Chapter 41 - The Billionaire Triplets Take New York

“It seems you’ve been…busy,” Richard said glancing up as Silas stared out the window.

Silas grunted not turning from the scene playing out beyond as Ava and the kids made a snowman. He and Ava had slept late used to Duncan taking care of the kids in the morning. When they did wake he was furious to know none had been given breakfast. The temporary kitchen staff hadn’t even allowed the kids to make their own. Ava calmed him and escorted the kids to the kitchen. She ignored the looks from the staff and repeated the scrambled eggs from the night before for brunch.

In the middle of their meal Joseph summoned him to meet with his father only to be sent away with a glare. If not for Ava’s insistence he wouldn’t have bothered to answer it at all.

“You seem distracted.”

“I don’t know why that should be,” Silas said. “I’ve brought my fiancée and children home only for them to be treated with disrespect, starved and insulted by people I could easily remove from the world without anyone caring. Why should any of that be distracting?”

He glanced at his father waiting for him to protest.

“I think it’s a little too soon to be calling that girl your fiancée and you should be careful where you say that word. Depending who hears it they may take it seriously.”

“I should hope so. I plan on announcing it at the New Year’s party.”

“W-what!” Richard stuttered. “You can’t…”

“I assure you, I can,” Silas said.

“What about Jenna? What is she going to think when she hears that?”

“I don’t give a damn. Ava is the only woman I will ever marry and the sooner you get that through your head the better.”

“Just because a woman ensnared you in a weak moment…”

“I’ve know I was going to marry Ava since I was twelve and you would have known if you paid any attention,” Silas corrected.

“Since you were…but…” Richard stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. “But she’s a Carlisle.”

“She is not her parents,” Silas said. “You have no idea what she has been through growing up in that household. Despite that she is kind, so kind that she is willing to forgive all the disrespect she suffered under this roof.”

Joseph cleared his throat looking away when Silas glared at him. As far as Silas was concerned the butler was just as much to blame for the disrespect Ava suffered, perhaps even more so, than his father.

“…Is she the reason you missed out on a key acquisition?” Richard said trying to move the conversation along.

“I assume you mean Tomlinson. I wouldn’t call it a key acquisition. More like a passing fancy,” Silas shrugged. “I doubt it would have given us more than a one percent increase in the technology sector. I heard they made a deal with Stanton.”

“That’s a very flippant attitude to take over a failure. That is not the way to reassure your investors.”

“Father, it’s the holidays…I’m not here to work. I’m here to spend time with my family. Perhaps you should try it.”

“I don’t have to take that attitude…”

“You’re retired. Remember?”

“I won’t let you run the company to the ground.”

“Our stocks are up five percent. The company has seen a seventy-five percent increase in profits since I took over,” Silas reminded. “In fact Emerson called me the day before we drove up here.”

“Emerson? What did he want?” Richard glared.

“He wanted to discuss Prescott Industries buying out Carlisle Enterprises.”

“He wanted…what? A buyout?”

“That’s right. He said he didn’t care if I kept Carlisle separate or merged it into mine. His only requests were a fair price based on market value and that I don’t downsize his staff.”

“Why would he do that?” Richard asked. He often dreamed of wiping Carlisle Enterprises off the face of the earth but never once did he consider Emerson would actually just sell it off.

“It may do you good to get your nose out of the Financial Times once and awhile and glance at the gossip pages. If you did you’d know he’s having some personal issues with his family. Namely his wife and oldest daughter,” Silas explained. “I think he also feels guilty for abandoning Ava and the kids too.”

Silas’s gaze returned to the scene out the window now dissolving into a snowball fight. He hadn’t told Ava or the kids yet and asked Emerson to give him until after the holidays to think about it. They planned to meet after the New Year to discuss details but Silas already planned to merge the companies under the Prescott banner. Ideally he wanted to diversify and prepare the perfect sectors for each of the kids.

Sean would naturally be in charge of technology and data security. Theo was best suited to personnel management. There was no question Alexis was the only one to take over for him when the time came for him to step down. Together the trio would be an unstoppable triad working in perfect sync. With a sigh he turned from the window and headed to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To spend time with my family. It’s the holidays.”

Without another word Silas left. It was far too claustrophobic in his father’s study. For once he had a reason to enjoy this time and certainly he was entitled to ignore work for a little while. Grabbing a coat he headed out hearing laughter.

“Eek! Theo!”

“Got you! Ha-ha!”

Theo and Sean peppered their mother and sister with snowballs as they sought shelter behind the snowman they just finished. Suddenly the boys found themselves under fire. They looked to see Silas had joined the fight with an armload of hastily made snowballs. With cries of protest they darted for cover.

“Fear not, milady,” Silas gathered Ava up and carried her off. Alexis laughed gripping his elbow she followed him to a snow drift for cover.

“Silas!” Ava laughed as he set her back on her feet.

“No time. We need ammo. Right Lexi?”

“Right,” Alexis agreed sinking to her knees and began making snowballs.

Silas knelt beside her as did Ava quickly stockpiling ammo. Once they had a pile he armed himself ready to look for the boys.

“They are coming from the left,” Alexis whispered.

“You sure?”

“Y-yeah.”

He grimaced at her sarcasm but nonetheless turned to his left and waited for her signal. Standing he unleashed his assault on the boys trying to stealthily sneak up on them.

“No fair!” Theo called as they retreated. “You have the human sonar on your side!”

“Says you!” Alexis laughed.

