Page 101 of Vicious Tycoon

Bailey

“Mom!”I shouted, seeing her first by the door. I ran into her arms. “I missed you so much!”

“Bailey Bug,” she greeted, tightly hugging me back. “Look how gorgeous you are. This dress and color on you! Oh my goodness!” She pulled away only to pull me back to her again. “My beautiful baby is here! Jackson! Cash! Look who’s here!”

I turned and came face-to-face with my dad and stepdad rushing toward me. My dad hugged me first, and I don’t know why it made me so emotional. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. My stepdad pulled me in next, embracing me just as intently.

“Oh my God!” my stepmom exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders. “Ahhh! This is the best surprise ever!” She hugged me too.

“You didn’t tell them I was coming?”

Mom smiled. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

The cameraman snapped photo after photo of us, along with the videographer recording. It didn’t take long for more family members to catch on, and before I knew it, I was passed around like a ping-pong ball. I hadn’t even had a chance to introduce Aires to anyone yet.

By the expression on his face, he was having a great time, nonetheless.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when my grandpa Creed pointed him out. “Who’s that?”

I swallowed hard. “That’s my boyfriend, Aires.”

“Boyfriend?” he grumbled. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

He folded his arms over his chest, allCreed Jameson-like.

“That’s right, Pops, you show ’em who’s boss,” my uncle Luke chimed in, standing next to him with his arms crossed over his chest in the same stance as his father. Mirroring his demeanor to a T.

“Grandma!” I yelled, locking eyes with her.

Her gaze went wide when she saw why I was calling for her. “Oh!” She didn’t waver, darting toward me. “Bailey, I’m so happy you brought your boyfriend.” She placed herself between them. “So nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“That’s funny because I haven’t heard a damn thing.”

“Creed,” Grandma warned, kissing Aires on the cheek.

What shocked me the most was that Aires wasn’t the least bit intimidated by my grandfather or uncle. At least he didn’t seem to be.

“Nice to meet you too.” Aires smiled at her. “I feel like I already know you.”

Her gaze shifted over to her husband. “Creed … we talked about this.”

“Pippin, we didn’t talk ’bout shit ’cuz there was nothin’ to talk about.”

“Bailey, let me handle your grandfather.”

“What exactly do you think you’re handlin’, Pippin?”

Uncle Luke grinned. He always admired the hell out of the barbarian who was his father. Knowing the man she married, my grandmother didn’t pay him any mind.

Uncle Luke stepped into Aires’s face, and I grabbed my grandma’s hand. For some reason, Uncle Luke was always very protective of me. Since my mom was a young mother, I spent a lot of time with my uncle Luke. He taught me how to drive my first dirt bike and was there for me when I found out who my real father was.

I was the product of too much whiskey between my mom and her best friend one night before he made it big. My stepdad was actually my mom’s childhood enemy, but he stepped up when my father couldn’t because he was trying to make a name for himself.

I used to spend the night at my uncle Luke’s, and he’d let me stay up all night and eat ice cream for dinner. He always had a different girl with him and taught me how to punch a mean right hook. He was partially the reason I could drop-kick Aires to the ground; he taught me that too.

I guess since he didn’t have any kids, he treated me like his. He and my mother were always close. Even as kids, my grandparents said they were.

“Now listen,” Uncle Luke drawled out. “Because I’m only going to say this once.”

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