Page 54 of Doctor Bossy

GRIFFIN

Becca yelled and immediately dove to the side of the bed to try and fetch the blanket that had fallen over. She was unsteady on her knees and nearly slipped right off the bed too, but I grabbed her by the waist, steadying her. She was still desperately reaching for the blanket, but I quickly turned her over so that her front was on the bed, grabbed the blanket from the floor, and threw it over her.

Then I turned around to face my son.

James’ face was turning a very unpleasant shade of red, the same way he looked as a child right as he was about to throw a tantrum.

And I had a feeling that whatever he did now would put all those childhood tantrums to shame.

“What the fuck is this, Dad?” he demanded, his charged words landing like bombs in the quiet room.

I got out of bed, unbothered by my son seeing my nudity. I walked to the closet to grab a bathrobe, calmly putting it on as I said,“Let’s go outside and talk.”

“Talk about what?” His voice was high, getting thin in his anger. “The fact that you’re in here fucking my fiancée?”

“Ex-fiancée,” I reminded him. “You effectively ended your engagement after you cheated on her and leaked her nudes.”

“And then what, that gave you the right to move in on my territory?” James looked behind me to Becca, who had not made a sound. “Is that what this is then? Some sort of revenge power play? I fuck Laura, and then you fuck my father? Is that it?”

“Laura?” I frowned, remembering the woman who had been my PA some years ago. I’d had to fire her after she made one too many advances on me. “That’s who you cheated on Becca with?”

“Yeah.” His chin came up with a glint of challenge. “Yeah, that’s who I fucked. She moved on from you and wanted me. Do you have a problem with that, Dad?”

His last sentence told me everything I needed to know. I sighed, finally understanding a little of what was going on here. It was a pity. It seemed my son ruined his engagement and slept with another woman in a weird bid to get back at me for something. And I knew what that something was.

After all this time, he was still trying to punish me for his mother’s death.

“What happened between Becca and me has nothing to do with that or to do with the end of your engagement,” I explained, hoping my son would see reason but knowing it was likely he wouldn’t. “We’re two adults enjoying each other’s company, and frankly, you forfeited the right to ask about her life or be involved in discussions thereof when you broke your promises to her. She owes you nothing now.”

“Oh, don’t give me that,” James snarled. “You’re just giving me this bullshit to make what you’ve done okay. But hear this, it is not and will never be okay, understand? You’re fucking my fiancée, and it was that fucking bitch who called off our engagement, not me.”

“Language,” I growled, feeling a dangerous fury rise at the way he spoke about Becca. “You will not disrespect Becca in my home. Understand?”

His eyes widened, and incredulity filled his gaze. “Are you kidding me? I’m your son.”

“You are, and I taught you better than to talk like that about a lady, at least in front of me. So you will show Becca some respect right now, or the two of us will have a serious problem.”

I watched his gaze change slightly, that childish rebellion returning in full force, and knew very quickly that we were going to have a problem. My son was not the type to back down from a fight, especially one he was sure to win. He was also the type to enjoy pushing my buttons, trying to see how far he could take it until I eventually lost my temper and ended up feeling guilty for betraying my promise to my late wife. I always ended up giving in to him in the end because it was easier than dealing with the guilt, but not this time.

Because my son was about to find out that when it came to certain things, I was even more determined than he was.

And as far as I was concerned, Becca was now mine.

I cared about her more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t know how or why, but I knew that I would always protect her, and I was ready to end whoever hurt her right then and there, no questions asked.

Even James, when he stepped up to me, looked me right in the eye, and said, “Or what?”

I took a deep breath. Even though his blatant provocation was irritating, I tried to be the adult in the situation.He’s hurt,I rationalized.Yes,he mistreated her, but some part of him must still have some affection for Becca, or at least a part of him views her as his. This entire thing blindsided him the way it did you.

“Look,” I said, keeping my tone calm and reasonable. “I understand that this must be very difficult for you to stomach. To be honest, it’s not a relationship I understand entirely too. But it is something that Becca and I have, and, like it or not, we will continue for the foreseeable future. So you can be angry at me, and I will completely understand if you are. You can even swear at me, hit me, or do whatever it is you need to do to get it off your chest. I can understand that. But the one thing I will not let you do is insult or hurt her any more than you already have. So you will respect her and take out whatever anger you have on me. Do you understand?”

I needn’t have bothered.

Just as I thought, none of my speech penetrated his thick skull. I could tell from the mocking smirk that crossed his lips that James had not one care for civility and only wanted to do the one thing I asked him not to do even before he began talking.

“You know what I understand?” he said. “I understand that life is a little funny sometimes in how it chooses to reveal people’s character. Because while I always thought you were a wise man, above all the depravity of this world, I can see that you’re still just an old fool easily misled by Jezebels like her. Even a nobody like this stupid, poor, gold-digging, bi—”

The blow came out of nowhere, shocking even me.

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