Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
“W hat are you doing here, Jasper?” Stark poured them both cups of coffee and slid Jasper’s across the table to him.
“It’s good to see you too, Isaac,” Jasper said.
Stark bit back his retort. His cousin might not be his favourite person, but he hadn’t done anything to piss him off today. Yet.
Oh yeah? So interrupting you when you were about to fuck Rayna didn’t piss you off?
He ignored his inner voice. Nothing would have happened between him and Rayna. One of them would have come to their senses even if Jasper hadn’t interrupted.
You sure about that? She wanted you to fuck her. Don’t pretend she didn’t.
“Isaac?”
“What?” he scowled at his cousin.
“What the fuck is going on with you? First, you’re not at your office on a Tuesday afternoon, then I find you in your bedroom about to fuck a plumber, and you have goddamn cats now.”
“They’re not my cats,” he said. “The cat broke into my damn house and had babies, and it’s too dangerous to move her while the babies are this young.”
“Right. And you were about to fuck the plumber because why?”
“The plumber has a name, and I wasn’t about to fuck her,” Stark snapped.
“Well, that’s some bullshit right there,” Jasper said. He gave him that look, the one that always set Stark’s teeth on edge. “Never thought I’d see you slumming like that for a bit of pussy.”
“Shut up, Jasper,” Stark said. “Besides, you were practically trying to dry hump her in my bedroom.”
Jasper laughed. “Sure, but can you blame me? With a body like that, I don’t care if she cleans toilets all day. I’ll just make sure she showers before I fuck her.”
Stark immediately tamped down his anger. He knew his cousin, and if he even suspected that he was pissing him off, Jasper would use it to his advantage. Still, he couldn’t help but growl out, “Stay away from Rayna, Jasper.”
“So, you do like her.” Jasper pounced like a particularly vicious feline.
“I hate her,” Stark said, “but she has something I want, and I don’t need you fucking her or fucking with her. Got it?”
The genuine Jasper appeared, quick as a striking snake, the jovial, benevolent look on his face disappearing. “The days of you telling me what to do ended the minute you abandoned our company.”
“I didn’t abandon the company, and it’s my father’s company, not yours,” Stark said. “What’s with this ‘our’ shit?”
He was deliberately provoking his cousin, and he fucking knew better, but he couldn’t help it. Jasper’s interest in Rayna was eating away at him.
Jasper gave him a thin smile. “Your father relies heavily on me now. The company may not be legally mine, but it’s technically mine just as much as it’s his. It would fall apart without me.”
“There’s that inflated sense of self-worth I don’t miss,” Stark said.
“Fuck you, Isaac.” The mask Jasper had put on the moment he saw Rayna had disappeared entirely. “You’ve acted like you’re better than the rest of us for years, and I am fucking over it. You’re an entitled prick who doesn’t deserve everything that’s fallen into your lap.”
“Fallen into my lap?” Stark snarled. “I built my company from the ground up, unlike you, who just ‘kissed my father’s ass’ your way up the ladder. You want to talk about entitlement, but I’d rather talk about how you’re running my father’s company into the ground because you don’t have a fucking clue about gaming.”
Jasper froze, his hand tightening on the coffee mug in front of him until Stark expected it to simply shatter under the pressure. His face grim, Jasper said, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. And I plan on finding who it is in the company feeding you false information and suing their ass into the fucking stratosphere.”
Stark barked harsh laughter. “Are you kidding me? No one is feeding me information, Jasper. Everyone in the gaming community knows that Stark Gaming is in the fucking tank. Your last seven games have all been shit because you have no goddamn idea how to hire a developer who knows what they’re doing. You’ve convinced my father that you know the gaming market, but just because my father refuses to see through your bullshit doesn’t mean the rest of us are in the dark.”
“The changes I’ve made have saved the company,” Jasper said. “Your father would have been out of business years ago if it wasn’t for me. You think because you’re the big fucking name in gaming now that you can just bulldoze over us smaller companies, even when they’re family.”
