02. FATHER KNOWS BEST

Instead of getting back together with Kyle to sit down and form a plan to get to the bottom of this blackmailing madness, for the past couple of days, Aiden has kept himself busy by trying to drink his troubles away at home.

He had been enjoying the peace and quiet that comes from living alone, his large mansion being his safe place, but it all soon comes to an abrupt end thanks to the repetitive ringing of his doorbell.

"For the love of God, can I not have just a few days to myself?" Aiden slammed his drink down before going to answer the front door.

He was irritated because he hadn't been expecting any visitors today. On top of that, he hated when people dropped by his place unannounced.

Finally reaching the door, Aiden swung it open ready to tell whoever it was to go back to wherever the hell they came from, but he had to stop himself at the last second because, much to his surprise, his parents and Kyle stood on the other side of the door. Each of them had concerned looks on their faces, excluding his father who mostly looked disgusted by the depressive looking appearance of his son.

"My God, you look like hell," Thomas said. "And your eyes... It's almost noon, how are you already wasted? When's the last time you consumed something other than alcohol? Or better yet, when's the last time you showered? I can smell you from here."

"A simple hello would have sufficed," Aiden sharply replied.

Thomas said nothing in return as he pushed past Aiden to enter the house.

"Will you two ever get along?" Lydia asked her troubled son before following her husband.

"It's not me," Aiden muttered under his breath. "It's Thomas."

Aiden couldn't recall the last time he called Thomas father or dad out loud. Their relationship has been strained for years, neither of them knowing how exactly to repair it. Their downfall began when Thomas forced Aiden to take over the family business after he retired. Having Aiden run the company that he built from nothing had always been Thomas' dream. It'd been something that Thomas had always wanted to see come to fruition, but it was also something that Aiden never wanted.

A few years after Aiden graduated high school, not wanting his son to be further led down the wrong path by people who didn't have his best interest, Thomas had given Aiden a harsh ultimatum: learn the ins and outs of the business so that he'd be capable of running Grayson Ent., or indefinitely be cut off financially.

Aiden's mother didn't like her husband's aggressive request, but she also didn't do much to offer any alternatives for Aiden.

At the time, the choice that he needed to make had been obvious to Aiden.

He'd been living quite carelessly after leaving high school; for years, instead of being productive and doing something with his life, Aiden chose to mess around and embrace his dark side. He kept his circle small and only hung out with people like him – other spoiled rich assholes. Not really knowing what he wanted to do with his life, it was easy for Aiden to slip into that 'I don't give a fuck about anything or anyone; I'll do whatever I want' lifestyle when he had instant access to his parent's money and was rarely ever told no.

That all changed, however, when Thomas gave him that ultimatum and threatened to take everything that Aiden loved away. That meant goodbye to the endless cashflow, goodbye to the exclusive parties that were invitation-only, goodbye to the high-quality booze and drugs, and goodbye to all the groupies who stuck to him like glue simply because he was handsome and rich.

To at least remain financially stable, Aiden had no choice but to accept defeat and accept his father's request. Since then, to get back at the old man purely out of spite, Aiden has made it his mission to piss his father off every chance that he could get. Was it childish of him? Yes. But, at the same time, Aiden felt like Thomas deserved to feel his wrath.

Thomas wanted him to play the part – CEO of Grayson Enterprise – so badly that he didn't care what Aiden's desires were, never once cared enough to even ask.

From the moment he was born, Thomas had wanted Aiden to grow up and be just like him. For years, Thomas tried his hardest to groom and prep Aiden for the corporate world despite him wanting nothing to do with it. It wasn't until Thomas gave Aiden that ridiculous ultimatum that what little was left of their cordial relationship finally fizzled away.

In bits and pieces, Aiden still remembered Thomas' speech from that day:

"I've had enough of your bullshit, Aiden James! The way that you've been carrying yourself is completely unacceptable. Your mother and I will not tolerate you acting like this for any longer. You've given the media too much entertainment; You're embarrassing the family. It's time for you to stop acting like a child, and it's time for you to finally grow up and be a man. If you don't cut out all the partying, the drugs, the drinking, and the fast women and take responsibility and do what you were meant to do, then I have no other choice but to cut you off, indefinitely."

Aiden knew that Thomas had been serious that day. Thomas only ever called his son Aiden James, first and middle name, whenever he was pushed too far.

Aiden ultimately took the threat seriously and straightened out, just a little bit. Thomas, later on, made Kyle the CFO of the company, Aiden's right-hand man, to help balance things out because he knew how much of a slacker that Aiden could be at times.

Kyle had always been ready to go from day one when it came to him working at Grayson Enterprise. He was always at Thomas' beck and call and had been watching him run things for years. He knew the business inside and out and he admired Thomas immensely. In all reality, it's thanks to Kyle that the company hasn't gone to hell yet.

Aiden made some successful deals here and there, but he was merely just a face to go with the name, the face of the brand, whereas Kyle was the one that really ran the company. Kyle was the son that Thomas wished he'd had; that's a thought that Aiden has always carried around with him.

Kyle – a responsible, brainy, do-gooder – was the complete opposite of Aiden. And, unbeknownst to Kyle, Aiden secretly envied him and the perfect relationship that he had with Thomas. He still does. Aiden couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how close the two were. Kyle and Thomas shared the same interests and goals, the same likes and dislikes. At times, Aiden felt like a stranger around them. Felt like he just didn't belong.

Regardless, Aiden could never hate Kyle. He considered him to be his brother despite the fact that they weren't biologically related.

Aiden and Kyle had been friends since the fourth grade. They lived near each other and basically grew up together. Kyle later became a permanent part of Aiden's family after his parents overdosed one day, and with no one around to keep him from going into the foster system, Aiden's parents stepped up and took Kyle in.

