Read Online The Billionaire’s Tenacious Boss (The Maxfield Brothers Series Book 1) by Leslie North - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Leslie North
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that he had orchestrated this whole situation, and that could only mean one thing.
He knew that something had happened between her and Stephen.
Torn between embarrassment and outrage, she avoided his look. On one hand, it was her life: she could see and kiss whomever she damn well pleased, and Duncan Maxfield didn’t have any say in it. On the other hand, it was embarrassing that he knew that she’d fallen so quickly under his son’s spell. She was supposed to be a professional, and she was practically sending goo-goo eyes Stephen’s way. It was as if she was in middle school again.
“You were out of the office quite a bit today,” Stephen broke through her thoughts. She struggled to relax as he and Duncan both watched her. “Working from home?”
“I had some meetings,” she said casually. There was no reason to divulge what those meetings were about.
Stephen, however, didn’t let it go. “Meetings for what?”
“We’ve had an offer from a company in Colorado to buy their property. Today I went to discuss preliminaries, and I arranged for some surveyors to go out and inspect the property. Do you need to know where I ate and when I stopped for coffee as well?” she asked sweetly. Technically, she hadn’t lied, and her misdirection worked. Stephen settled back in his chair while Suzanne glared at him.
“Stephen, do you have to talk about business now?” she said in a tight voice.
“Sorry,” he murmured. An awkward silence descended over the table until Nathan asked Ben a question. The boy lit up, and he answered his uncle’s questions with glee. When dinner was over, Ben led Nathan and Gabe upstairs to show them his video games.
“Another glass of wine?” Suzanne asked. She grabbed a fresh bottle and her own glass and headed into the living room.
“Another bottle is more like,” Angie said with a laugh. “But I should probably start with the one glass.”
“I admire you,” Suzanne said as they settled in the plush chairs. “It can’t be easy to work with that family of men all the time.”
Suzanne admired her? That was laughable. “Normally it’s only Duncan and Gabe. Stephen has been gone for more than a decade, and Nathan’s been gone for a few years now too. They’ve only been under the same roof for a few days now,” she said with a shrug.
“They’re a strange family. I wish I had known their mother. I think she was the glue that held the family together, and once she died, everyone kind of drifted apart. I know they all care about the company, but they’re less likely to admit that they care about each other. The boys were close when Stephen and I got married, but by the time we divorced, they weren’t even speaking to each other.”
“Why did you divorce?” Angie asked bluntly. She immediately blushed. “I’m sorry. That’s such a personal question, and I had no right to ask that.”
Suzanne smiled softly at her. “It’s fine. We used to be crazy in love. To a certain degree, we’re still quite fond of each other. There wasn’t a huge fight or anything. It was a lot of little things that kept adding up. Stephen’s company wasn’t doing well. He blamed his father for that, and the strain was wearing on him. We were never financially hurting, but Stephen wanted to prove that he could do it on his own. Long working days turned into long working weeks. I’d go several days at a time without seeing him. I learned to live without him, and then I realized that I didn’t want to live like that. I didn’t want to be able to live without my husband. I asked for a divorce, but he wanted to try to make it work. We gave it another shot, but we realized we were only doing it for Ben. The divorce went through without any problems. My only regret is that he can’t see Ben more often.”
Angie sipped her wine thoughtfully. It was clear that Stephen and Duncan were more alike than Stephen wanted to admit. When Duncan had been active in the company, there had been days
He knew that something had happened between her and Stephen.
Torn between embarrassment and outrage, she avoided his look. On one hand, it was her life: she could see and kiss whomever she damn well pleased, and Duncan Maxfield didn’t have any say in it. On the other hand, it was embarrassing that he knew that she’d fallen so quickly under his son’s spell. She was supposed to be a professional, and she was practically sending goo-goo eyes Stephen’s way. It was as if she was in middle school again.
“You were out of the office quite a bit today,” Stephen broke through her thoughts. She struggled to relax as he and Duncan both watched her. “Working from home?”
“I had some meetings,” she said casually. There was no reason to divulge what those meetings were about.
Stephen, however, didn’t let it go. “Meetings for what?”
“We’ve had an offer from a company in Colorado to buy their property. Today I went to discuss preliminaries, and I arranged for some surveyors to go out and inspect the property. Do you need to know where I ate and when I stopped for coffee as well?” she asked sweetly. Technically, she hadn’t lied, and her misdirection worked. Stephen settled back in his chair while Suzanne glared at him.
“Stephen, do you have to talk about business now?” she said in a tight voice.
“Sorry,” he murmured. An awkward silence descended over the table until Nathan asked Ben a question. The boy lit up, and he answered his uncle’s questions with glee. When dinner was over, Ben led Nathan and Gabe upstairs to show them his video games.
“Another glass of wine?” Suzanne asked. She grabbed a fresh bottle and her own glass and headed into the living room.
“Another bottle is more like,” Angie said with a laugh. “But I should probably start with the one glass.”
“I admire you,” Suzanne said as they settled in the plush chairs. “It can’t be easy to work with that family of men all the time.”
Suzanne admired her? That was laughable. “Normally it’s only Duncan and Gabe. Stephen has been gone for more than a decade, and Nathan’s been gone for a few years now too. They’ve only been under the same roof for a few days now,” she said with a shrug.
“They’re a strange family. I wish I had known their mother. I think she was the glue that held the family together, and once she died, everyone kind of drifted apart. I know they all care about the company, but they’re less likely to admit that they care about each other. The boys were close when Stephen and I got married, but by the time we divorced, they weren’t even speaking to each other.”
“Why did you divorce?” Angie asked bluntly. She immediately blushed. “I’m sorry. That’s such a personal question, and I had no right to ask that.”
Suzanne smiled softly at her. “It’s fine. We used to be crazy in love. To a certain degree, we’re still quite fond of each other. There wasn’t a huge fight or anything. It was a lot of little things that kept adding up. Stephen’s company wasn’t doing well. He blamed his father for that, and the strain was wearing on him. We were never financially hurting, but Stephen wanted to prove that he could do it on his own. Long working days turned into long working weeks. I’d go several days at a time without seeing him. I learned to live without him, and then I realized that I didn’t want to live like that. I didn’t want to be able to live without my husband. I asked for a divorce, but he wanted to try to make it work. We gave it another shot, but we realized we were only doing it for Ben. The divorce went through without any problems. My only regret is that he can’t see Ben more often.”
Angie sipped her wine thoughtfully. It was clear that Stephen and Duncan were more alike than Stephen wanted to admit. When Duncan had been active in the company, there had been days
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