“I bet he has,” I mumbled under my breath.
I’m sure Dad only put Caspian here to spy on me. To see how I was running the place and what I was up to. Caspian had moved forward with the fund proposal without me. I couldn’t blame him. I was hardly here to do anything with it. The Organisation had taken over my life, and I could feel everything else slipping away.
“I hear you cancelled the meeting with Mr Burridge the other week.”
I glared over at Caspian, sitting there looking sheepish as he ran his hand through his hair. Fucking snake. Why was he reporting to Dad?
“I had to rearrange it. I wasn’t feeling well,” I lied.
Dad looked at me disdainfully. Another look I was used to.
My jaw ticked, and I clenched my fist under the table. I wanted to knock this fucking guy clean out.
“Migraine. Came on as I left the office. Used to get them all the time as a child.”
“Ah, yes. When you used to lock yourself in your room to block everything out.”
I liked how Dad blurred the truth about what really happened. I’d suffered with them after my mum passed away. Dad said I was faking them for attention, and to punish me, he’d clip me around the back of the head—which made them worse, of course. Then he used to lock me in my room and told me I wasn’t allowed out until I learnt not to lie.
I was ten. Too young to realise I should have kept it to myself, because then maybe I wouldn’t have been locked away so often.
Mum would never have done that to me. She used to take care of me when I was sick. Well, from what I could remember. She’d give me extra kisses and cuddles and said they would help me feel better.
Instead, I got left with this fucking asshole. He should have been the one who died in that car crash, not her. Better yet—maybe I should have been with her. Then, I wouldn’t have had to deal with this asshole in front of me.
Aria walked back in with the coffees and placed them down for everyone. Those moon-like eyes of hers brought me back out of the memories I didn’t want to remember. Having Dad here stirred them all up, and I didn’t want them getting out of that cage I kept them in.
“Thank you, Aria,” Caspian said.
“Aria, can you sort the spreadsheets out for me, please?” I requested, to get her out of the office.
“Sure, I’ll do it now.”
“Do you think it’s a wise choice to have her as your PA?” Dad questioned when she left the office.
“Excuse me?”
“I was going through the HR files, and I noticed she was originally hired for an administrative job, not as a PA,” Dad said.
What the fuck was this guy up to, questioning my decisions about Luxe Corp, like he was in charge? What was he even doing, going through files that had nothing to do with him?
“I think you’ll find all the correct paperwork will be there,” I replied, trying to control that burning in my stomach.
“Paperwork or not, I do wonder if it was more personal than professional. She’s hardly qualified.”
“Are you really going to sit there and question what I do with my company—”
Dad cut me off. “I think you’ll find it’s still my company. The title of CEO does not make you the owner.”
I let out a laugh. “Really, Dad? Have you forgotten the state you left this place in?”
“Son, I think you’ll find the shareholders would happily side with me on matters of what’s best for the company.”
I would never understand how my granddad had left the majority of shares to this fucking asshole, knowing he’d ruin it. Dad was more worried about the Knight name than the company our family built. That old money of ours meant he didn’t have to care, because there was enough there for generations to come.
“I’m sure those stuffy old suits wouldn’t understand business if it hit them in the face.”
“Watch yourself, Sebastian. You’re easily replaceable,” Dad warned.
