“Grey, I don’t have that kind of money.” Jonah Delaney sat behind the large dark wooden desk in his private study and gestured to the armchair across from him.
Grey didn’t move from his place by the door.
“You’d better find that kind of money.” His son responded coolly.
Jonah felt a muscle twitch in his jaw. “Why don’t you ask your mother?” He asked casually.
“It’s hush money you son-of-a-bitch, do you really want Mum to know about it?”
Jonah didn’t dare turn his eyes from his son’s. “Hush money?” He asked simply.
“Don’t fuck with me, Dad.” Grey curled his lips into something like a smile. “Get me the money and I’ll pretend I was never here yesterday.”
Jonah licked the inside of his teeth for a moment. “I’m not sure what you think you saw, or heard, or know—“ He watched his son roll his eyes but kept his voice even and measured. “But whatever you’re imagining, Grey, you’re wrong.”
The young man’s eyes narrowed. “Who was in the shower?”
Jonah only hesitated for a fraction of a moment. “Your sister.”
“Bullshit.”
Jonah gestured again for Grey to sit but he obstinately stood his ground.
“Viola chose not to go upstate.” Jonah explained and reached for his coffee mug. He took a sip of the dark, sturdy brew, licked his lips and waited for Grey. “She’s upstairs now, if you want to check.” Your move, you little prick.
Grey strode to the window by the tall barrister bookcase. He looked furious.
“Then why the fuck were you acting like that?” He demanded, sounding very young and petulant.
“I’m sorry, acting like what?” He leaned back in his desk chair and crossed his legs at the knee.
“Like you were caught.” Grey watched his father over his shoulder.
Reflexively Jonah adjusted his glasses and Grey’s expression of suspicion grew sharper. It was a tell. Jonah could kick himself. Grey’d played enough games of cards with his father and uncles to pick up on Jonah’s tells. The little bastard usually walked away with the entire contents of his father’s wallet whenever they played. Of course, Jonah had intentionally avoided inviting him to last evening’s poker game, but that had had nothing to do with the young man’s card skills.
“I don’t know about caught—“ Jonah laughed easily “You scared the daylights out of me, sure.”
Grey turned to face the desk and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Listen, spare me the song and dance. You were caught, you were panicked, you were doing something you weren’t supposed to.” He smiled. “Or someone you weren’t supposed to.”
Jonah swallowed. “You’re mistaken.” He said, a note of warning embedded in the simple reply.
“Maybe.” Grey shrugged. “Maybe I’ll let Mum puzzle it out, leave it for her to figure out whether or not you’re telling the truth.”
Jonah’s lips tightened and he felt a prickling under his collar. “Grey, you misinterpreted what you saw yesterday.” He explained civilly. “Your sister was upstairs in the shower, I was coming downstairs because I heard someone in my den, and we startled each other.” He leaned forward now, putting an elbow on the desk and reaching again for his coffee. “Now, I apologize for being a bear, but I’d just woken up and was still half-asleep I think.” He sipped the coffee and was relieved to see his hands were holding steady.
“And the cue ball you chucked at my head?”
“I did no such thing.”
“You are so full of shit.”
Jonah hadn’t realized Grey’d heard him throw that billiard ball. “Alright, I was a little furious with you.”
“For catching you with your whore.”
Jonah stood so fast his desk chair tipped back dangerously before recovering.
Grey looked triumphant.
Thinking quickly, Jonah put his two fists down on the surface of the desk and leaned toward his son. “Because my son walked out of here with blackmail on his lips, you arrogant little shit.”
Grey’s glee died a little in his eyes but he kept the smug grin.
“Now sit down and we’ll talk about this like civilized adults.” Jonah kept his aggressive stance. He hoped to hell he was selling the angry father routine. Hoped he could throw Grey off the scent.
It was a long, tense moment before the young man capitulated and took a seat in front of the desk. He sauntered over, dripping with arrogance, as if it had been his idea to sit all along. Jonah clenched his teeth and waited for Grey to settle in before continuing.
“Now what kind of trouble are you in?” He asked, more gently, coming to sit on the corner of the desk.
Grey scoffed. “You’re the one in trouble, you horse’s ass.”
Jonah raised his eyebrows. “Grey—“ His tone was cautionary but not unkind. “You came here yesterday for something. What was it?”
The older man watched the younger man’s eyebrows knit together. “I need that money.” He said at last.
