Page 45 of Baby Duke

"Not a fucking clue.”

He’s late.Ofcourse,he's fucking late.

Pacing the hallway outside of his office for the thousandth time, I check the time on my phoneagain. 7.23. I swear to fuck, he is doing this on purpose. Five minutes. I will give him 5 fucking minutes, and then I’m bailing. I need a fucking drink and a mouth on my cock. Preferably Roes, but let's not let my mind go there right now.

Finally, the steady sound of footsteps echoes down the hall and there he is, strolling like he’s got not a single care in the world.

"You're late," I growl as he gets close.

He pauses in getting his keys out of his pockets and stares me down. "What was that?" he asks, tilting his head.

He knows exactly what I said, the cunt, but I won't repeat it. I am his son, after all; I know exactly what game he is playing at.

He huffs. "That's what I thought. Run your mouth again, and you will be missing more than just your littlegatheringtonight." His lips sneered at the word as if it made him sick. I didn’t know exactly what went on in his ownlittlegatherings, but I was sure as shit they were much more sickening than a bunch of teenagers getting drunk and rowdy.

I keep my chin raised as he stares me down a moment longer. Then, finally, he turns back and unlocks the door.

He doesn’t say anything more as he enters the office and turns on the lights. It is a modern setup with a simple color scheme of black and cream. An overly large desk sits centrally in front of an open window as if it were commanding attention. I guess it was, really. My father certainly didn't do anything without a reason behind it. The intimidating size of the desk did just as it was designed to do. I had always felt small inside this office, after all.

My father took his seat, his back to the window. That was always something I appreciated about his office. Whereas my father's view was of a closed door and the person sitting opposite him, I got to watch the world moving outside of the office. It wasn't much to look at, to be sure. A tidy garden of palm trees, hedges, white stone pathways, and a bird bath. If I sat in the chair to the right, I could just see the front drive.

I took the seat on the right.

I wait.

He takes his sweet ass time getting his computer started and checking his emails. And then the fucker takes a phone call.

This was my punishment for speaking out in the hall. The muscles in my legs vibrate with the need to get the fuck out of here. I clench my fists and take a deep breath through my nose as sweat begins to pebble on my brow.

It was then that I noticed movement outside. As discretely as I could, I shuffled further to the right to get a better look.

Fucking East. Fucking Roe, for that matter.

East always followed our fathers' rules. Sure, she would complain to me later about how unfair and sexist our father was, but she followed his rules. She kept herself safe.

Roe had been in our lives less than a week and my sister was breaking the rulesagain. I had already covered for her for her stupid need to visit the beauty salon with Roe the other day, and now she was sneaking out to go to a fucking party!

There was no doubt in my mind that that was where she was headed. With her silver sequined crop top that tied around her neck and a pair of denim shorts so short I could practically see my sister's ass cheeks hanging out, there was no way she was headed anywhere but the party.

I inched to the right again to catch a glimpse of the hot pink car she was getting into. Felix.

East climbed in quickly, casting a look over her shoulder. She didn't see me, of course. The dark tint of the office window kept curious eyes out. She was a fucking idiot. What if our dad had been gazing out the window right at this second?

I flick my gaze back to him as East closes the door behind her; my heart skips a beat when I realize he is off the phone and staring at me with squinted suspicious eyes.

He is seconds from turning around to see what caught my gaze, and Felix's car is still in view.

"Shall we get on with it, then?" I drawl, just as his chair starts to swivel.

He freezes. Then inches back around to face me fully.

I hold in a sigh of relief as Felix and East speed out of view. She fucking owed me for this.

"You know, I thought perhaps you were finally ready to step up and take some responsibility in the empire I have built for us," Vincent says, voice calm even as his eyes flash with suppressed fury. "But you prove to me time and time again that you are not. I question myself often about whether you are the right person to hand my businesses over to when it is time for me to retire." He laughs. "Youknow, that was the dream for me. Retiring as my first-born son took over after graduating from high school. Spend the rest of my life basking in my fortune while women fought for the honor of sucking my cock.”

Revolting.

"So, West, what is it going to be?" he asks, leaning back to lounge in his chair. "Are you going to step up and take the responsibilities of being a Duke seriously? Or should I start looking for a replacement heir? That friend of yours, Brett Leacher, seems like a good candidate."

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