Damien
"Sir, she has arrived," Jack, my assistant, informed me.
I nodded and stood from where I'd been sitting in the reception lounge, straightening my cuffs. Time to deal with the reason I'd arrived ahead of schedule.
I walked through the grand entrance just as her car pulled up to the circular drive, a sleek black Mercedes S-Class with tinted windows that screamed ‘wealth’ and ‘power’. The door opened, and out stepped my stepmother in all her calculated glory.
She emerged like she was walking a red carpet, dripping in designer everything. A cream suit that probably cost more than most people's monthly rent, oversized sunglasses that covered half her face, handbag dangling from the crook of her arm like a trophy.
Everything about her was polished and poisonous.
Her assistant scurried over with an iPad clutched to her chest, perching by her side like a nervous bird. The woman's mouth opened and closed rapidly as she rattled off what I assumed was the day's itinerary, while my stepmother nodded absently, surveying the hotel grounds from above her designer sunglasses as if inspecting a kingdom she planned to conquer.
The assistant saw me first. Her eyes widened in shock, and she quickly leaned in to whisper to her. My stepmother turned just as I reached them.
I couldn't see her expression behind those ridiculous sunglasses, but her signature pursed lips told me everything I needed to know. I'd already irritated her, and I hadn't even spoken yet.
Perfect.
"Welcome, Mother," I said smoothly, leaning in for a hug.
She stiffened like I'd offered her a live snake, making no effort whatsoever to hide her disdain.
"Damien," she said flatly, pulling back and adjusting her sunglasses. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm here to receive you," I replied with my most charming smile, the one I reserved specifically for people I wanted to unsettle. "I heard you were arriving. Who better to greet you than your devoted stepson?" I paused, tilting my head. "Though I have to ask, what are you doing here so early? The fundraiser isn't until next week."
Her lips thinned further. "I'm here to see how things are holding up. We don't want our years-long tradition handled by mediocrity."
"Rest assured, Mother, everything is under control. You don't have to lift a finger. If you'd called ahead, I would have told you to relax. Go on a shopping spree or book a spa day, anything to keep you pretty for the fundraiser."
Her jaw tightened.
"Well, I'm here now," she said with a dismissive shrug. "I might as well enjoy it."
I gave her a curt nod and stepped out of her way, gesturing toward the entrance like a gracious host. She gave me a clipped smile and waltzed off with her entourage trailing behind.
The moment she was out of sight, I exhaled the anger I'd been bottling inside, staring up at the clear blue sky.
She was at it again. Scheming her way toward power she had no right to claim.
It had been her mission since the day my father died, to overthrow me and install my stepbrother, Julian, in my place. The board was already half in love with her. Most of them remembered her as the woman my father actually loved, the one he'd wanted to marry before duty and legacy got in the way. She already had their sympathy, and she wielded it like a weapon.
My sources had informed me she'd called for a private meeting with the board to discuss the "recent events" plaguing our subsidiaries. The fraudulent activities and embezzlement. The mysterious gas leak at the event center that had forced us to relocate the fundraiser at the last minute.
All of it, orchestrated. All of it, designed to make me look incompetent.
We'd intercepted most of their schemes, but they kept coming like cockroaches. You stomp one out, three more appear.
"Sir, what's our next move?" Jack asked quietly, stepping up beside me.
I straightened my back and turned away from the sky. "We do what we do best. Intercept."
I was about to head back inside when movement at the far end of the driveway caught my eye. Someone stumbled, their arms windmilling for balance before they toppled forward and hit the pavement.
My brain seemed to register who it was before I even saw her face.
Her.
The girl from last night.
I felt my jaw tighten as the memory resurfaced.
When I'd been informed of my stepmother's schemes, I'd been raging. I'd scrambled to rearrange my schedule, tied up loose ends, and flown here immediately to deal with the situation before it spiraled further out of control.
The last thing I'd needed was to walk into my suite and find some employee passed out on my bed.
I'd been beyond pissed. This was the kind of incompetence that could cost us everything, especially with my stepmother lurking around, looking for any excuse to paint me as unfit to lead.
I'd been about to call security and have her fired on the spot.
But then her alarm had gone off.
The screen had lit up, and I'd caught a glimpse of the wallpaper. It was a little boy with a bright, innocent smile.
"Jaden! Baby, switch it off," she'd mumbled in her sleep. "Mummy is so tired."
After that, she'd curled into a ball, hugging herself tightly, and exhaled a shaky breath.
She'd been cold.
I'd reached out, against my better judgment, and pulled the duvet over her. She'd moaned softly, burrowing deeper into the warmth.
"Thank you, Grandma," she'd whispered. "You're the best."
Somehow, all the anger and frustration I’d felt gradually seeped out of me.
As stupid as her actions had been, and as poorly as she'd handled the aftermath, I had to admit, she'd genuinely been looking out for the hotel. She was just… incredibly reckless.
In her defense, I hadn't informed anyone of my early arrival. However, if it had been an actual guest she'd attacked? She would have been fired immediately.
The fact that it was me was the only reason she still had a job.
With my stepmother circling like a vulture, looking for any weakness to exploit, genuine people were becoming increasingly rare. The kind who'd risk their own position to protect what they thought was right, misguided as the execution might have been, were worth more than they knew.
She didn't know I had no intention of firing her, though. Let her sweat a little. Maybe she'd be more careful next time.
As I turned and walked back toward the entrance, I felt a tug on my lips.
Something told me the next few days were going to be far more interesting than I'd anticipated.