Page 92 of No Longer Safe

“You’re the second oldest to the Cristof fortune, you know the ins and outs of this business almost as well as Ace does. If something were to happen to him, everything would fall to you.”

Yes, I’d been groomed as a second my entire life. I knew this, what was he getting at?

He slid a familiar navy blue folder across the mahogany desk. I didn’t bother with even touching it, I knew what it held. “In this folder, you will find a handful of suitable women for you to choose from.”

“Excuse me?” He knew I was seeing Audrey. Everyone knew I was seeing Audrey. This was a sick joke, it had to be.

One of his dark brows inched up his forehead. “I understand that this isn’t exactly ideal but you’re extremely fortunate that I’m even giving you a choice.” He shrugged as if none of this mattered. Like my future was just some thing he could toy with because he was bored. “My marriage to your mother was arranged.”

I could no longer hold back my words. My lips twisted with them. “And look at how that turned out.”

He sighed and steepled his fingers in front of him. “I’ve allowed this to go on long enough. Audrey Wilde is nothing. Has nothing. Will never be anything.” His voice wasn’t loud or harsh but it cut like a knife. It was just as cold as his eyes—his heart.

I pushed the folder back toward my father’s side of the desk and shook my head. “I’ve made things official with Audrey. I want to be with her, long-term. I don’t need this folder. I don’t need who you’ve chosen. She is the best that there is for me. She will be something. She is already everything.” I laughed. I couldn’t believe I was laughing in his face. I thought this time would come a lot later down the road. When I envisioned telling my father tofuck offit wasn’t like this. I wanted more time so I could establish more money, but I had enough. I didn’t need anything more.

He leaned forward and sneered. “Like I said, I let this go on for long enough. I should have known better than approving a girl likeherto be allowed around this family. I should have known better than to allow you to act like a spoilt child all these years but here we are. You have a responsibility to your family—to this fortune.”

“I don’t need your fortune.” It was time. “I don’t need you and you can fuck off with all yourfortune.I don’t want it.”

“You will be satisfied with having nothing, Son?” He seemed bored. I’d expected more of a reaction with my language but he sat there like I hadn’t said anything.

“I have everything I need. I’ve been buying properties, strip clubs, restaurants, and the like since I graduated from University. I have more money than most people would know what to do with. I do not need yours.”

Father wasn’t phased. He picked up the folder and thumbed through it. He gazed over the papers at me and lifted another petulant brow. “You will go through these women and you willfind yourself a bride. If you don’t, I will. And then I will take care of Audrey on my own terms.”

Mother liked Audrey, was this what it was all about? He hated how much everyone liked her and he didn’t have a shred of happiness or joy in his heart? All he cared about was money, he’d made that abundantly clear growing up in his absence and then his wrath.

“What’s wrong with me wanting to be with Audrey if Ace is with Carina?” They were practically sisters, not by blood, but by everything else. If Carina was good enough for Ace, why wasn’t Audrey good enough for me? What was she missing?

He snapped the folder shut, pushed it back toward me, and clenched his jaw. Rage bled into his gaze. “Carina shouldn’t have been allowed to slip through the cracks. I didn’t know Ace was ondating sites,” He spat. “So I entertained this slip-up. But I refuse to entertain another. Old money doesn’t marry the poor and unfortunate. Old money marries old money or they marry new. It is how it’s done. It’s all about political alliances and if you can’t see that then I failed at raising you correctly.”

“And if I say no?” I’d been rebelling all of my life. What was one more rebellion?

His eyes twinkled with mirth. “Say no and your little Audrey Wilde will disappear from the face of this earth.” My blood ran cold. I should have known better than to think his method of making her disappear was paying her off. No, he would have her killed.

“What do you say, Son?” I pulled the folder off of his desk and straightened from the chair I’d been sitting in for far too long and sneered down at the man I hated more than anything else in the world.

“I will look into these options,” I held up the folder and left my father sitting at his desk.

An arranged marriagewasn’t frowned upon when it came to old money. In fact, it was a very common practice but for the sake of the tabloids and the businesses we ran, arranged marriages were hush, hush. If a real marriage blossomed from it, wonderful, but if it didn’t it wasn’t a harm or a foul. It just was what it was. Expanding reach and money was all that mattered even if you had more of it than you knew what to do with. We didn’t need more reach, we didn’t need more money, but when you lived in greed it was the only thing that filled your dark, rotting heart. My driver opened the door to my right and Audrey slid right in.

The night air blew into the car and I fought the shiver. Winter would be on its way soon. Audrey was wrapped in a thick coat that hid an elegant dress for tonight’s function, leather boots cut off at the ankle, and her hair was curled around her face. She was breathtaking, radiant. I moved the folder to the floor and she smiled. Her nose was pink from the cold and her cheeks were flushed. I wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss the rosy color but I couldn’t do that to myself and I certainly couldn’t do that to her, not when I knew I would be breaking her heart. This was easily going to be the worst thing I’d ever done and I didn’t even know how to do it. I’d never broken up with someone before. I’d never had such strong feelings like this before either, but here we were at the end of the rope.

“What’s that?” She pulled her gloves from her fingers and wrapped her hands around mine. I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the feeling of her skin against mine. I could be selfish for a minute.

“A project my father has me working on, it’s not a big deal.”

But it was the biggest deal. It was monumental.

She made a funny face. “Since when do you work with your father?”

“Since tonight, apparently. It’s why I was late. My father doesn’t care about anyone else’s timeframes.”

Audrey nodded.

“Are you okay?” Her voice broke through all of my thoughts. I didn’t want to do this.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “This has been really fun.” I guessed that was the best way to start.

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