AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With her sleek gray bob and her stylish black pantsuit, Grace Chapman turns her head toward us, beaming brightly. She’s the news anchor that does serious opinion pieces for NewsCorp, and the very first person I thought of when I found out we were coming to New York. She could sell ice to an Aleutian if she smiled a little and spoke in that soft, serious voice.
“Lord Grayrose.” She bows her head. “What a pleasure to have you both in the studio this evening.”
“Grace.” I incline my head. “I trust you will make James look good.”
Her cheeks color very slightly but she just nods, her smile never faltering.
“If you’ll just follow me, we can get you settled in your dressing room. We will get the hair and makeup people in and out and then start taping…”
I clap James on the shoulder as he starts to follow her. “Stick to the talking points. Jobs, immigration, small businesses.”
“I think I’ve got it by now.” He shoots me a tiny glare as he is hurried down a hallway, disappearing into darkness.
I’m left with Natasha and a young man whose color is approximately that of a bag of flour. I look at him, fold my arms across my chest, and cock my head.
“Well?”
He swallows, blinking rapidly.
“Grace wanted me to stay with you and make sure—”
“Do us both a favor and stop talking. I’m only here to make sure that your boss Grace does her job and makes my brother look like an inspiring presence and not the actual clod he is.”
His eyebrows rise with alarm. He begins to say something else, which is not a good look for him.
“Fuck off,” I say, jerking my head toward the hallway. “I don’t require a babysitter. I’m the owner of this company, not a wide eyed little girl. Get lost.”
He nods, wincing. Perhaps I only imagined that he mutters, “fucking billionaires.” But I wouldn’t be surprised.
Everyone that doesn’t have my wealth and privilege always has some snarky comment. It comes with the territory.
In two shakes of a lamb’s tail he has disappeared down the long hallway, leaving Natasha and I alone. Natasha looks around the small seating area and goes over to the floor to ceiling window, glancing out. I look at the elegant glass statues sitting on the low table in the middle of the expensive white metal chairs. The statues resemble oversized chess pieces, each one approximately a foot tall and quite hefty. Tilting my head to one side, I tip one of the pieces, weighing it.
In an emergency, you could do some serious damage armed with one of those.
“Sir, I should tell you.”
I glance up. Natasha is careful not to look at me when she’s speaking, which means whatever she has to say, it’s bad.
“I’ve received a call from Drumman Castle.”
My ancestral home in Scotland, where I have been living for several years. I am usually unshakable, but just hearing the words makes my heart begin pounding.
“About Isla?”
She nods. “Yes. She is all right, of course, but—”
My hands curl into fists.
“Don’t tell me. She’s gotten into trouble?”
Natasha hesitates. “Yes, sir. She’s been expelled from school.”
“Expelled?” I ask. My tone is unsurprised though. “God damn it. This is the third school that she’s been expelled from in the last twelve months.” I pause, squinting at the darkened Manhattan skyline and the bright lights that sparkle within it. “Is this just because I left her with Lennox?”
Natasha chooses her words very carefully.
“Your daughter says she likes it when your sister stays with her. And the school said her expulsion is based on multiple violations of school code.”