“Why are you here, Jasper?” Stark asked. He was suddenly exhausted, and he didn’t have it in him to fight with his cousin. Not when it was the same fucking argument they’d had repeatedly over the years.
“Your father wants to meet with you.”
“He sent you to Harmony Falls to tell me that?”
“He’s busy,” Jasper said dismissively.
“And I’m not?”
“It’s a Tuesday afternoon, and you’re babysitting a fucking cat,” Jasper said.
“If my father wants to meet with me, have his assistant set up a phone meeting with Hollis.”
“He wants to see you,” Jasper said.
Dread filled Stark’s stomach. He tried to ignore it and pretend he wasn’t turning into that scared little kid he always was around his father, but just the thought of being in the same room with his father made him feel small and insignificant.
“No,” he said harshly. “Phone meeting only.”
“Not good enough,” Jasper said. “Your father wants to speak to you in person.”
“Too fucking bad,” Stark said. “I’m not a little kid he can order around anymore.”
Jasper sighed. “Get the fuck over yourself, Isaac. Your dad isn’t a young guy anymore, and it won’t kill you to do what he asks for once.”
“For once?” Stark barked bitter laughter. “For fucking once, Jasper?”
Jasper waved his hand dismissively. “Stop clinging to the past, Isaac.”
Stark stood. “Time for you to go.”
“Will you meet with your father or not?” Jasper asked.
“Not in person,” Stark said. “Those are my conditions. He can take them or leave them.”
“You’re such an asshole.” Jasper stood and stalked out of the kitchen toward the front door. “You need to grow the fuck up, Isaac.”
He slammed the door behind him, and Stark sucked in a deep breath before slumping against the wall. There was a soft chirp, and he stared at Molly, who weaved around his feet. She hadn’t left the bedroom once since she’d had her kittens, and he squatted and picked her up.
She purred loudly, headbutting his chin repeatedly until he stroked her soft fur. He glanced around almost guiltily before resting his ear against her side, listening to the rumble of her purr as she kneaded his chest.
After only a few minutes, his anxiety had lessened, and he pressed a kiss against the cat’s forehead. “Thanks, sweetie. Let’s get you back to your babies now, okay?”
She made her distinctive squeaky meow, and he smiled before carrying her back to the bedroom.
* * *
“So, you have no idea why your father wants to meet with you?” His mother asked.
“What’s on your head, Mom?” Stark asked.
She touched the multi-coloured wrap that was wound around her head. “Oh, this is a healing wrap that Janelle brought me. You soak it in this scented liquid that is full of healing herbs and it’s supposed to draw out any illnesses or negative energy you carry in your body.”
“Wait, are you feeling sick?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she said cheerfully. “But Janelle is completely caught up in this MLM pyramid scheme and is desperate to offload some stock.”
He rolled his eyes. “So, it’s a bunch of bullshit.”
“Utter bullshit,” she said, “but the healing liquid smells lovely and really softens my hair.”
“Mom, I know Janelle is your friend, but you have to stop spending your money on this crap.”
“Darling boy, we both know I have more money than God, and I’ll never be able to spend it all before I die,” his mother said. “You certainly don’t need it as an inheritance, Mr. Moneybags, so why shouldn’t I spend it on frivolous things.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a fair point.”
“You’re avoiding my question about your father,” she said.
He sighed. “I don’t know why he wants to meet, but since he refuses to meet under my terms, it doesn’t really matter.”
She smiled at him. “Good for you, Isaac. I’m proud of you for standing up to him.”
He shrugged. “It’s just refusing to meet with him. That’s hardly an act of rebellion.”
“When it comes to your father, it is,” she said. “Now, tell me again the story of how you’re working at home all this week because of a cat and her kittens.”
He gave her a look that would wither anyone else, but she just laughed and waved her hand at him. “Show me those darling babies again, please.”
