Stolen:The Billionaire Deception(22)

"Shut up," I said. Grant laughed.



"Testy," he said as he poured us a glass of wine. Handing me one he said, "Tell me."



"Nope, I've been a terrible friend lately. You tell me about your night first."



He grinned a mischievous little grin and said, "Okay sure. Juniper and I had sex tonight for the first time … "



"I met James Hunter face to face tonight," I jumped in. He had done that   on purpose. He knew I wasn't going to want the details of that.



He laughed at my quick change and then he said, "Did the old thief recognize you?"



"No …  I don't know. He was mean, so maybe. But everyone who knows him   says that's just his normal, sunny personality, so maybe not."



"What did he say?"



"He made some rude insinuations that I was sleeping my way to the top.   He didn't say that in so many words, but he may as well have. He said it   right out in front of people. It was so embarrassing."



"Oh no, you poor thing. Did Seth hear him?"



This was the part I didn't really want to admit to Grant. I already knew   how he was going to respond. I tried to skip over that and I said, "I   met a man who might be able to help me though … "



"Wait! Back up! You completely ignored my question. Why don't you want to tell me if Seth heard what his father said?"



"Because it's embarrassing," I said. "His father so obviously scares him to death …  he's completely intimidated by him."



"So what did he say?"



"Nothing, really."



Grant slammed his glass down on the table in front of him and stood up.   "Are you freaking kidding me? That cowardly bastard just stood there  and  let you be insulted by his father? Please tell me you're joking!"



"Sit down, Grant …  please."



He sat down and said, "You know I just care about you. I can't stand the   thought of anyone being rude to you …  but for that man you have such   strong feelings for to not even stick up for you … "



"I know. I was as angry as you are."



"Was? What happened to make you less angry, because I think I'll need a   couple more bottles of wine before I can even consider that prospect."



"I'm still a little angry with him. But think about it, Grant. Think   about what it must have been like for him to grow up with that tyrant.   He was programmed to do things the way James wanted him to do and only   that way …  or I am sure there would have been consequences. Seth has a   good heart. His father has a black heart. They had to clash …  a lot."



"Or maybe they didn't. Maybe Seth just lets his father be the bad guy   and he sits back and gets the girls because they feel sorry for him.   Maybe he's got a good racket going. Or maybe you're just making excuses   for him."



With a sigh I said, "Okay, for now we'll let that part of the evening   lie. Let me tell you about the man that I met." I told him about Phillip   and our conversation.



"Are you sure you can trust him?"



"No, but he's really the best shot I have so far. He gives me a good   feeling and he had some really nice things to say about my family."



"Well that's good. I hope he can help. Maybe you won't need to hang around with that Seth guy any longer then."



I laughed, "I thought we were going to leave the Seth issue alone for now."



"I'm just really mad at that guy," he said.



"Well, I am too, a little. But, while I was hiding out in the study I   found some papers that I think might be important. I found out that my   father was suing James for a breach of confidentiality, and James was   suing him back for slander. I need to get more details, but I won't ever   get back into that study if I break up with Seth."         

     



 



"You plan on going back to that place?"



"First chance I get," I told him. He made a face at me and poured himself another glass of wine.









CHAPTER SEVENTEEN









SETH





The night after the ball ended, I didn't sleep a wink. It was after   midnight before the guests began leaving and I was exhausted. I told my   father he could go on back to the city and I would just stay at the   Hampton house for the night. It was my favorite house of them all,   because it had been my mother's favorite. I rarely stayed there any more   however because my father was there a lot and I avoided him as often  as  I could for obvious reasons. After everyone had finally gone I lay  down  and tried to close my eyes. When I did, all I could see was Erin's   face. It was a beautiful face and I loved looking at it, but tonight  she  had looked so hurt and so betrayed. I had completely failed her. I   stood there like a coward and let my father say ugly things to her and   about her and I did nothing. She had every right to be angry with me.   She had every right to never want to see me again. She had seen my true   colors. She'd seen how spineless I was when it came to my father.



I had been terrified of him my entire life. When my mother was alive,   she was a buffer between us. She was our go-between and I rarely had to   deal with him. The problem with that was once she'd passed away I had  no  idea how to talk to him or how to stand up to him. He doled out the   orders and I did what he said to do. I wasn't physically afraid of him …he'd never hurt me in that way. I wasn't even afraid when he made   threats to take away my inheritance. I had a good education. I knew how   competent I was, I could make a good living with or without him. I   wasn't going to pretend I didn't like the wealth and all that came with   it …  but I didn't depend on it. In spite of all of that, and in spite of   the fact that he never told me I'd done anything good or right, I  still  had this twisted sense of wanting to please him. Maybe I needed  therapy.



I tossed and turned until the sun came up and finally admitting that   sleep had eluded me, I got up and dressed for a jog. It was a cool   morning and I took off down the path behind the house that led towards   the bay. The garden my mother had planted and tended so lovingly was in   bloom and the air was perfumed with fresh aromas. I hit the stone path   and my feet began to pound out a rhythm. With each stride my thoughts   became clearer and I realized that this was exactly what I needed. I   also realized that I needed to stop letting my father set up camp in my   head. I was twenty-six years old. I couldn't remain under his thumb   forever. I thought about Erin. I wanted her in my life, not just today   or tomorrow …  I realized that I wanted her in my life forever. She was   the path to my future but she was also a strong, confident, independent   woman and if I didn't take control of my own life out of my father's   hands, I was going to lose her. I looked around at the acres of land and   the houses and the cars and the boats as I ran and I realized that I   would rather lose all of this and my position at Hunter Corp. than her.   Now all I had to do was convince her of that.



By the time I got back up to the house I was determined to do whatever I   had to in order to convince Erin she was more important to me than   anything else. I showered and dressed and headed to her apartment   unannounced. That in and of itself might annoy her, but I was afraid if I   called ahead, she would tell me not to come.



It was just after nine when I knocked on her door. I knocked a few times   before the door was finally pulled open by a man wearing nothing but a   long pair of basketball shorts. His face was unshaven and his hair   uncombed and the first thought I had when I saw him was that I was   already too late, she was already moving on.



"Can I help you?"



He was squinting at me, like it hurt to open his eyes. My best guess was   he had a hangover. I hope she didn't leave the party and go to a bar   and end up with this loser because of me. "I'm looking for Erin."



He ran his hand through his hair and squinted at me again. Then he scratched his chin and said, "Seth, I presume?"



The fact that he knew my name was encouraging. I didn't think she'd be discussing me with a man she'd only just met.



"Yes. Is Erin here?"



"No. But she'll be right back. Come on in. I'm Grant."



"Oh! The roommate."



He smiled, "Yeah, the roommate. Have a seat," he said, after I followed   him into a neat little living room. I sat down on the sofa and he said,   "You want some coffee?"