In Love With Mr. Billionaire

CHAPTER 17- THE OTHER ONE

****James' POV****

"You will not be talking to your father in that tone!" My voice thundered around the massive office.

Caroline's eyes were glaring at me with anger and hurt. The instant I spoke again, she flinched in her seat and looked away.

Usually, this voice was followed by a punishment that would stay on her face for hours in the form of a red mark, but today I refrained myself from doing that. There would be plenty of time later to make her understand how to be respectful to her elders. As of now, just words would have to suffice.

"How do you know about Lahaina marrying Mr Woodwords?" I demanded.

She looked at me for a split second then down at her lap. It was a smart move because she knew the consequences of daring to look me in the eyes very well.

"I heard you talking to him in the living room. You know I was there. You saw me."

Hell, I did. If only I knew she was planning to go under hiding to that loudmouth Hayden girl's apartment, I would have never let her take a step out of my house. She had taken advantage of me being busy in conversation and if I did anything after that, it would have cost me a lot.

"He was there to talk about his marriage, but..." I shook my head thinking about that horrendous day.

Where had I gone wrong? It was a perfect plan. When Aaron had announced he was going to marry Lahaina, I had felt that I had finally succeeded. After all these years of being friends with Ethan, it was all going to pay off. Lahaina was going to marry Aaron and I would get to spend my life in much more luxury than I could ever imagine to afford. He was going to be my very own money-making machine.

But I should have known better. Ethan was an easy fish. He was old, still grieving about his dead wife, and didn't have a good relationship with his son. He was a good catch. The instant I met him at his wife's funeral, I knew he would be easy to manipulate. His son? Not so much.

That was where I went wrong. His son was nowhere close to him. A sneaky bastard who thinks he could make the world bow down to him. He was much more clever than his stupid father and I had underestimated him.

********Two days earlier********

"Aaron is here!" Lahaina said, rushing inside the living room and sitting on the couch. She had saved a spot for Aaron and I gave her a nod of approval. She knew how to play games.

"Get a grip. We can celebrate after I sign the contract," I told her. She was acting way too excited when I had repeatedly told her to be subtle.

I heard the housekeeper answer the door and straightened my back. It was me who was in charge today. I was not going to back away today. Me not going to receive him at the door was the first act to show him my dominance, and there was a lot more to come.

Aaron Woodwords and his company were in the palm of my hands. He was going to beg me to sign the contract to prevent the shares of his company from being transferred to me. As I had a deal with Ethan and could not refuse to sign the contract, I would eventually have to put my signatures on the paper. But I was going to take my own time. I was going to show the great Aaron Woodwords who the real deal was.

"Stop telling me what to do," Lahaina retorted but changed her demeanor as I had asked her to do.

I could have given her a befitting reply, but I held my tongue. It was a relief that she would be gone from my house. Though good with her tricks of dealing with people, there was no doubt that she was a clingy brat. All these years I had to deal with her childlike behavior only because her mother still called the shots for my company. Upsetting her would upset Juliea, which would lead to a lot of problems in my business.