Chapter 60
“Young Master Wood, you’re home.” My parents‘ housekeeper greets me at the door.
I had to use a different car to get here because paparazzi were everywhere.
“How many times have I told you to call me Noah?” I give her a small smile. “You’ve known me since I was a teenager p>
She grins at me but doesn’t say anything and I just know she won’t be calling me by my name anytime soon. We’ve had this conversation thousands of times since she started working for mom, and the end results are always the same.
“Where are Mom and Dad p>
“In the living room p>
“Thanks, Betty p>
Walking through this house always makes me feel like a boy again. Especially now, when I’m in deep shit. When I step into the living room, Dad looks up from a stack of papers while Mom scrolls her phone with the same calm intensity that can cut a man to shreds.
“About time,” Dad snaps, tossing the papers onto the table. “Took you long enough p>
I don’t answer, knowing well that this is one of those situations where my mouth needs to remain shut.
Mom flicks her gaze at me, unreadable, before turning back to her phone. That calmness is the real warning. She isn’t the kind of person to yell; she remains calm in every situation and that’s what makes her dangerous, because it means she’s planning to annihilate you.
“Just when I’m about to hand over the company to you, you decide to cause a scandal. What the fuck were you thinking, Noah?” Dad’s voice sharpens like a blade.
“Language, Rowan,” Mom tsks softly, without taking her eyes off her phone.
“Sorry, my love,” he mutters, then pins me with his glare again.
I clench my jaw. I fucked up and no excuse is good enough. Lilly was right; “I don’t know what came over me” sounds pathetic even in my own head.
“The media is having a field day,” Dad continues. “And the board’s calling nonstop. They’re breathing down my neck p>
Shit. He doesn’t have to spell out what that means.
The last time that happened, Uncle Gabe was being forced to marry. It eventually worked out in the end with him and Aunt Harper, but when the board decides to make noise, you listen or they’ll twist your arm until you eventually give in.
“You’ve never had a scandal. Except for the car crash when you were high, but the media wrote that off as a grieving husband. This is different.” His words slice deeper. “And let’s not forget you hurt Sierra. She’s family, Noah. What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve pissed off Gabe too. He wants your head on a spike p>
“And me, and Harper… In fact, you’ve pissed off all your aunts,” Mom adds casually without looking up.
A shiver runs down my spine. I can face a room full of wolves, but not my aunts. Those women smile sweetly, but cross them and they’ll become your worst fucking nightmare.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter through clenched teeth.
“Sorry doesn’t fix shit, does it?” Dad bites back.
“I’ll make some calls. Those articles will be gone in minutes, buried within the week. They’ll soon have something new to obsess about p>
Contacting our people should have been the first thing I did before even coming here, but my mind has been such a mess that thinking straight has been a fucking problem.
“That’s only the first part of the problem,” Dad says flatly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll fix this,” I say in a strained voice. “My image has always been spotless; they’ll eventually move on, just like they do when it comes to Shaw p>
“You think so?” Dad’s laugh is humorless. “That’s exactly why they won’t. Brad Shaw can drown in scandals and no one blinks because they’re used to his antics. But you–Mr. Perfect? They’ll devour this story and cling to it for as long as they can p>
Brad is one of our competitors. Unlike me, let’s just say he’s known for scandals. From partying like an animal to sleeping with his stepmom, you name it, there isn’t a scandal that doesn’t have Shaw’s name on it.