Page 19 of Bad Boy Husband
JAMESON
T hings had gotten a lot more heated with Sadie this afternoon than I had liked, and not in the way I would’ve liked for it to have gotten so heated. The girl had my head all messed up, my body on edge, and my insides twisted worse than a fucking pretzel.
I couldn’t even blame out of control hormones for it anymore. Nope, this was just the Sadie Shepard effect.
It had always been this way between us, all fire, passion, and raw honesty—even if she wouldn’t currently believe that the last part had always been true for me too. Back in the day, she’d been the one person I had ever opened up to completely.
My confidante. The girl who’d had my heart.
As I walked into Westwood and Sons HQ for my meeting with my father, I drew in a deep, steady breath and jammed the elevator call button with my thumb. I needed to get myself under control before I spoke to him.
I hadn’t been expecting to meet with him at all again today. Not after the way I’d stormed out of my mother’s sitting room earlier, but on the way to my townhouse, I’d received the summons.
Considering that I’d already had plans for how I was going to spend the rest of the day, usually I would have ignored him and rescheduled for tomorrow. Harlan, CC, Callum, and Laney had been the only people I’d told about our arrangement, though.
That meant one of them had to have told the Shepards and I was intent on finding out who and why. Outside of that, it had also worked out well that I’d had to leave for at least a few hours.
I had known Sadie and I were going to have our challenges. Our past was one of the things I’d expected to have to face. Just not on the same afternoon as I now also had to sort shit out with her brother. We were out of the frying pan now, though. Straight into the fucking fire.
My parents’ disapproval. Hooch being a giant instead of a puppy. Our breakup a decade ago. Old feelings. Trent. The future. How we’re going to manage all of this.
The first day had already thrown enough at us to make my head spin, but I walked into the elevator calmly when the doors opened and rode it up to the executive floor.
My father was behind his massive desk in his corner office, the city spread out behind him like it was his personal kingdom he was ruling over from above.
I shut the door behind me with a firm click, but I didn’t even wait for him to look up before I asked the most burning question. “Why did you run to the Shepards so soon if you don’t think Sadie is going to be a good addition to the family?”
“For starters, I didn’t know I’d be the one with the honor of sharing the news,” he said dryly. “Pardon me for thinking that your future in-laws would’ve known you’d asked for their daughter’s hand in marriage.”
I sighed. “So your first move was reaching out to a family you don’t like, to celebrate news you didn’t want to hear?”
As I turned to face him, he shrugged, eyes on mine.
I crossed the office and took a seat on the other side of his desk.
“I needed to know what I was working with, Jamie. As you just correctly pointed out, our family hasn’t always been on the best of terms with theirs, but apparently, we’re all planning a wedding together.
We had to extend an olive branch of sorts. Better sooner than later.”
“And your objections?” I asked, my head cocking. “Does this mean you withdraw them?”
Dad steepled his fingers on his chest as he leaned back in his chair. “Not entirely. We do still have some concerns about her reputation.”
“She’ll be my wife, Dad. That means she’ll be my responsibility, not yours. What she does will have no financial effect on the family. Only on me.”
Without even needing to say it, I knew that he understood what I meant. My little ticks had turned me into a pretty savvy investor, and at this point, I might even be worth more than Sterling. I just hadn’t ever felt the need to rub it in anyone’s face.
It was one of the few things in my life I was actually humble about. Dad lifted a silver eyebrow, clearly waiting for me to explain.
“I’ll make sure that she’s taken care of,” I said firmly. “Without giving away more money than I can afford while simultaneously ensuring that she’s able to support her foundation. It’s all about management. I can help her with that.”
“Causes like hers will always need more money, Jamie.” He sighed. “There are thousands of stray animals born every year in this city.”
