Trapping Roselyn

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The man was ruder than I’d expected. Sure, he was known to be ruthless in the boardroom, but I figured the surprise attack would have kept his snide remarks and uncivilized behaviour from surfacing.

But no, I’d underestimated him. He not only cared nothing about his reputation, he cared nothing for mine as well. And if I was unreasonable for expecting a certain level of decency from a man I had no respect for then...well, I was fine with being unreasonable.

When my father - because it was a matter of when, not if - heard that I’d been dragged out of a party by security...well, it wasn’t going to be a pretty conversation. Nor would he be pleased, to say the least, when he discovered just who I’d quarrelled with.

It probably wasn’t one of my better ideas to declare war on JC GlobEnt, and Callister Jensen by association. But it was surreal how one company could expand from a small accessory line - primarily aimed towards gangster-wanna-be students - to become some of the world’s trendiest department store chains.

And all this in a time frame of five years.

“Roselyn!”

The frantic hiss made me sigh in defeat as I paused partway up the stairs of my father’s home. My step-mother, Claire, stood at the bottom of the landing, her hand poised on the banister as if she were ready to run up and tackle me if I tried to escape to my room.

“Hey Claire.”

She looked around quickly and motioned me to shush as she walked up to join me. “Let’s go to your room.”

I let her take my arm and steer me into my bedroom, watching as she closed my door and winced at the soft click it made. It was almost amusing that she was more paranoid about my state and late arrival than I myself was.

“You’re a mess,” Claire said, pulling a robe from my closet. “Here, get out of that dress while we talk.”

I took it from her arms and walked into the closet to change. “You don’t sound surprised,” I commented through the open door.

She held up her cellphone with a wry smile. “Six calls already, and I didn’t even answer the last two.”

Great. “What about dad?”

“Nothing yet, but I think his phone might be turned off.” She frowned as I stepped back out in the short robe. “Your knees are scraped - what exactly happened tonight?”

I dropped the ruined dress into the laundry basket, telling myself to inform the maid to get rid of it. “Long story.”

Claire sat herself down on the bed and raised her eyebrow. “Do tell.”

Shrugging, I joined her on the bed and told her what had happened.

She sighed when I finished. “You couldn’t choose anybody else? It had to be Callister?”

“He owns the thing,” I said defensively, crossing my arms at her tone.

“So do those Carpenter brothers.”

I scoffed. “They clearly didn’t put in the money when they launched big. What better than the Jensen name and money to promote a business?”

Claire was silent, her brows furrowed in thought.

After a few minutes, I couldn’t take the silence. “Dad’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”

She sighed again. “Roselyn, you’re such a talented girl, and yet you can’t seem to settle on what you want out of life.”