In another life, had Kyle actually been Aiden's biological brother, Aiden was a thousand percent sure that Thomas would have named Kyle CEO instead of him.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they're here today because of you." Aiden glared at Kyle. "You told them about the blackmailing thing, didn't you?" Kyle remained silent. Aiden groaned in displeasure. "You did. I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. You always run and tell them everything about me."

"What else was I supposed to do, Aiden?" Kyle asked, sounding apologetic. "You keep saying that you want to get to the bottom of this and yet you're here at home getting wasted. Somebody needs to take control of the situation since you won't."

Aiden scoffed. "Yeah, whatever."

"You seriously need some help, man. The type of help that I don't think I can give you," Kyle said. "Help that you can't even give yourself because you're too busy getting drunk off your ass."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Had I wanted them to know what was going on with me, I'd have called them and told them my damn self, Kyle. You shouldn't have gotten them involved."

Done arguing, Kyle entered the house without saying another word. Aiden slammed the front door behind him and then stormed into the kitchen where everyone else was.

"Your brother is just looking out for you, Aiden." Thomas scowled at his son. "Stop being such a brat and try being grateful for a change."

"Damn. As old as you are, I figured your hearing wouldn't be so sharp," Aiden teased. "Eavesdropping is rude, by the way."

"Are you even the least bit concerned about what's happening, son?" Lydia stared at him with a worried look on her face, breaking Aiden's heart. "A person threatens your life and is trying to blackmail you for millions, saying that they're carrying your child for heaven's sake, and this is how you react – so nonchalant? Why? I don't understand."

It stung to hear how distraught his mother sounded. Being a disappointment to Thomas was nothing compared to being one to his mother, someone who has genuinely only ever wanted the best for him.

"Would anyone like a drink?" Aiden cleared his throat, trying to change the subject. "I have orange juice, apple juice..."

"To hell with that, Aiden! Get a fucking grip, why don't you?" Thomas shouted, vividly irritated. "At least pretend to be a little concerned with what's going on here."

"I'd be concerned if I thought I was in real danger. You're all freaking out over nothing!" Aiden replied, coolly. "I know Kyle runs and tells you everything that's going on with me, so you should know that this isn't the first time that something like this has happened to me and it surely won't be the last. I'm sure this is just some woman that I probably upset because I cut her out of my life. I'll find out who it is, and then I'll deal with her. It's that simple. I got it all planned out."

"Stop lying to yourself, Aiden. You don't have anything planned out," Kyle said. "You don't even know where to start with this! Just admit that you don't know what to do and that you need help. That's why we're here! So, please, let us help you."

"You may think that I don't give a rat's ass about you, but I actually do care." Thomas looked Aiden dead in the eyes, wanting to make sure Aiden knew that he wasn't playing around. "You can take this threat lightly all you want, but I won't. No one threatens me or my family, I don't care how small or severe the situation is. I'm going to do something about this mess since you couldn't care less."

"Humor me, Thomas. What exactly are you going to do?" Aiden asked, sounding bored.

"First things first, I hired you your own personal bodyguard," Thomas answered. "His name is Julian McAndrew and he's the best in his field. If anyone can keep your irresponsible ass from getting shot, drugged, or kidnapped by some crazed psycho that you somehow managed to piss off, it's him."

"I'm a little drunk right now; I don't think I heard you correctly. You said you hired me a... what?"

"A bodyguard," Thomas repeated more slowly. "A highly skilled one at that."

Within seconds, Aiden was fully enraged.

"What the fuck! How old am I all of a sudden – five? I can't believe you seriously went out and hired someone to babysit me. This is so fucking stupid."

"Please don't fight with him about this, Aiden. It's for your own safety!" His mother jumped in.

Kyle added, "Do you remember that time when you were in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time and your car got shot at? You could've easily died that night."

"But I didn't!" Aiden snapped.

"Yeah, thanks to Marcus Ballard, the previous bodyguard that you had and fired for no good reason," Kyle countered back.

"Look, Julian and I have already worked out a payment plan, so you needn't worry about any of that. It's all been taken care of," Thomas cut back into the conversation just as Aiden's head began to swirl from the rage that slowly started to consume him. "I've already briefed him on the situation and he knows that he's required to stay by your side at all times until we find out who this anonymous maniac is and eliminate them. Also, you should probably start cleaning up one of the rooms upstairs because he's moving in with you."

As angry as Aiden felt, he could do nothing at that moment but laugh like he'd lost his damn mind.

"Even at twenty-six years old, you still manage to treat me like a child!" Aiden yelled. "When did I ever say that I wanted a bodyguard? No one has asked me, not even once, about what I fucking wanted. No one has asked me if I'm okay with some stranger moving into my damn house. I didn't sign off on a damn thing and I definitely don't agree to any of this, so how dare you come over here and tell me that this is what's going to happen? No! Take your fucking bodyguard back and go home because I don't want him here."

"I wouldn't have to treat you like a child if only you'd stop acting like one, Aiden James!" Thomas stormed over to Aiden and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, shaking him a little. "For once in your life be smart and accept the help that others are offering you. I love you, Aiden. You are my son and because I don't want anything to happen to your stupid reckless ass, I hired you a bodyguard to keep you safe. When all this is over, you can fire him for all I care. But, for now, until further notice, Julian is going to be your second shadow. He's going to be your protector. You need protection, so you'd better get used to him being around. Now, have I made myself clear?"

Once again being placed in a situation where he felt pressured to give in, knowing what all was at stake if he didn't, Aiden reluctantly bowed down. He shut down completely, and he let Thomas win.

"Yes," Aiden muttered in defeat. "Crystal fucking clear."

. . .

This is only an excerpt. The full book can be read on Ream Stories for free. Link in bio.

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