Even though most of her snowballs fell well short of their intended targets they nonetheless added to the chaos. They pelted the boys before the pair finally conceded with cries of Yield!

“Hold them down, Lexi,” Silas laughed as he pulled Ava into his arms holding her close. Obediently Alexis sat on top of her brothers rubbing snow on their heads. It wasn’t often she could claim victory when they ganged up on her.

Silas suddenly stooped wrapping his arms around Ava’s thighs and straightened lifting her up. Ava laughed clinging to him as he slowly spun her around. Her fingers ran through his hair as she kissed him.

“I hope you two won’t take up too much time going all kissy-face,” Theo complained. “It’s cold out here. And I’m hungry.”

Ava blushed looking down at her children as Silas gently set her back on her feet. He bowed his head standing forehead to forehead.

“I should make lunch,” Ava softly said after she caught her breath. “What would you three like?”

Silas sighed. She shouldn’t have to worry about such things but his parents’ staff proved unreliable and worse, openly hostile. It was time for drastic action in fact Thomas had already been sent to retrieve his secret weapon.

“Spaghetti!” Sean said. “That’s fast and easy.”

“Got my vote!” Theo seconded.

“We can help,” Alexis agreed.

“Let’s make spaghetti,” Ava smiled. “A real family meal.”

“Okay.” Silas kissed her temple. He wouldn’t mind that in the least.

* * *

Jenna woke late. Glancing at the clock she saw it was nearly noon. With a groan she sat up her thighs ached and her core throbbed. She grasped the thick dildo half-buried in her sheets. Memories from the previous night intruded causing her to quiver.

Her gaze drifted across the room. It was the same one she used since she and Silas were children. In fact his room was right next door. When they were younger a door connected them but it had been locked years ago after she wandered into his bedroom late at night while he was sleeping. She had no idea what he did with the key after he threw her out in disgust.

Jenna couldn’t remember exactly when he started looking at her with an expression akin to a bad smell. When they were children he had always been indifferent to her but somewhere along the lines it changed. Now he couldn’t even stand her touch. Every year his father ordered him to be her escort for the New Year’s party and every year he refused to even hold her hand. He was always cold and she assumed that was merely his way but last night had been something quite different.

During dinner his focus had been on the woman beside him. He held her hand and kissed it several times. When the staff’s tricks got out of hand he seethed with rage walking out with the woman and children not so much as glancing in Jenna’s direction. She trailed them to the kitchen hoping to catch him for a moment only to witness their intimate little meal.

Jenna found herself seething with envy at the way Silas held the other woman in his lap. When the children asked him about Jenna’s appearance at dinner his tone was dismissive. He even said she meant nothing. But what could he mean by that? Who had been by his side since he was a child? Who had been his father’s favorite and proclaimed his perfect match? How could that mean nothing?

Unable to face him then she returned to the dinner table. She asked about the woman but Richard had been as dismissive of her as Silas was toward Jenna calling her a passing fancy but it didn’t feel that way. Over the years many women tried to catch his eye but he ignored them all. For some reason Silas treated this one different. After dinner she lay in bed contemplating everything she saw until she fell asleep only to be awakened by angry shouts, something about the staff being incompetent. Jenna remained in her room as it had nothing to do with her and soon the commotion died down.

The mansion fell silent but it didn’t last long. Muffled moans seeped from the other room along with the rhythmic banging against the wall. It didn’t take her long to figure out what was going on and who he was doing it with. Just the thought of it heated her core again.

Unable to bear the pressure Jenna reached for her dildo hoping to relieve the ache between her thighs. She inserted it in time with the sounds penetrating through the wall shuddering with the pace he kept, echoing the muffled cries of ecstasy, peaking with them and she fell into exhausted slumber.

Now her face warmed with shame but also anger and jealousy. Just who was this woman that took her place and enjoyed the attention she deserved? It wasn’t fair given how many years she worked to gain Richard’s favor and trust. She couldn’t allow someone else to take her place.

Flinging aside the blankets she stood making her way to her bathroom when shouts of surprise and laughter caught her attention. Moving to the window she looked down to see her rival and the children building a snowman. The activity deteriorated into a snowball fight and she smirked at the lack of discipline. She hoped Richard was watching just to drive home how inadequate this woman was compared to her.

Her joy was short-lived as Silas soon joined the fun. Securing victory he picked up the woman and shared a passionate kiss that made Jenna squirm with longing. The small group headed in and Jenna fought her lingering envy. She had to find a way to turn this around.

After a bath she waited for her customary lunch that never arrived. Frustrated she finally left her room intent on giving the kitchen staff a piece of her mind. The pleasing smell of onion and garlic greeted her as she neared. Her stomach grumbled and her mouth watered. Reaching the kitchen door she hesitated when she heard childlike laughter.

She peered through the circular window to see Silas, the woman and three kids busy at the stove. The woman fried up burger adding sauce and seasonings to create the delicious smelling meat sauce. While she did that the girl added spaghetti noodles to boiling water stirring them as they cooked. Silas was in charge of salad or so it seemed. With the boys’ help they separated lettuce leaves adding grated carrots, onions and croutons.

Once complete each had a large plate of spaghetti covered in meat sauce and a salad on the side. Once again Silas pulled the woman into his lap cuddling with her as they ate. It was a sublime domestic scene but once again her place was taken by another. Ignoring her protesting stomach Jenna whirled around and stormed away unable to stand watching it a moment longer.