The Book of Rook

Chapter 26

ROOK

It's been two days since the reception and Phoenix has been acting off. Her answers have been short and she's not as bubbly as she used to be. Something happened at the reception. I tried not to leave her alone but when Cam pulled me to the side to talk to me about his proposal to Angel, I had to escape the main room so no one would overhear. He had already asked Aidan for her hand so now he was ready to whisk her off to propose. The only problem was getting Angel to agree to a surprise trip, so Cam came up with this stupid idea for me and Phoenix to join him. He needed moral support, so he picked me. We needed Lyle to stay to cover the club and if Bishop came, she would latch on to Angel so they wouldn't be able to be alone. Cam figured we were the safest choice.

When I caught Phoenix running down the stairs as if her ass was on fire, she denied anything happened but by process of elimination, I know something happened between her and my father. They were the only ones missing from the party. She refused to tell me anything even when I asked her point blank when we got home. She claimed to be tired so needless to say, I went to bed a little sexually frustrated. Butt play was not in the cards that night. I tried not to pout but damn, I was so looking forward to it.

To get answers, I find myself knocking on my father's study at the family brownstone. I don't even wait for him to tell me to come in as I barge through the door. Hey, at least I knocked first.

"What is it now, Rook?" he asks in a huff.

I'm not here to mince words, I get straight to the point. I lean over his desk, "What the hell did you say to Phoenix?"

He leans back in his chair. "What did she say?"

So, he did say something to her. Let's see how much he'll tell me. I put on my poker face and shake my head. "I want to hear it from you since I can't believe it's true."

"Come on Rook. I had to test her to see if she was after the family money," he says.

I try hard to keep my temper under control and push away from his desk. "Seriously?" was the only word I can get out without letting him know I have no clue what he's talking about.

"She passed. She never took the check. She actually told me to shove it up my pretentious ass," he said with a note of humor.

Yep, that sounds exactly like my Sunrise. "Why would you do that? Try to pay her off. I told you she wasn't after my money."

"Believe it or not, I hated myself for doing it. I wanted to know without a shadow of a doubt she was who you said she was." He stood and walked around his desk and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I was looking out for you, son. It's my job to protect you. I'm sorry if she took it the wrong way."

"So how much was I worth?" I ask, trying to make light of the situation.

"I started with a million but when she refused that, I upped it to two million and that's when she let me have it," he informed me.

Only two million? I figured I was worth more than that. I shake my head and confess. "She never said anything to me. I was bluffing. I knew she was upset but she never told me why."

My dad looked surprised at that revelation. "Then she's even more special than I thought." He gives me a smile. "I like her, especially for you. I think I should apologize."

"Give her a few days. She needs to cool off." I start to walk towards his door. "By the way, I'm taking the jet this weekend. I'm taking my wife to Puerto Rico."