Page 84 of Off the Rim
"You're serious?"
"Yeah. I think… I think I shouldn’t avoid my legacy. I don't need the attention and adoration of fans to make me feel like I'm something I'm not."
I try really hard to school my face to disguise my shock, but I can't. Is he saying that he wants to work for his father's company?
My eyes narrow. "Have you been body snatched?"
Ash laughs. "It's not exactly what you're thinking. And I'm honestly not one hundred percent sure how to pull it all off, but I have ideas."
"Tell me," I encourage him.
"I'd like to pursue an MBA with a focus in ethics and social justice. There are degree programs that are aimed towards environmentally sustainable business practices, as well as social impact management. If I'm going to be the heir to one of the wealthiest, most influential companies in the country, maybe I can change how we do things. AJames Enterprises has been a pillar of corporate greed and unethical business practices. You overheard what kind of deals my dad was making under the table."
He takes a deep breath. "I have a chance to fix the damage my family has caused, a path to repay the greed that I've benefitted from my entire life. I could actually make a difference instead of running away, the way I always have."
With every word that comes out of his mouth, I'm more impressed by the man in front of me. His hands gesture wildlyas he describes some of his vision for his father's company, the legacy that he's been running from his whole life.
"Maybe it's dumb, but I feel like I've been searching for something my entire life. I grew up with everything being handed to me on a silver platter, but it wasn't until I was willing to give it all up that I realized what I want isn't attention, it isn't a lifestyle of excessive wealth and privilege, and it isn't fitting into a world that I never felt I belonged. What I've been searching for is a purpose, something to make sense of my place in this world that I've felt like I was drowning in."
I imagine my face looks like the crying heart eyes emoji right now. I'm fucking swooning over this passionate side of my princess. "This is amazing, Ash. You're amazing."
He shakes his head, pulling me close and resting his forehead against mine. "It's because of you, Marcus. From the time we were five years old, you made me see the world differently. Even when I didn't understand or was too confused or scared to do anything about it, I thought about things and noticed things the people around me didn't. Like despite losing everything and struggling, your home was filled with happiness and love. Or that you worked a hundred times harder than anyone else and appreciated your opportunities more for it. Or that, out of every single filthy rich person I know, you're the only one that gives back to your community or cares about the people around you."
"You're saying my princess figured out that money isn't everything?"
"People over profit, baby."
My cock twitches. "Ugh,don't go full socialist on me now. My libido can't handle it."
"I have a meeting with my father on Sunday when we get back. We're going to have lunch, and I'm going to pitch him my ideas for a new direction for AJames Enterprises."
"And by that, you mean you're going to blackmail him into being a better person?"
Ashton shrugs. "Whatever it takes."
"God, just when I thought you couldn't get sexier…" More water and suds slosh to the floor as I straddle his lap and kiss him deeply. We moan in unison as I reach between us and line his cock up to my entrance and sink down, the inside of my hole still wet with lube and his cum from the fuckfest we had on every surface of the hotel suite before we climbed into the tub.
Bracing against the tub on either side of his shoulder, I rasp into his mouth as I start to ride him.
"Fill me with some of that goodness, Princess."
CHAPTER 38
ASHTON
My father slips into the booth across from me, looking around the restaurant I chose with thinly veiled judgement. Before the server even comes to get his drink order, he's polishing the silver wear with a—gasp!—paper napkin, looking for all the world like I brought him to a back alley to eat from a dumpster. It's hard not to shake my head and laugh at how ridiculous he is. I'm having a hard time remembering why I used to care so much about his approval. Even when I was pushing back and trying to get away, I cared what he thought. I wanted a relationship with my father like the one Marcus had with Roman. I wanted to be more than an asset to him.
"How's Mimi?" I ask to break the ice. I know from talking to my mother that she's settled into her new home, already giving the staff grief. The head nurse seems to be able to handle her, though, and even ordered a case of non-alcoholic gin for the days where she seems to regress into a younger version of herself. On those days, she demands to see Ken, our family lawyer. The esteemed Mr. Richards has sadly been indisposed, insisting that the poor woman is confused and visiting her would just make things worse. Likewise, my father has stopped visiting, since shealmost always thinks he's her ex-husband. I admit to getting a sick joy out of seeing him squirm.
"The doctors don't think she'll recover the cognitive function she lost, but they're hopeful it won't get any worse," he answers diplomatically.
"What's business been like without her?"
My father's jaw clenches, the tiniest crack in his stoic demeanor. There's nothing a weak man hates more than their weaknesses being pointed out. And Matilda Vanderbilt-James is definitely his weakness. Now that I know more about his past, his relationship with her makes more sense. My mother, for all her faults, is pretty passive, not at all manipulative or controlling. It's probably the reason she was chosen, because Mimi wouldn't want my father to marry someone with a backbone or too much ambition. She never did appreciate any sort of perceived competition.
From a very early age, my dad was basically brainwashed. When they divorced, Ashton James Senior was busy turning his successful business into an empire, which left little time for him to cultivate a close relationship with his son. My dad was often left to his own devices, under the care of nannies and staff, or he was with his mother. Mimi, upset by the divorce, turned her only son into a weapon against her ex-husband. She doted on him, but she also gaslit him into believing that she was the only one who loved him, and that she knew what was best for him in all situations. Even as an adult, he's been predisposed to take her lead on everything from who he married, to the business decisions that were made. Whenever they had disagreements, he'd always cave because he knew she'd be relentless.
She was a shrewd businesswoman. I'll give her that. The investments she made and relationships she cultivated made an already wealthy business skyrocket to one of the most successful enterprises in the world. To my knowledge, making friends with politicians and making backdoor deals with powerful people was something she started when she took control, with the help of none other than Kenneth Richards.