He flipped the camera on his phone and pointed it at the container. Molly was grooming the babies, and his mother made a quiet squeal. “Oh, they really are just the sweetest things.”
He flipped the camera back to himself, grinning at the delight on her face. “I love that you have a pet now, Isaac. I worry about my boy being all alone.”
“I don’t have a pet, Mom. I’m just fostering Molly and the babies until Molly is feeling better and the babies are older. Then they’ll go to a new foster home,” he said.
“Will they, though?” She grinned at him.
“It’s your fault I’m fostering them,” he said.
She readjusted the wrap on her head and sat back. “Oh, I do need to hear how this is my fault, dearest.”
“You suggested I be nice to Ms. Abrams to get what I want. I’m being nice.”
“Ah,” she said, “and is it working? Has she agreed to sell you her property?”
“No,” he said. “But I did help her with a stray dog the other night, and I paid some vet bills for the rescue, so that’ll win me points, right?”
“Oh, absolutely,” his mother said.
“I know you’re mocking me,” he said, “but I don’t care.”
She laughed. “I’m your mother, Isaac. I would never mock. Now, be honest with me. Are you only doing these things in order to convince her to sell her property?”
“Yes,” he said. “Why else would I do them?”
She shrugged. “I think you like this Rayna Abrams.”
“I don’t,” he said quickly. “I hate her, Mom.”
“There is a thin line between hate and lust,” she said.
“And this conversation is over. Goodbye, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too, my boy. Tell that sweet cat and her adorable kittens that grandma also loves them.”
She laughed at how he rolled his eyes before blowing him a kiss and ending the call.
He tossed his phone on the bed and petted Molly absentmindedly when she jumped out of the container and sat on his chest, purring loudly. Despite what he’d told Rayna, he was, in fact, keeping Molly and the kittens on the bed in their container at night.
It was no big deal. The bed was plenty big enough for him and the container, and this way, if Molly needed him at night, he was right there. She spent most of the night with her babies, but he’d woken up more than once to find her curled into his armpit or sleeping between his legs. It was kind of nice to have her there if he was being honest. He would never admit this to anyone, but having Molly in the house made him feel less lonely.
He rubbed his chin against Molly’s forehead, smiling at how her purring grew louder. His phone rang, and he glanced at it before answering it. “Hey, Hollis. What’s up?”
“Hi. Are you still planning to come into the office tomorrow for the staff meeting?”
“I am,” he said.
“Can I reschedule it for two instead of four? A few of our employees are helping out with the Little Whiskers fundraiser and are hoping to leave a bit early.”
“Two o’clock works. Are you attending the fundraiser?”
“I’ve decided to buy a ticket,” Hollis said. “It’s for a good cause.”
“It is,” he said. When you purchase yours, could you also buy one for me? Put both of them on my card.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Hollis said. “I’ll have your ticket here at the office tomorrow.”
“Perfect. Oh, one more thing. Can you arrange for Rayna Abrams to receive an access card to the gym? Let her know she can use it whenever she’d like.”
Always the professional, Hollis didn’t pause. “Of course, Mr. Stark. I’ll set it up this afternoon.”
“Thank you, Hollis.”
He ended the call and kissed Molly’s forehead when she chirped at him. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not doing this because I’m worried about her injuring herself with that shit she calls gym equipment at her house.”
Molly stared at him unblinkingly, and he cleared his throat before looking away. “It’s just another way of convincing her to sell her property. That’s it, cat.”
Molly chirped at him before jumping into the nest with the babies. With a loud sigh, Stark grabbed his laptop. He was behind on work because the memory of Rayna licking his thumb kept popping into his head, and the knowledge that if they hadn’t been interrupted by his goddamn cousin, he might now know exactly how it felt to have his cock buried deep inside of Rayna’s perfect body.
His dick was already starting to harden, and he adjusted it with a grimace. Christ, he really needed to get laid.