Page 7 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

“To talk,” Nate answered.

Stephen huffed out a breath. “I assume you’re going to complain about the email I sent, but it’s inevitable, and people don’t like change sprung on them.”

“Yeah, I know,” Nate answered, reading more into the comment than just what was on the surface, “but I’m not stepping down just yet. I just…wish you would have run it past me first.”

“I’ll bet. I would have appreciated your running the financial investigation past me first, too, but here we are.”

Nate pushed further into the office and closed the door behind him. “Stephen…I know we’ve had a rough couple of years…”

“You got that right. And you just keep beating me over the head.”

Nate furrowed his brow as he stopped just shy of the chair across from Stephen’s heavy wooden desk. “I’m not doing anything to you, Stephen.”

“Oh, really? You probably skipped down to Mom and Dad’s room in the palace to tell them Chloe was cheating. I wouldn’t be surprised if you and Ellie didn’t cook this all up and ask Julian to go after her.”

Nate perched on the edge of the chair, his features wrinkling. “Oh, come on, Stephen. That’s ridiculous. I would never do that to you.”

“Yeah, right. You hated that I married her. You couldn’t stand to see us happy.”

“That’s not true,” Nate shot back. “We have a complicated history, and I didn’t think Chloe was going to be true to you either, but I didn’t want this to happen to you. Heck, I thought she’d last at least a few months before she made me right.”

“You bastard!” Stephen leapt from his seat, his hands curled into fists.

Nate rose, too, his hands in front of him. “Whoa, Stephen, calm down. I’m not here to fight.”

“No, you’re just here to rub it in. To tell me how terrible Chloe is and what a screw up I am.”

Nate snorted a laugh. “Stephen, no one is more of a screw up than I am. Come on, man, I asked Chloe to marry me when she was clearly not the woman for me, and after I found you two together, I drown myself in a bottle. You’ve yet to hit that level of screwed up.”

“Oh, but everything worked out for wonderful Nate, didn’t it? You screw up, and then you stumble on a princess. And like a moron, you walk away from her, and then she takes you back.”

“Yeah, I messed up, okay? But every time I did, I got back up and tried again. I didn’t just wallow in it.”

“Nah, you wallowed at the bottom of a bottle.”

“For a while, yes. But I’m trying to stop you from making the same mistakes I did.”

“Oh, well, thanks, Nate. I really appreciate you helping me out.” The sarcasm in his sharp voice was obvious.

Nate shook his head. “All right, maybe this was a mistake.”

“Oh, you have no idea how much of a mistake it is. Go back to Eldoria and plan your royal wedding. Dad and I can handle GenoTech.”

“Hey, I told you I’m not quitting, Stephen.”

“And I told you you’re not welcome here anymore, Nate. I’m going to make sure of that.”

Nate held back rolling his eyes as he set his hands on his hips. “Okay, fine. If you need to come at me to make yourself feel better, that’s fine. You can do that. I probably have it coming after what I did to you.”

“Gee, thanks, bro. I’m glad you’ve given me permission to dismantle your life.”

“I haven’t. I’m just saying I understand where you’re coming from. Look, instead of tearing each other apart, maybe we could…I don’t know…go to lunch and discuss strategies for making sure this company runs smoothly once I’m splitting my time between here and Eldoria.”

Stephen glanced down at his desk before he snapped his fingers. “Aw, darn, I’m all booked up planning ways to destroy your life. Though I may have a break, because you’re pretty good ruining your own life. I may be able to just sit back and watch you implode under the pressures of royal life.”

Nate shifted his weight as the words sliced through him. His role in the royal court was something he felt unprepared for, and Stephen was using that to his advantage. “This was a mistake.”

“No kidding,” Stephen snapped.

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