Page 156 of Scandalous

I chuckle. “God, could you imagine?”

Father sputters, turning purple.

“You should probably get checked out by a doctor. That coloring is not normal,” Ezra says.

“You. Sold. Them?” he says, ignoring my best friend’s antics.

I stand and shove my hands into my pockets. “Your call was the final straw. I’m sick of playing these games with you and I’m done. You’ve been nothing but an asshole my entire life, belittling me, making me feel less than worthy. Why in the hell would I cave and give you exactly what you want?”

“I’ll fight it. The board won’t support the sale.”

Ezra stands with a smile. “Drake got the approval from the majority of the shareholders, making the sale go through. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, you can do to change it. The sale is airtight. How does it feel to be bested by your son?”

“I have no son. Now get out.”

“With pleasure.” I sneer.

Walking out of the office, I leave the door open.

“Anna,” he roars from behind us.

“Bye,” she whispers as she scurries by.

The office is dead silent as we walk down the hall. Everyone looking at us as we walk by.

“Nosy bastards,” Ezra says under his breath.

Stepping into the elevator, Ezra hits the button to go down to the bottom floor. As soon as the doors shut I relax into the wall. I never realized how tense I was while I was in there, while people were looking.

“Are you all right?” Ezra asks after a minute.

“I will be.”

“It’s for the best,” he says as he turns toward me.

He leans against the wall, hands in his pockets, ankles crossed. I turn, mimicking his stance.

“I know it is.”

“I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a realtor. Do you want to go, or would you like me to cancel?”

I look over Ezra’s shoulder as I think about it. I fucking hate this city, and after today, have no desire to ever come back. At the same time though, my grandfather had that house built for me in hopes that someday I would come back and take over. It’s the only home I’ve ever had even though I don’t live there.

Am I ready to part with it?

“You don’t have to list it today, but you can listen to what she has to say,” Ezra says quietly.

“Let’s do it. I’ll hear her out, then make a decision after.”

“I’ll let her know we’re on our way.”

Thirty-Five

With my feet in the pool, I strum the guitar as I stare at the artificial waterfall in front of me. I don’t know why but when I woke up, I knew change was coming. Is it because we’re all settling in and finding our groove with Aurora? Is it because Drake is finally cutting his family off? Who knows. Either way, something’s in the air and I don’t know what to think of it.

Part of me is worried about Drake and what’s to come. Will he regret signing over his shares to someone else? Another part of me is worried about the end of the summer. Logically I know Aurora has to go back to the city and finish school, and I could never condemn her for the fact, but I want to keep her with us.

I want to wake up every day sandwiched between my favorite people every morning. I want more nights like back in San Juan, where we were all lost in a sexual haze together. I want to stumble upon more afternoon quickies on the kitchen counter. I want it all, but I haven’t figured out how to achieve that yet.

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