Page 14 of How to Break My Heart 1

Me

And?

The screen flashes with a call, but I hit decline and then quickly type a message.

Me

I’m in a meeting

Little Brat

Anyone hot in the room?

Me

Go away. I’ll call you later.

I place my phone back in my pocket and focus on the topic at hand. Just as I’m about to tell Chalmers to cut the bullshit, the door opens, and everyone turns their heads.

Lo and behold—it’s the king himself.

My father.

All the men at the table straighten their shoulders. Will and I are the only ones who seem unperturbed by his presence. It’s his same old routine. He’ll stroll into the boardroom all high-and-mighty to scare the team into doing thingshisway. Then, he’ll leave to play golf with his billionaire so-called friends while we are left to clean up the mess.

Then there is my mother, who’s somewhere in Europe at some wellness clinic she checked herself into. My parents have the most dysfunctional marriage, which probably explains why I don’t do the whole relationship thing. There’s never been any woman I would want to spend all my time with. No matter how much they get me off in bed.

“I see we are having another unproductive meeting,” myfather immediately reprimands everyone in attendance. I gather he read my frustrated expression the moment he set foot in the room. “Chalmers, you setting these young ones straight?”

“I’m trying, Beaumont. They’re too caught up in the digital future,” Chalmers mutters.

I clench my hand into a fist, trying to control my fury over my father’s innate lack of consideration for the hardworking people in this room.Chalmers excluded.

Nepotism has nothing to do with the fact that I worked, and continue to work, my ass off. I’ve dedicated every waking moment to this company to prove I could take over the role of CEO despite others thinking they were better than me. I started at the bottom, learning everything I could to prepare myself.

Since I was promoted last year, our profits have exceeded our projected forecasts, and the value of our investments has skyrocketed. I pride myself on my ability to get things done, despite my father warning me failure is not an option.

“Is there a reason you have graced us with a visit?” I challenge my father with a raised brow. “I’m sure there is a golf club calling your name.”

My father’s counterfeit smile comes as no surprise. “My, my… the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, now, does it, son?”

He knows exactly how to get to me. How to manipulate me into thinking I’m just like him. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a fate worse than turning into my father. I’m here because he placed an ultimatum on me a long time ago. An ultimatum that included taking over the family empire. It was either me or Madelina. I knew exactly what went on behind the scenes of his empire. It’s nothing but a damn boys’ club—plain and simple. There’s no way in hell I would subject my sister to that kind of environment.

Late-night board meetings with aged whiskey, cigars, and inappropriate conversation about female employees. Most of the men are married, yet never shy to admit just how much money they spend on their mistresses.

The more money they make, the more power they assume they have over women.

So I did everything demanded of me to fulfill the position of CEO for the Beaumont Group. I spent my summer before college in London working at one of my father’s offices. As soon as the summer ended, I went straight to Stanford to study business and economics.

Those years feel like a blur. I’d cram all week with classes and studying, then spend weekends trying to escape the pressure by drinking at whatever party was being held around me. In so many ways, life was simpler back then.

Now, as much as humanly possible, I limit interaction with my father. I manage this company, keep my personal life separate, and ensure we deliver the numbers to please him. He may be the patriarch of our family and this company, but it’ll be mine one day. All I need to do is persevere and ignore his need for control.

He likes to think he knows what goes on, but the truth is, I’m the master at playing his game. I know the old man too well and have outsmarted his controlling nature many times.

“Chalmers was just wrapping up,” I insist. “So, it’s agreed we will increase our budget for the project to keep our platform competitive. By doing so, we have confidence from our investors that our launch dates will stick to the agreed-upon timeline. Is there anything else anyone would like to add before we finish?”

“I agree,” Will speaks up while staring directly into my father’s eyes. “Confidence is key. We deliver this, and moving forward, we will have no issues securing investors for our next project.”