Page 47 of Ma Belle Marguerite
“Well, I heard from one of my guys that you know who it was that ran you off the road, and you haven’t done anything about it yet. What’s taking so long?”Here goes his ranting.“To be a leader, you can’t just sit back and allow these things to happen. Everyone will see you as weak.” He doesn’t seem to know thatthere was someone in the truck with her. I will keep that tidbit to myself for now. I don’t need to hear more of his condescending bullshit.
“I’m dealing with it. We’re working on finding out why and if she was working alone or with someone else.” I’m already over this conversation. Father wants me to take over, but yet he constantly treats me like I’m incompetent. I don’t know why he won’t just let my brother Cole take over.
“Not good enough, my boy. If you don’t have this figured out by the end of the week, then I will have to step in.” He hangs up, so I can’t reply, as usual. He always has to have the last word, and he makes sure he gets it. Thankfully, I couldn’t care less. He can fuck off.
I pull up my texts and shoot a message off to Josh.
Josh, did you stay here last night? I need your eyes. My father is on my ass to get this shit dealt with.
I leave my phone on my desk and peek in to see if Bella is still asleep. She looks so peaceful. Her hair is a mess from our fun last night, and I can’t help but feel a bit of pride at that.
I decide to go for a quick workout in the gym before everyone gets up for the day. I need to get my head back in the game. Even though I don’t want to take over for my father, I need to be prepared to protect my new family.
After about an hour, I hear the gym door close. I turn to see D walking in and stopping in front of me. He looks tired.
“Hey, boss, I figured I would find you here.” He says, sounding concerned. “Josh told me your father called. Is everything good?”
“He’s pissed we haven’t dealt with the Amara situation yet,” I grunt out as I turn off the treadmill and step down. “He, of course, brought up how this makes me look weak and like a badleader. I don’t see him doing jack shit lately—he always pawns it off on me. Who is the bad leader here?”
D shakes his head and looks at me, “You’re an amazing leader and do things your way, not his. There is nothing wrong with that. Rash decisions can end up causing more problems in the end.”
“I know, but he doesn’t see it that way. Let me shower, and we’ll see what we can get done.” Turning I walk towards the washrooms. “Oh, I promised Remi a ride to school, too. So I can take him in, and then we can meet at Josh’s place.”
D just nods and walks out of the gym, leaving me to my thoughts. I just need a break so I can find Amara and her partner and put this shit to rest.
After a quick shower, I head to the kitchen for breakfast and find Bella and the kids sitting around the island eating cereal and talking. I pause in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt what looks like a happy family moment. One day maybe I’ll be in there with them enjoying mornings as part of their family.
Bella must hear me coming, though. She looks at me and smiles. “Morning, Rex. We looked through the kitchen and found some cereal. I hope that’s okay.”God, her smile is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.“I’ll go get some groceries today while they’re at school.”
Walking towards them, I say, “No, don’t worry about that. Whatever is here is for anyone to eat. Don’t be shy.” I look at the twins, “If you’re hungry, help yourselves. This is your home now, so treat it as such.”
The twins look at each other, and I can see that they are having their own silent conversation. I can’t tell if it is in my favor or not.
Brielle answers, “Thanks, we’ll do that.”
“Let me know when you are ready to leave for school. I’ll bring you guys in. I have to head that way anyway.” I look at Bella.“You can take the day to relax here. Get yourselves situated. I’ll come back this afternoon to take you back to your place, and you can pack up what you need for the kids. Do not try to sneak off—I will know.” I still know her better than she thinks.
Chapter 19
Isabella
“You don’t need to bring them.”Oh wait, I don’t have my SUV.“Actually, I guess you’ll have to. Can someone take me to get my SUV this morning?”This better not become a regular thing!
Rex looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “We’ll grab it this afternoon when you pack up stuff to bring here.” He sounds so sure of himself—like he’s the boss. He may be a boss, but he isn’tmine! I don’t care what he says, this working for him thing is bull shit.
Jerk.“Sure, that’ll be good. Thanks, Rex.”Not. I will just need to find the keys once he leaves.“I guess I’ll go make sure I have what I need ready for the day then.” I turn and leave the room before he can see my face. He can get someone to pick his car up later. He will learn quickly that I do what I want now.
Hopefully, he doesn’t get too suspicious of my agreeing so easily. He always has been able to read my face no matter how well I think I’m hiding my thoughts and feelings. It can get quite annoying. Surprise parties never actually shocked him.
I take my time walking to my room. It seems I don’t have to rush to be anywhere or to do anything this morning. A more laid-back approach is going to take some getting used to; children and hospitals are anything but.
It has been so long since I last visited. Rex hasn’t changed things, besides my room, from when his parents lived here, although I haven’t checked out the gym or other rooms in that wing yet.
I trip while walking up the stairs and it brings back a memory from high school.
“Shhh, Bella, you’ll wake my parents.” Rex whisper yells as I giggle.
“Oh, Rexy, you always worry too much.” My words slur.Maybe I did drink too much tonight. Oh well, Rexy will take care of me.
