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78|Your Biggest Downfall—Part 1
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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
Beautiful Disaster 80|Heavy Is The Head—Part 1
Long after Arno had brought the car to a stop at the entrance of Hawthorne Towers, Marybeth was still sitting in the back seat, making no attempt to leave.Like many of the charming places she'd seen on travel shows, she never thought she'd find herself here one day. To say she was in awe of the thirty-story structure was an understatement. Up close, it looked so much more intimidating, pretty much like her husband."кума," Arno said as he finally killed the engine. "He's waiting for you.""I'm sorry." Marybeth smiled sheepishly at him, snatching up her handbag. "Which floor is he on?""The top one."She wanted to kick herself for asking something so silly. She should have known he'd be on the top floor. He was the CEO, for heaven's sake."His assistant will take you up," Arno added, jerking his head at the strikingly tall, ash-blonde woman waiting in front of the revolving doors."Anything I should know about the De Jagers?" Marybeth asked as she buttoned up her suit jacket."They ar
Beautiful Disaster 81|Heavy Is The Head—Part 2
Austin looked exhausted with his sleeves rolled up, the tie he'd worn in the morning, and the suit jacket nowhere in sight. His hair, too, neatly combed when he left the house, was now mussed up like he'd been running his hands through it too many times throughout the day. But he was still devilishly handsome, especially when he flashed her his infamous smile."Žena, have you been waiting long?" he asked, shutting the door with his heel.Marybeth shook her head and patted the empty spot on the couch beside her. "We need to talk!""If you're going to ask me for a divorce, forget it!" he warned her as he crossed the room."What are you talking about? Why would I ask for a divorce?""Well…this morning you said—"She frowned, waving him off. "Detective Stone came to see me this morning.""And?" he asked as he sat down."And she thinks you had something to do with Ricardo's disappearance.""Are you surprised, Beth? What did you think would happen when you told her he was missing?""Look, I
Beautiful Disaster 82|The De Jagers—Part 1
The two-hour flight to Virginia passed by so quickly for Marybeth that she didn't even have time to panic over her fear of flying in a helicopter. One minute, Austin was strapping her into her seat, and the next, they were landing at a vast field. As he helped her off the helicopter, he explained it was a pasture for the De Jagers cattle. They weren't just taxidermists but also one of the country's largest beef suppliers."So what exactly do they do?" Marybeth asked when a ranch hand pulled up in a golf caddie to drive them up to the house. "I thought they were into weapons?"Smiling, Austin gave her a sidelong glance. "Why would you think that?""From the few hunting photos I've seen of them, I assumed they were. They look deadly," Marybeth replied.Austin burst into a hearty laugh. "You're not wrong there, žena. Believe me, when I tell you, they don't just look deadly; they are! It's one of the reasons I try so damn hard to maintain a cordial working relationship with them. They are
Beautiful Disaster 83|The De Jagers—Part 2
She turned around, almost pissing herself, when she found Willem De Jager scowling at her. His humongous size alone reminded her of a Viking, but the pure contempt in his eyes terrified her.No human eyes should hold so much rage, especially towards a stranger."I hope you are here to tell me you've found the bastards who killed my daughter," he said, staring at Austin.He stood up and thrust out his hand but soon retracted it when Willem showed no sign of returning the handshake."It's good to see you again, Willem," he said, sitting back down."If you are not here to tell me you found Iris' killers, I'm afraid I have nothing to discuss with you," Willem said, his glacial tone sending a chill down Marybeth's spine."So have you found them?" he demanded, making no attempt to take the only free armchair in the room.Austin shook his head, bowing his head. "I'm sorry.""I don't want your damn sorries!" Willem exploded, and for a little while, Marybeth just sat there and listened to the
Beautiful Disaster 84|People Always Leave
They didn't talk on the ride back to the chopper.The flight home was just as silent, both lost in their own thoughts.They made it home just after 10:00 PM, and Marybeth wondered if they should pick Orlando up from Neli's."It's late, and she's sleeping," Austin explained as he took off his jacket and threw it on the couch."I know," said Marybeth, loosening the buttons of her blazer and kicking off her sneakers. "But I don't like that we keep shoving her onto other people. I mean, you hired me to look after her.""And you are doing a stellar job, Beth," he assured her.Marybeth didn't feel like she was, though.They should be spending a whole lot more time with Orlando instead of being out and about, hobnobbing with Clifton Bay's royalty and going on dates."Seriously, you need to stop worrying about Orlando. Neli and her mom love having her over. Besides, I'll be in the Blue Mountains next week, so you'll have plenty of time with her," Austin said, waving the bottle of cognac at he
Beautiful Disaster 85|Brutal
"Beth," Austin said before she could slip out of the room. "I meant what I said earlier. I'm here. I'll wait for you for as long as it takes."Sighing, Marybeth opened her mouth to speak and tell him not to wait for her. But her mushy brain couldn't formulate the words."I won't leave you," Austin continued.What was she supposed to say to that?How was she supposed to respond when he sounded so genuine?"Beth?" he prodded."Yeah?""Thank you for what you did back there with Anna.""I hope you don't mind that I opened that door for Orlando's sake?""Not at all," Austin replied. "It's all I've ever wanted for her."She nodded and strolled back into the room. This time though, she perched herself on the armrest and gave him a sidelong glance. "About Iris…are you really going to look into her death?""I promised Anna I would," he said. "It's been on my mind for a long time now. And maybe she's right about finding out the truth. Maybe it will finally close our wounds. Why do you ask?"Mar
Beautiful Disaster 86|Remnants Of His Past—Part 1
Austin didn't have business calls to make like he'd told Marybeth. He simply wanted to sit in the silence of his living room and compartmentalise his feelings over his confrontation with Willem.Marybeth said it had hurt her to see him like that, being berated by the bastard like he was some damn child. She'd never know how much sitting still and taking the old fool's abuse had destroyed his soul. It took all his self-control to not pull out his gun and shoot the bastard dead. But he'd promised to humble himself and take whatever irrational rants were thrown at him because the last thing he wanted was for her to see him at his absolute worst—His phone rang on the coffee table, breaking through his rage-filled thoughts. But he was so emotionally exhausted he couldn't bring himself to pick it up.When it rang for the second time in the space of a few seconds, he figured it had to be important, so he reluctantly answered.He was glad he did when he heard Rawlings on the other end. "I ma
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