“I will do what I can to help you son,” Jonah’s gut contracted when he saw Grey sneer at the word ‘son’. He’d raised the boy, loved the boy, fed, clothed, and sheltered him, taught him how to ride a bike and hit a ball and drive a car. What the fuck else could Jonah do to prove he was the kid’s father? He’d held him in the night when he was afraid of monsters, he’d read him stories and tied his shoes and brought him fishing. He’d helped him build a soapbox car for boy scouts and sat with him for hours until he understood his math homework, he’d driven him to football practice and been to every single scrimmage and game, home and away. He was patient and nurturing and reliable and never turned him away when he needed or wanted his dad’s help with something. And still the boy treated him with disdain.
Did he really believe Vaughan Grey would have, could have possibly been a better father? Jonah pushed the thought away forcefully. He cleared his throat and continued.
“I’ll help however I possibly can,“ He reiterated, “But I don’t have access to that kind of money.”
Grey betrayed his desperation by running his fingers through his hair. “Dad, you’ve got to.”
Jonah tried not to feel like the sap he knew his son believed him to be.
“What kind of trouble are you in, son?” he repeated softly.
Grey took a deep breath and then sighed heavily. “I got a girl pregnant.”
Jonah blinked slowly. It wasn’t the first time Grey had told him this exact news. It wasn’t even the third. How many times had he had to tell the boy to wear some goddamn protection? “I should think you have enough money in the account we set up for this purpose—“
“She won’t get an abortion.”
“Oh.” Jonah couldn’t really think of what else to say. So a girl was extorting his son. Jonah supposed it was bound to happen eventually. The boy was a very rich bachelor who liked to have unprotected sex with pretty young things.
“I want to buy her off.” Grey explained impatiently.
“I see.” Jonah squeezed the bridge of his nose and sucked on his tongue. He really didn’t have that kind of money. He was spending a fortune on Avalon’s monster of a wedding.
If he took it from his joint account with Velvet then she would notice, one couldn’t help but notice the absence of such a substantial sum. Grey obviously wanted to do this without his mother’s knowledge. Jonah guessed it was because Velvet would not approve and would not consent to this course of action. Grey wanted to be well and truly rid of the girl and if Velvet knew she was having a grandchild Grey would be roped into a fatherhood he neither wanted nor needed.
What an irresponsible, selfish, callous bastard.
“Well Grey,” Jonah spoke at last, standing and walking back to his seat behind the desk. “As I don’t have the funds and I presume you don’t wish to ask your mother for it—“ He sat and leaned back. “it looks like you’ll have to ask your father.”
Grey blanched. Jonah never so much as mentioned Grey’s real father. He was not referred to, he was not referenced, he was not a factor. Jonah always acted as though Vaughan Grey did not exist.
See if your selfish, arrogant, ass of a sperm-donor can help you out of this one, you obnoxious little prick. Jonah sipped his coffee grimly.
“Are you serious?” Grey’s voice was tight and higher than usual.
“I’m afraid so.” Jonah was calm. His son had expected to come here and get a desperate sucker to dole out tens of thousands of dollars. Well, he was sick of dancing to this fucker’s tune. If he wanted to conduct himself like Vaughan Grey’s heir, seducing pretty virgins and fucking up their lives, then let him go ask Vaughan Grey for the money to clean up his mess.
“You want me to ask him?”
“Of course it isn’t what I want—“ Jonah said, swirling the last third of his dark roast in his mug. “But I don’t think you have much of a choice, do you?”
Grey looked openly stunned and a little disgusted.
“Of course you could do the right thing—“ Jonah began, knowing his fatherly advice would roll off the boy like rainwater.
“Save it.” Grey said and stood to pace the study.
Jonah wanted to tell the young man that he’d behaved like a perfect idiot and it was coming around to bite him in the ass. He did not. “I want you to know that your mother and I will support you and the young lady, should you decide to do right by her.”
Grey threw his head back and growled in frustration.
“I’m not marrying some sneaky little slut just because she was too religious for birth control!”
“And what’s your excuse?” Jonah countered, trying to control the lecturing tone that was creeping into his voice.
Grey stopped pacing and glared at his father. “It fucking feels good.”
Jonah smiled wanly. “You’re an ass.”
Grey nodded slowly. “You’re hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is, and you’re going to be very, very sorry you didn’t give me this money.”
“Say hello to Vaughan for me.” Jonah said to Grey’s back as he stalked out of the study. He received a middle finger in response.
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