“I know, but there are plenty of organizations doing the same work she is. It’s not only up to her. I intend on encouraging her to explore other avenues of acquiring funding as well. You know as well as I do that it takes money to make mon?—”
“What are your real reasons for choosing to marry Sadie Shepard?” he asked, cutting me off like he’d been waiting for me to answer his actual question and had finally run out of patience. “Be honest with me, Jameson.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your real reasons,” he repeated calmly. “You should know that your brother talked. Callum spoke to your mother and?—”
“She tells you everything,” I finished for him. A soft groan escaped me. “Fucking Callum.”
Dad chuckled. “He thought he was doing you a favor, my boy. They heard our little altercation this morning, and when Laney went to take a nap, he tracked your mother down to set her straight. I believe those were his exact words. He said something about us only knowing Troy and Claira on a surface level and that we shouldn’t believe everything we hear about Sadie since we haven’t heard her side of the story. ”
“Well, to be fair, you haven’t,” I said. “You have no idea what they’ve put her through over the years.”
“There are many who would argue that people don’t know what we’ve put all of you through either, yet none of you have squandered all your money.”
“She hasn’t squandered it though. It’s not like she gambled it away or sniffed it up her nose. She didn’t buy a fleet of yachts in every color to match her shoes or throw lavish parties in exotic destinations until there was nothing left.”
“So you expect me to believe that she spent literal millions in a fiscally responsible way, feeding animals no one else wants and paying for their medical care?”
“Perhaps not in the most fiscally responsible way,” I conceded, because I knew how to pick my battles.
“She could’ve employed a financial advisor to invest some of that money in order to replenish her accounts instead of just draining them, but yes.
That’s what she spent the money on. I don’t expect you to believe it coming from me.
I’m sure you’ve already asked someone to do a deep dive on her. ”
“My investigation will prove what you’re saying to be true?”
I nodded. “Undoubtedly. She’s a philanthropist at heart who saw her trust fund as a way to do real work, and that’s what she did.”
“Why would her parents take it away from her, then?”
“They didn’t like what she was doing or how she’s been living her life, so they cut her off in an attempt to gain control of her. In Trent’s words, they wanted to force her to marry someone of their choosing to bring her back into the fold.”
After a thoughtful pause, Dad shrugged. “Why is she so important when they have Trent as Troy’s heir?”
My eyebrows shot up, aggravation shooting through me even as hurt curdled in my stomach. “Wow, thanks a lot, Dad.”
He sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t intend to take a dig at you, Jameson.
All of you boys will get what’s coming to you, even if Sterling will be the one to take over as CEO when I retire.
I’m trying to look at this from the Shepards’ point of view.
Why would they be so offended by the way Sadie has chosen to live when she’s not the one who will be inheriting their family business anyhow? ”
I shook my head. “You’ll have to ask them. I honestly don’t know.”
He hummed at the back of his throat and refocused on me, but the way he was suddenly acting made unease tighten my gut. “Maybe I will ask them, but how well do you really know Trent? How much do you trust him?”
I scoffed. “We’ve been friends for twenty years, Dad. I practically lived on that ranch all through high school and college. Why would you even ask me that?”
“Well, apparently, Troy and Claira have barely spoken to Sadie in years. Trent has been the one keeping tabs on her.”
“He’s one of my oldest friends,” I reiterated. “I plan on handling the tension this has created between us like men, but in the meantime, I really do believe that this is the best thing for Sadie, and for myself.”
Harlan still seemed skeptical, which made me wonder if something else was going on, but he didn’t give me the chance to ask. “Very well. I want to see a prenup by the end of the week. The Shepards are coming to our dinner on Friday so we can all sit down as a family.”
Shock radiated through me. I nodded but left his office feeling decidedly uneasy. Something seemed to be going on, but ultimately, I could only pay attention to so many things at any one time. Right then, Sadie and making sure she got through this unscathed was my priority.
I would find out what my dad was up to eventually, but for now, I stopped next to my assistant’s desk on my way into my own office.
“I want the lawyers here within the hour. Tell them to come prepared. None of us are leaving until I’ve got what I need, and I’d really like to get home at a decent time tonight. ”