Page 95 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

“Get out of this wing, now. And out of this house while you’re at it.”

“Absolutely not. My father owned this estate, and I don’t give a damn that he changed his will leaving it to you instead of me. I’m sure you swayed him in that direction.”

“You’re a greedy fucker, so I’m sure that has more to do with it.” I snarled back. It only took a second and my cool was gone. In its place was someone that wanted to make my father hurt.

“Boys,” Mother tried to place a hand on my arm. I shifted out of the way before she could. “Enough of this hostility.”

“Why are you here?” I demanded. I wasn’t here to play games with them.

“We were supposed to host a charity ball at our house. Unfortunately, the renovations were not finished in time.”

“And that involves me how?” I gritted my teeth so tight I thought they’d crack.

“Well, we couldn’t hold it there. Not looking like that, so of course we’ll hold it here.”

“Of course nothing, Mother. This is my house. You need to go.”

“Darling, we can’t.” Mother gave a dainty shrug of her shoulders. “We’ve already told everyone we moved it here. How would it look if we didn’t attend our own party?”

“I don’t care. Cancel it.”

“Jaxon, it’s done. Whether you like it or not, there will be people here for our charity ball in the next twenty-four hours. It’s our turn to host this year.” My mother gave me an empty smile. “Unless you’d like to step up and host in our place. I’m sure Jessamine would love to do it with you. The two of you make such a dynamic couple.”

My parents donated money when it suited them. They held charity events because they determined the positive attention it brought was worth it. And their friends took turns hosting events like this for the hottest charity of the season. It was ridiculous.

I grunted. I wanted nothing to do with this event, but I could tell by the steely glint in her eyes, my mother wasn’t kidding. She would have people show up even if they weren’t there, just to spite me.

“If you will not leave then you will do as I say and get out of this wing. Now.”

“Jaxon, be reasonable.” My father finally spoke up, his bored tone making me want to punch him.

“I will not tell you again. If you do not find another set of rooms to stay in, I will put a cardboard sign on the gate to the house saying you canceled the event.”

Mother gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

“Try me.”

“You are an ungrateful son of a bitch.” Father spat. He stood in front of me, shorter by three inches, trying to intimidate me with his tone and proximity. It wasn’t going to work.

“You’re the ungrateful one. Both of you will be out of here by Monday morning. If you’re not, I’ll call the cops and have you removed.”

I dialed Paul’s number. “Paul, my parents are ready to leave the West wing. I could use help moving their things to the Opal suite.”

“On it. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop them.” Regret laced each word.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It’s not your fault.”

***

AN HOUR LATER, EXHAUSTEDand in a terrible mood, I secured my parents in the Opal suite.

I opened my bedroom door only to have a large brawny body turn toward me. I couldn’t tell if he was about to frisk me or put me in a choke hold. “What the fuck?”

All I wanted was to take a shower and get a few hours of sleep before I saw Lily and let her know we were about to be invaded. Apparently, that was too much to hope for.

“Back off, Alden. It’s just Jax.” Jess said from the other side of the room. She was curled up on my sofa with a glass of amber liquid. Her long ebony hair draped over her shoulder, and her amber eyes watched me curiously.

The guy seemed a little too possessive for Jess, but who was I to tell her who to date? I stuck my hand out. “You must be Jess’s boyfriend.”