The Rules by Delaney Diamond Read Free Book Online Page B

inheritance,” Constance added.
    “There’s nothing for me to learn,” Gavin said. “I don’t have the brains for the work they do.”
    Xavier set his napkin on the table and immediately Alicia came by and swept it up along with his empty plate. “You have a brain and a degree in chemistry.”
    At one time, Gavin considered becoming a brewmaster and heading up quality control for the company’s beer products.
    “I think you should do it. You need to learn more about the business, even if you’re not going to work at the company.” His mother’s gaze rested on him as she waited for a response.
    Gavin swallowed the tightness in his throat. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the company his father had turned into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. It was simply too painful.
    “You’ll love it,” Xavier said.
    Gavin couldn’t tell if his enthusiasm was genuine or manufactured, but it was definitely annoying. Xavier himself had been working at the company for only a short time, after abandoning his work in Africa to fall prey to the corporate grind.
    “What would I do there? I have no skills.”
    “You don’t have to do anything, dear. You simply have to go in and learn.” Constance patted his hand.
    “I can learn about the company from home,” Gavin said.
    Constance dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “I would like you to try.”
    The words came out quietly but firmly, which meant he didn’t have a choice. Accepting directives from her had been instilled in them from the time they were young. He still remembered the first time he understood the severity of disobeying his mother—or disrespecting his mother, as his father called it.
    He was eleven, and his father had been furious. While Cyrus Senior didn’t often smile, a non-smiling father was a thousand times better than a furious one. Nothing made him more furious than his wife getting upset. He often thought of his father as a raging sea and his mother as a placid lake. Cyrus Senior called her his angel, his sweetheart, his better half.
    “I’m the king of this castle and your mother’s the queen. If I ever hear you back talk her again, you’ll need a whole new set of front teeth. Have I made myself clear?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “I can’t hear you.”
    “Yes, sir!” Gavin’s insides quivered. He’d never seen his father so furious.
    “She tells you to do something, you do it. Not later. Not soon. Right then. Now go upstairs and apologize to your mother and then you get that homework done or you can forget about spending time with your friends this weekend—or any other weekend for the rest of the school year. Understand?”
    “Yes, sir!”
    “All right, I’ll try,” Gavin said. Not that he had a choice.
    He stood, food untouched, appetite gone. “I know I need to look presentable when I go into headquarters, so I’ll go home and change. Excuse me.”
    He didn’t wait for a response from either his mother or Xavier, in too much of a hurry to escape.

Chapter Seven
    Gavin pulled the gold sports car into a parking space in front of Terri’s building. All week he had looked forward to this evening, but when he called, he didn’t tell her where they were going. She tried to pry it out of him, but he only told her to wear a nice dress and heels. His attire for the evening consisted of a black suit jacket and white shirt, no tie, and a black pair of shoes from Italian luxury brand Bruno Magli.
    Upon arrival, he planned to go up to her apartment, but she made him wait downstairs for ten minutes—perhaps to make an entrance. If that was the case, she did a fantastic job, exiting the building with her head held high and neck-length hair swept back from her face in a sleek style. Black pumps were on her feet, and she wore a gray, long-sleeved cotton dress that molded to her hourglass figure. The top fit snug over her bosom, the v-neckline dipping low to reveal ample cleavage. As she approached, his eyes had no choice but to idle at