Chapter 3 Aston
This guy must have the smallest dick.
My fingers tap against the wood-grain table with an impatient beat.
It’s just after four in the afternoon, and this meeting has gone on for far too damn long.
A meeting that could have been an email—but Chalmers insisted we talk about numbers inside the boardroom of our downtown office with every executive team member in attendance.
A waste of goddamn time and resources.
Chalmers is old-school and is always the last to get on board with the latest technology. He even wears those corduroy sport coats with elbow patches. They should be buried along with his stale cigar and coffee breath.
The only reason he’s on the board of directors is because of my father.
The absolute bane of my existence.
“Listen, Chalmers,” I begin while trying to curb my irritation.
“We need to project the future, not fixate on past performance. Times are changing, and our focus needs to be on development and market demand. We are in the digital era, and commercial investment is heavily tied in with e-commerce growth.”
Beside me, Will, another board member, snickers. He understands exactly why Chalmers should be in a retirement village in Boca, not trying to impart his so-called wisdom onto us young folk, as he so annoyingly likes to refer to us.
The room is cold, and the air conditioner is blasting too high for my comfort. I spend most of my time inside this building, more than in my penthouse, it seems. So why the fuck can’t the maintenance guys get this shit right? We pay them more than enough money.
Unsurprisingly, Chalmers ignores my direction and goes on some tangent about the budget. Closing my eyes briefly to calm the fuck down, I open them to the sound of my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out of my suit jacket, scanning my eyes over the text.
Little Brat
Do you know what day it is?
My sister, Madelina, is the biggest pain in my ass.
We were born a year apart, so for all of my life, she’s been my bratty little sister who annoys me.
When I was growing up, my parents hired nannies to take care of us because their social life took precedence.
Madelina craved attention, and when our parents were too busy to notice, she focused on making my life hell.
She would whine all the time, copy my every move, and despite the many times I warned her to stay out of my room, Madelina would end up sleeping at the foot of my bed when she was scared of thunderstorms.
Now, we’re adults, but nothing has changed.
At all.
Me
Thursday?
The three dots appear and bounce for what seems like forever. My eyes lift away from the screen as Chalmers rambles about the stock market crash of 2008.
Jesus fucking Christ—this man needs to be stopped.
My phone vibrates again, forcing me to shift my attention to the illuminated screen.
Little Brat
It’s Valentine’s Day!
Me
And?
The screen flashes with a call, but I hit decline and then quickly type a message.
Me
I’m in a meeting
Little Brat
Anyone hot in the room?
Me
Go away. I’ll call you later.
I place my phone back in my pocket and focus on the topic at hand. Just as I’m about to tell Chalmers to cut the bullshit, the door opens, and everyone turns their heads.
Lo and behold—it’s the king himself.
My father.
All the men at the table straighten their shoulders.
Will and I are the only ones who seem unperturbed by his presence.
It’s his same old routine. He’ll stroll into the boardroom all high-and-mighty to scare the team into doing things his way.
Then, he’ll leave to play golf with his billionaire so-called friends while we are left to clean up the mess.
Then there is my mother, who’s somewhere in Europe at some wellness clinic she checked herself into.
My parents have the most dysfunctional marriage, which probably explains why I don’t do the whole relationship thing.
There’s never been any woman I would want to spend all my time with.
No matter how much they get me off in bed.
“I see we are having another unproductive meeting,” my father immediately reprimands everyone in attendance. I gather he read my frustrated expression the moment he set foot in the room. “Chalmers, you setting these young ones straight?”
“I’m trying, Beaumont. They’re too caught up in the digital future,” Chalmers mutters.
I clench my hand into a fist, trying to control my fury over my father’s innate lack of consideration for the hardworking people in this room. Chalmers excluded.
Nepotism has nothing to do with the fact that I worked, and continue to work, my ass off.
I’ve dedicated every waking moment to this company to prove I could take over the role of CEO despite others thinking they were better than me.
I started at the bottom, learning everything I could to prepare myself.
