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Nolan

"Y ou have to divorce her." She was slightly leaning against my desk, dressed impeccably as always in a black Chanel suit that made her look thinner than she already was.

I sighed and closed the door. "Hi mom." I should have told my assistant not to let her in, but this is Jacqueline Hawthorne we are talking about. She probably marched into the office without bothering speaking to my assistants.

"She is one of the worst people I know, and she will destroy your reputation." Mom shook her head vigorously. "No. You can't do it. You obviously made a mistake. "

"So no niceties?"

She cooed, floated over to me, and blew two air kisses on both sides of my neck. "How are you, darling?"

"Fine. How was Greece?"

"Well, I had to cut my trip short because of the news!" Her Greek accent thickened at the last word. It was normally barely detectable, especially after spending so much time in the US. It was now a mix between a transatlantic and Yankee accent, however, now and then, especially when she was angry, the Greek in her would jump out.

"At first I thought it was a lie, something the tabloids cooked up. Then I heard you and Burgess had reached a deal and I knew I had to talk to you. That wrinkly old man forced you to marry his scandalous slut of a daughter, didn't he?"

"It was a mutually beneficial decision, mother," I said. "I went into this with eyes wide open, but thank you for the concern."

She scrunched her face. "This is not good, Nolan. I don't think you understand what is happening here. That man has a trick up his sleeve and he's using you."

My mother loved her conspiracy theories. Not the insane aliens kidnapping people and probing them in the middle of the night type of theories. More the ones that were along the lines of what was happening to the Hawthornes and the family company. I don't know how many times now she has sent me a news article that suggested Damien was trying to steal the company from under us.

"That wrinkly old man is so close to his grave I don't think he has the energy to concoct some three-D chess move."

She scoffed, looked me over like I was dumb, and began pacing around the office. "Did you know that she's tried to kill her boyfriend? She might try the same."

Ah yes, the infamous drug overdose scandal. It was interesting how that incident was the one that stuck to Aelin and not the myriad of her other scandals. "She didn't poison him. He overdosed."

"On drugs she gave him."

"That's what he claims. I wouldn't trust a disgruntled ex."

She stopped mid step and turned to face me. "But have any of your exes been accused of such? That is the point, Nolan. She's a destructive force and I will not have the likes of her near you."

"Funny. That's what you said about Poppy Gardner."

"That's because she wanted your money. I can spot a gold digger a mile away. Their family estate is a money pit and her family was going to bleed you dry. But even Poppy would have been a better choice than Aelin Burgess. At least she's the daughter of a lord. "

I could have brought up plenty of other women I dated she hated on sight but I let the matter drop. "It's temporary, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh. Okay. So why did you agree? If it's thecompany, you could have gotten it after he died."

"I have to do it this year. And yes, even though he is close to dying, I am not a fortune teller. I don't know when he might die. He has access to the world's best medication."

"This year." I saw the importance of the date click for her. She was possibly the only person who understood why I was in such a rush to acquire W. Burgess. "Oh, darling. Your father would be proud if he were to see you now."

I don't know about that. My father wanted to buy W. Burgess before the one hundredth anniversary of Hawthorne Inc. This year was the ninety-ninth anniversary. If I pulled it off this year, I would have achieved his dream. But my father was a hard man to please and I doubt even an accomplishment such as this would have impressed him. He would have found some fault. Some mistake I made in the deal even though I acquired the company at half its valuation.

And besides that was not the only reason I was acquiring the company. Shareholders had been breathing down my neck over declining earnings and the news of Hawthorne taking over a well- known brand in men’s fashion had rallied the stock. Rumors of voting me out of the CEO role had gone quiet. And all it took was a marriage certificate.

"So is that why you're here, or did you have anything else you wanted?"

I hoped my marriage was the only thing that made her rush over here, but she then put on her best pleading look. Wide eyes, a slight head tilt, and a tiny pout. "There is something I've been meaning to ask you."

There it is. If I didn't know my mother I would have been disappointed. "Franco has come up with this brilliant idea of mining cryptic currency."

"You mean crypto currency."

She waved me away. "Well, you know all this stuff better than I do. Anyway, he's such a brilliant mind, just like you, and he wants to create this crypto currency that's mined differently and he was looking for people to help him get his business off the ground. Several people have already signed up and it wouldn't do to have his paramour be the only one who hasn't."

Funny how she came here to warn me about the dangers of my spouse when she was sleeping with possibly one of the biggest con artist in the world. "Franco will have to make do with the investors he's already got. I am not going to invest in a scam."

"I knew you would say this. You don't want your mother to build her own nest egg. Just like your father, you want me to depend on you."

"That's a low blow. I am only trying to protect you." I hate how she knew how to deploy that bomb whenever she wanted.

"That was his favorite line," she replied.

"Mom. This Franco guy sounds like bad news, and I wouldn't want him to take advantage of you."

"I don't know if you know this, darling, but I am a big girl."

Maybe a big girl should know how to take care of herself and not fall for obvious scams. She had no idea how pampered she was. She had lived a life of privilege all her life.Maybe that's what she needed. A taste of what the real world was like. "Fine. I will wire you the money." She jumped and clapped like a child. "But only after Franco sends me a business plan."

"He already did. You should check your email."

I arrived at my desk and opened my laptop. She was right. There was an email from him dated a few days ago. I scrolled through the plan, red flag after red flag screaming at me, but I doubt if I explained my misgivings to her she would understand. The sum he demanded would be exorbitant for anyone earning a high six-figure salary or more; however, I could give it to her easily.

"I will send you the money," I said. "But into your bank account. It's up to you to decide what you'll do with it."

Mom waltzed over to me and gave me a giant hug. She rarely bestowed those, and I hated noticing that she only gave them after I've given her something. Usually something of monetary value.

"You won't regret it," she said.

I was certain I would.

She pulled back and looked down at me in my seat. From this vantage point, she looked taller than her usual height and I had the sensation of being a child again. "Should I expect to share grandchildren with Kenneth Burgess?"

I shook my head. "We're sleeping in different rooms."

She beamed. "Great! Of course you wouldn't. Now that I think about it. Maybe there is a benefit to marrying that slut."