Annoying the Stubborn

t h i r t y f o u r

"Dad, I have something for you," Rick said proudly although the smile on his face wasn't as steady.

Sean slowly stood up from his chair to face his only son, a permanent scowl displayed at the sight of Rick. "Your house filled with cocks and dildos that you love so much? Should I be proud, Patrick?"

Swiftly, his hand clamped around a figurine on his table before flinging it to Rick's direction and missing him by a few inches.

"You are a walking disgrace," Sean spat. "I don't know what lesson I missed to teach you in order to be an honorable human being. I never taught you to be a shame in our family!"

Rick cowered away, his hands trembling on his sides. "I-it was Y/N!"

"It doesn't matter! If anyone could do this to you, you're definitely not someone to be frightened of, and you don't deserve to be the heir of Premiscopic nor have my last name for that matter."

"But I-I have s-something that we could use against the Ryfords," Rick pressed, keeping his voice from shaking. "It's not enough to put them down but it could be an opening for us to hit—an opportunity to take the first spot from them."

Sean was silenced, intrigued to his plans. For years, he had tried to be on top of the business industry, for people to see him as someone that they could rely on, someone to look up to, and someone to follow, but just as their business was at the peak of its success, the Vortex came and Warren began taking everything away from him. The accountability, the popularity, the support he was getting—everything slipped from his fingertips like water. He thought he had it, and he loved the feeling that everyone was looking forward for his success, but then Warren Ryford came and threw them off the grid, taking the things he once had as if it was nothing but candy. Sean couldn't understand how easy it was for Warren to do that and the latter didn't seem to mind as long as he was on top.

"If this turns out to be a waste of my time, I'm taking your keys from you," Sean said sternly. "All of it."

"I have pictures of Y/N with different girls on different occasions," Rick started, gulping down the nervousness in his throat. "That could be used to divert the attention on their family but I also have something that could intensify the effect of this. I have pictures of her and Lauren—tons of them—and we could use it against them by letting the public feast on it with the story of Lauren cheating on me with Y/N."

"A Jauregui caught up in a bed with a Ryford?" Sean said in amusement as his dark eyes twinkled with evilness. "For once, you've provided me with something useful."

Rick released a breath he's been holding, grinning up at his father. "All we need to do is have someone to leak the story and the pictures. If this reaches Warren, he'll surely throw a fit and a war will start between the Ryfords."

"Not only a war if it will involve outer elements."

"Outer elements?"

"Come back to me tomorrow morning for the pictures you have," Sean ordered, stalking towards the small bar in his office to pour himself a glass of whiskey. "Write a statement of the story of Lauren cheating on you with Y/N and I'll take it from there."

"Wait, you're releasing it?"

"Not yet," Sean said, smirking before taking a sip from his glass. "Michael Jauregui is coming back to Cincinnati in a few days. The business trip they're in right now is almost ending and if we strike in the perfect moment, war shall not come for it will be chaos we'll be witnessing."

"Michael Jauregui is Lauren's dad," Rick said in realization. "He isn't fond of the Ryfords either?"

Sean nodded, looking at Rick briefly. "We'll watch them bring each other down without getting our hands dirty and if that isn't an easy win, I don't know what is."