Since I was promoted last year, our profits have exceeded our projected forecasts, and the value of our investments has skyrocketed. I pride myself on my ability to get things done, despite my father warning me failure is not an option.
“Is there a reason you have graced us with a visit?” I challenge my father with a raised brow. “I’m sure there is a golf club calling your name.”
My father’s counterfeit smile comes as no surprise. “My, my… the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, now, does it, son?”
He knows exactly how to get to me. How to manipulate me into thinking I’m just like him.
Honestly, I couldn’t think of a fate worse than turning into my father.
I’m here because he placed an ultimatum on me a long time ago.
An ultimatum that included taking over the family empire.
It was either me or Madelina. I knew exactly what went on behind the scenes of his empire.
It’s nothing but a damn boys’ club—plain and simple.
There’s no way in hell I would subject my sister to that kind of environment.
Late-night board meetings with aged whiskey, cigars, and inappropriate conversation about female employees. Most of the men are married, yet never shy to admit just how much money they spend on their mistresses.
The more money they make, the more power they assume they have over women.
So I did everything demanded of me to fulfill the position of CEO for the Beaumont Group. I spent my summer before college in London working at one of my father’s offices. As soon as the summer ended, I went straight to Stanford to study business and economics.
Those years feel like a blur. I’d cram all week with classes and studying, then spend weekends trying to escape the pressure by drinking at whatever party was being held around me. In so many ways, life was simpler back then.
Now, as much as humanly possible, I limit interaction with my father.
I manage this company, keep my personal life separate, and ensure we deliver the numbers to please him.
He may be the patriarch of our family and this company, but it’ll be mine one day.
All I need to do is persevere and ignore his need for control.
He likes to think he knows what goes on, but the truth is, I’m the master at playing his game. I know the old man too well and have outsmarted his controlling nature many times.
“Chalmers was just wrapping up,” I insist. “So, it’s agreed we will increase our budget for the project to keep our platform competitive.
By doing so, we have confidence from our investors that our launch dates will stick to the agreed-upon timeline.
Is there anything else anyone would like to add before we finish? ”
“I agree,” Will speaks up while staring directly into my father’s eyes. “Confidence is key. We deliver this, and moving forward, we will have no issues securing investors for our next project.”
Chalmers sits across from me with a sour face. Fuck him! That man should retire right now so we don’t have to waste time on his irrelevant opinions.
“Perhaps I’m mistaken,” my father begins, much to Chalmers’s annoyance. He pats him on the back with a laugh that’s more unsettling than friendly, a harsh sound that lingers far too long in the room. “Shall we leave the work to the boys? How about we hit the golf course?”
“All right, Beaumont. I could use a day off,” Chalmers agrees like it’s the worst thing in the world.
Thank fuck! Get the old bastard out of here.
“Everyone is dismissed,” my father commands. “Except you, Aston.”
Just. Fucking. Great.
Noise elevates as the men chatter while exiting the room. Will informs me he’ll call later since he needs to rush to midtown for a meeting with his father-in-law.
As the final person leaves the room and the door closes, my father sits across from me with an arrogant smile. A smile that reminds me I look more like my mother than this bastard.
“I’m guessing you’ve heard the news?”
Over the years, he has aged, his hair silver but still slicked back in the same style he’s had since he was young. He wears a maroon cravat, another piece of clothing that needs to be buried with Chalmers’s sport jacket.
I tilt my head. “What news?”
“Your sister is getting married.”
My head jerks back at his words. Damn! This explains why she was trying to call me earlier.
Madelina has been dating Myles for what, a few months?
I’m not one to pay attention to other people’s relationships, but it doesn’t feel long.
Still, Myles is a decent guy. I met him years ago at one of my father’s functions.
Since they’ve been dating, we’ve caught up for dinner and drinks, though he’s never mentioned marriage.
Generally, we talk about business and baseball, since he’s also a Yankees fan.
His production company is doing well—he’s got a good eye when it comes to theater.
“She tried to call me earlier,” I inform him. “If it makes her happy, then there’s nothing left to say about it.”
“The boy is from a good family,” he states with a raised brow.