Chapter 8: Assumptions

DARIUS

“Mother,” I greeted her as I walked through the spacious, modern living room attached to her bedroom.

She sat on a white armchair with a book on her lap.

“You wanted to speak?”

She wasted no time trying to get under my skin.

“Don’t you dare go back to the city just yet, Robert Darius, I am your mother. Preparations are in order. You are to stay in the family estate and—”

“How can I be of service to you, Mother?” I stretched my arms on the armchair and relaxed.

I cut her off gently, as any polite son would to a loving mother.

“You are to stay,” she repeated, bringing her morning coffee to her mouth.

“You can’t keep disappearing two minutes after seeing your family.”

A statement meant to bring an end to my peace and solitude.

Yet here I was.

“If anything of importance comes up, I’m sure Edmund will handle it,” I replied, unconcerned.

Obviously, if any other person demanded anything from me, I would have ignored them.

Not Anna.

“Robert, Alexander is here. When was the last time we were all together for Christmas? Can’t you just make your mother happy?”

“A happy family reunion.” I smiled. ~One I was not staying at.~

“I’ll think about it,” I said unemotionally, neither compromising nor hurting her feelings right away.

My decision was already made.

I was leaving tomorrow morning.

“Robert Darius, you don’t have the heart to leave me alone, do you? I don’t know if Edmund will stay for this event that ~he~ added to ~my~ schedule. He is busier than ever, and I’m afraid he’ll leave again.”

The mask had slipped off, and she was unable to hide the genuine concern in her voice.

~Scheduled.~

I knew what she meant.

When you were a Rothschild, your life was detailed and planned.

The only one who got out of duty was my brother.

He was carefree and wild—something that I could never be.

Free.

“You only have time for that selfish project of yours in your spare time,” she went on.

“I see,” I exhaled calmly, detailing my mother’s immaculate hands and delicate jewelry.

“No, you don’t see. The event is happening with both brothers and ~the board.~”

“The board will be here?”

“Yes, a global call has been made.”

If she didn’t have my undivided attention, she had it at this exact moment.

“By whom?” I questioned her.

“Guess.”

“I have no clue, Mother.” I pressed my thumb and index finger on my forehead.

“How didn’t I receive the notice?”

“I taught you well how to read legal notices and small print. Must be on your spam folder,” she stood up, watching me sideways.

“Oh please, fix your relationship with your father, Robert, and find out what your brother is looking to announce.”

She knew I had a weakness for my brother.

A need to protect him.

The board would be there next to Alexander’s new toy.

A disaster.

“Is that what you tried to push out of his mouth at dinner?”

“You know your brother better than I. It is better to approach him directly,” she sighed.

“I am more concerned about him being near the board than the flying vultures around your grandmother’s—”

“Something came up with Sophie’s will again?”

“Yes, apparently. Mr. Vanderbill is paying us a visit tomorrow.”

Sophie’s lawyer?

My hand passed from my cheekbones to my chin.

“No wonder Luther is here.”

I had the sudden urge to leave immediately, yet I stayed.

“And staying,” she raised both hands.

I wanted to laugh.

“For the holidays?”

She nodded again.

~Interesting.~ That hasn’t happened in over two decades.

“More reason for you to stay,” Anna rearranged her frame.

Chin up, eyes firm, back straight.

“You have expectations to uphold. A family to support.”

Expectations I didn’t want.

A family that equaled drama.

My time was booked.

All of it.

Yes, it was evident she knew what Edmund wanted from me.

As if my undivided attention was not enough, now Mr. Vanderbill’s visit not only could add more responsibilities to my plate but problems.

~Big problems.~

“You know how sensitive the board is to your brother’s presence, and I am afraid Luther will use anything to his advantage to place Vivian on top depending on what your grandmother—”

“Nor Alexander nor Vivian care about any of this or her living trust.”

Both of them were free of responsibilities.

Both of them were smart.

None of them wanted this burden.

“How could you be so sure? Alexander is picking the worst moment to—What could he possibly announce?” she added bitterly.

I was intrigued.

“I don’t know, Mother, probably bailing out on the family name?”

“Don’t even say that!” Anna said, mortified.

“What else could he announce?”

My eyes fell on the magazine on her lap.

I grabbed it expectantly.

This was going to be good.

“‘Playboy Hitched,’” I read out loud.

The magazine showed a photo of Alexander and his new girlfriend on our family’s megayacht.

“Do you think he really is…”

She finished my thought.

“In love?” she asked coldly.

“Maybe.”

I laughed and licked my finger to turn to the next page for more details of my brother’s passionate affair.

Anna raised her eyebrows in a controlled expression.

Nothing new.

Just one more splotch on my brother’s reputation and our prestigious family name.

“Sarah Summer, theater actress,” I mumbled.

This woman had some curves.

My brother’s hands were glued to her body in every photograph.

I continued glancing through the pictures of them sipping wine under the sunset.

“I am disappointed,” was all she said.

“Agree,” I added.

We all agreed.

It was the only thing on which I’d ever agreed with Edmund: it was time for Alexander to grow up.

He was putting the family name on the line.

“Mother, it sounds like you will get what you always wanted,” I teased.

“A daughter. And not just one. Two.”

“Oh, don’t even think about mixing yourself with those girls. Did you see how she spoke at dinner?” She inhaled sharply.

“We are just missing the whole farm to enter the house.”

I raised my eyebrows at her comment.

Anna Elizabeth Rothschild already had them on the look.

~Good luck to these girls.~

“Relax, Mother, what’s the worst that can happen with Alexander screwing up more with the board?”

“Besides you gaining more responsibilities? This girl’s presence here is a liability for your brother.”

~She was right, again.~

“We need your brother’s reputation to stay afloat if we want to hold our position with the board. Depending on how your grandmother decides to split her shares, probably between the brothers, new alliances can appear, ones made in secrecy.”

The hottest bachelor, with a new fling every week in Monaco, Milan, LA, and every exotic locale he could get to—but never with the same woman, not twice—was now to be seen in what appeared to be a committed relationship?

This was going to attract so much attention toward him.

Keeping his reputation afloat? What my mother was asking was a miracle.

I pressed my index finger and thumb to my forehead, easing a pulsing headache.

The Summer sisters needed to be out of the manor by the end of this week.

I approached my mother and gave her a goodnight kiss.

“Guess your Christmas wish has come true, Mother. We will all be together for Christmas this year.”

The silent pause that followed confirmed the agreement settling between us.

My mother was playing on my side of the court, which put me in a position where I had to do the same.

Between the lines that could be crossed and by any means necessary, Alexander’s infatuation had to end—soon.

“This is of your highest interest, Robert Darius, to help your brother see the light. We will remain strong as a family even when our enemies pray for our fall. Much can happen. Much is at stake. We need to break these girls before the event happens,” she said. “Figure something quick.”

Break? That was worse than making them disappear.