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71|Make Things Right
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Beautiful Disaster 72|In Way Over His Head
After his brief stop in Sea Point, Austin headed to Hawthorne Towers and spent the night reviewing the audit report from Angelo's guy.Sometime after 1:00 AM, he called his capos.They were both thoroughly pissed, which was understandable, considering he'd broken their sleep. But their feelings were the least of his concern. They had work to do, and they wouldn't get it done by sleeping."Couldn't this have waited till the morning?" Angelo grumbled as he stifled a yawn."I don't pay you to sleep!" Austin growled. "Now, walk me through the three accounts!""Hold on, let me head to the study. Zuki's sleeping, you know," Angelo mumbled as he placed him on hold, leaving him alone with Tim on the call."So, how did the hot date go?" his cousin asked."It's over," Austin said."Yeah, I figured. It's 1:00 AM, after all.""No. I mean, it's over between Beth and me," Austin said and touched his chest, baffled by the tight, squeezing sensation in his heart. It felt like it was splitting in half
Beautiful Disaster 73|You Don't Know The First Thing About Marriage
Despite taking an over-the-counter sleep aid, which knocked her out soon after she sent Liliana home and checked on Orlando, Marybeth jerked awake sometime before 3:00 AM and couldn't go back to sleep.A pang of loneliness hit her with the force of an avalanche when she turned onto her side, and her eyes fell on the empty space where Austin should have been.The bed was too huge without him, the room too quiet.Yawning, she wondered whether he came home last night and decided to sleep in one of the guest rooms."Why do you care? You're over, remember?" she reminded herself as she pushed the covers aside and padded to the kitchen to warm herself some milk."Well, that answers your question," she mumbled when she strolled past the living room and saw Austin's strapping frame sprawled out on the couch, with his shoes still on, his head at an unnatural angle on the armrest, and a Hawthorne Foundation binder resting on his chest.Marybeth wanted to keep moving and pretend she never saw him
Beautiful Disaster 74|Give Me Time
An hour later, dressed in a powder blue pantsuit and white sneakers, the most business casual outfit she could find in her wardrobe, Marybeth was ready to tackle her Thursday.She was surprised to find Austin and Orlando zooming around the kitchen, preparing breakfast."Orlando, the toast is ready!" he said while he worked the coffee machine. "Beth, your usual coffee?"She nodded and placed her stuff on the counter. "Can I help with anything?"Austin shook his head, pointing at the dining table where Orlando had already placed their plates and cutlery, "no; just sit over there!"Marybeth pulled out a chair, sat down, and watched the father-daughter duo prep what was beginning to smell a lot like a full-spread breakfast.Sitting there, she couldn't help but think how much sexier Austin was when he was just being a dad to his six-year-old."Quit thinking with your coochie again!" she warned herself.Determined to double down on her efforts to remain immune to Austin, she focused all her
Beautiful Disaster 75|Swimming Along
"Marybeth, my apologies for calling you in so early, but the detective would like to have a word with you," said Smith, pausing their hushed conversation when she saw her in the doorway."Please, come in," Detective Stone beckoned her over.Marybeth closed the door and sat in the only empty chair in the room. "What's going on? Have you found Caroline Scheepers?""I'm afraid not," replied Detective Stone.Marybeth frowned, wondering why they'd called her in if there was no progress on the case. She didn't have to wonder long. Detective Stone looked through the brown case file in front of her and pulled out a rough sketch of what appeared to be a utility vehicle. She pushed it across the desk at her, saying, "After you sent me the information on Carol last night, I headed over to her place, you know, just to get a feel of her surroundings."Marybeth nodded and waited for more, but Smith's phone rang, pausing the detective's narrative."I'm sorry. I should have told Elaine to hold all my
Beautiful Disaster 76|Sex Tape—Part 1
Austin didn't go into the office like he'd planned after dropping Marybeth off at Jimmy's. He circled back to the north of the city, to his father's place, where Blake was supposedly recuperating.The housekeeping staff fussed over him as soon as he stepped inside, asking if he wanted something to eat."There's still plenty of breakfast, Mr Hawthorne. We can bring it to the drawing room," offered Sofija, one of the long-standing housekeeping staff members."That's okay. I already ate. My wife whipped up something for me." He patted his taut stomach to give his lie some weight. But it was important to project a picture of wedded bliss, just in case everyone was watching him and waiting to report everything to his father. Austin knew that the minute his old man smelled even the tiniest cracks in his marriage, he'd attack and do away with Marybeth once and for all."Are you sure, sir?" Sofija asked, tilting her head slightly."Positive," Austin assured her as he followed her down the hal
Beautiful Disaster 77|Sex Tape—Part 2
Austin and Blake shared a look, both thinking the same thing: how much had she heard?"So? Who made a sex tape?" Hadley asked as she dumped her hot pink Birkin bag on the couch and pranced over to the bed, perching herself on the edge as she pecked Blake on the cheek.Austin watched his brother recoil from her advances, feeling sorry for him. It had to be exhausting to have to pretend to be so blissfully in love with Hadley. Hell, just being in her presence, even for a few minutes, was exhausting."One of our old varsity friends," Austin lied."Which friend?" Hadley gave him a pointed stare, the look in her eyes as clear as the sky outside; she was convinced he was behind the sex tape. "I'm pretty sure I know all your varsity friends.""You don't know him!" Blake said quickly. "What are you doing here anyway?""Estelle and I are off to check out some venues for Marybeth's ball," she said, her lips curling with distaste when she glanced at Austin again. "I still don't understand what y
Beautiful Disaster 78|Your Biggest Downfall—Part 1
Since Austin was supposed to meet his father and the consigliere in two hours, he saw no point in driving back to the business district. He settled down in his old quarters in the north wing and asked Sofija to bring him a pot of coffee and some snacks. The sweeter, the better.He didn't have a sweet tooth, but after his chat with Blake, he needed something to soothe the sting of their discussion, and the housekeeper's famous cheesecake was just the thing he needed.Sofija had just cut him a generous slice and poured him a cup of coffee when his phone rang. It was Claudia, no doubt calling to berate him about shooting Blake. He reluctantly answered and was pleasantly surprised when she announced his test results were in."Great! Send them over," he said, his day suddenly ten times better. He couldn't wait to rub them in Marybeth's face. Maybe they'd do the trick and thaw the glacier around her heart. He was going out of his mind from missing her, and every second of craving her and no
Beautiful Disaster 79|Your Biggest Downfall—Part 2
Still smiling, Austin picked up the operation manager's file again and was on the man's third warning when the door burst open, and in walked his father with Friar John."The level of disrespect with you boys is too much!" Lukas grumbled as he and the consigliere joined him in the seating area."What are you talking about, Father?" Austin asked, even though he didn't want to know."We had a meeting at eleven, did you forget? I don't understand how you could have when you summoned us!"Austin checked the time on his Rolex and rolled his eyes. "It's 10:59 AM. What's the issue?"Lukas huffed and picked up Elvis Du Pont's file. "Why are you looking into the deputy CEO?""I'm not," Austin replied. "I'm just doing my due diligence before handing the reins back to Blake.""You are?" Friar John's eyebrows shot up, a perplexed look in his eyes. "What happened to your investigation?""That's why I wanted to see you both today," Austin said as he stood up and made his way to the refreshments car
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