Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Harrison.” My mother scowled. “You knew about this event. You had agreed to go to this event to announce your engagement when we had lunch the other day.”
I thought back to a few weeks ago when I met Catherine for the first time, and we had worked out the details of our engagement. She was right. She had mentioned this event, and if Cynthia hadn’t been on vacation, then it would have been on my calendar, and I would have known about it. I relied on my secretary too much. I added a mental note to tell her to get herself one of the gift baskets when she bought one for Mrs. Lakeson.
“Catherine, dear, why don’t you go take a seat at one of the desks out there? Give me a moment to speak to my son,” my mother said sweetly, patting Catherine on the arm.
Catherine didn’t say anything. She glared at me, and then she looked around the room with her lips curled in disgust before she turned on her heel and walked through the bullpen.
My mother gently closed the door behind her and then turned to face me. The last shreds of a pleasant demeanor had vanished. All that was left was the real Mary Quinn Astrid, the hatred in her eyes, and the disapproving sneer. That look used to be accompanied by lines on her forehead and around her eyes and mouth, but Botox had taken care of that years ago.
“Harrison Phillip Astrid,” my mother said. “You are being incredibly stupid.”
“Excuse me,” I said, standing from my desk.
“You heard me. You know, I never thought that you would make the same stupid mistakes as every other man. I always knew you weren’t perfect. Lord knows I knew that. You have a temper like your father and are just as willful as your sisters.”
“I think you mean like my mother,” I spat back.
“No, I might get angry, but I don’t act irrationally. I don’t act out of stupidity and emotions like you’re doing. I think things through, which is why I told you that leaking the news about your true parentage was inadvisable. But did you listen to me? No, you didn’t. And what happened?”
I didn’t answer her. I wasn’t willing to vindicate her or give her the satisfaction of being right again.
“What happened, Harrison.” She leaned down, placing her hands on my desk.
“You know what happened,” I said.
“I know what happened, but do you? Because you dropped in public opinion. I told you that the scandal would turn voters against you, but you said no, the people wouldn’t care. It would make you even more approachable to the common man. Did it? No! It made you fodder for Page Six for a month, and now the voters don’t take you seriously. They look at you, and they don’t see an Astrid. They don’t see a master of the universe. They see another scandal right between the drunk pop star and the spoiled heiress.”
“What’s your point, Mother?”
“My point is that you agreed to let me fix this for you. You agreed to let me handle the public opinion and repair your reputation. The best way for me to do that is to show the people who you are, that you are not just another rich, lazy little bitch with Daddy’s money. No, you are a real person. I do that by marrying you off to Catherine, making a solid match, and then she will be able to make you likable again to put you back in our society’s good graces.” Her face got redder as she spoke, not that you could see it anywhere except where her thick foundation had started to crack.
“I know this. I have already agreed to marry her. What more do you want?”
“It’s not enough that you marry her. You have to be seen with her, you have to go to these events, and you have to get your things together. You are not stupid. You are not like your sisters, defiant little brats that they are. You are smart. You know what needs to be done. I need you to do it.”
I hated when she talked about Amelia and Rose like that. I hated how she looked down on them just because they were women. The hypocrisy and the misogyny were incredible. It wasn’t like she would ever allow them to work or to do anything outside the home other than be pawns and marry whomever my mother decided.
“Fine, I apologize for missing the event. I will not miss the next one,” I said.
“It’s not just this event, you stupid boy. You need to be seen with Catherine. You need people to believe that you two are a couple, and when it comes out that you’re sleeping with your secretary, no one will be able to save you from that.”