten, even five years ago, he would’ve taken a swing at me for speaking to him like this, but he knew better now. The dog he abused was now big enough to bite back.
“Dinner is tonight at six o’clock,” he said.
“Do you plan on having your latest whore with you?”
His face flamed red, his anger filling the room as quickly as a dam breaking open. My father was a serial cheater, but he’d never brought one home. They were all given fancy places to stay, sometimes two or three of them living together as he lavished them with money that should’ve been invested into the family. I kept tabs on it all, right down to the Louis Vuitton purses, Jimmy Choo shoes, and Versace clothes that he dressed them in. It was all a show. He loved to frequent the clubs and restaurants with the young women draped on his arm like an accessory to flaunt for all the other men there. Another show of power, and for what?
“I would never do that to your mother,” he said, and for once in his life, he looked genuine, but I still found it hard to believe.
“Why not? You chose to rip her soul out. Why does where you do it matter?”
“I refuse to argue with you again about this, Nathaniel. My personal life is my own.”
I smirked. “Lessons from a father to a son can be learned both ways. You stay out of mine, and we won’t have a problem. See how easy that is?”
He shook his head at me and opened his mouth like he was going to say something more, but instead turned and marched out. I was no saint and never pretended to be, but I would never become him. I’d eat a bullet before I ever did.