Chapter 47: Confrontation

Jaxon's POV:

The car came to a stop right in front of my family's imposing mansion. I undid my seatbelt with sweaty hands.

“Do I need to come in with you?” Reene asked as I pushed the door open.

“No.” I shook my head. “I'll handle this.”

“Okay.”

My legs hit the concrete before I slid out of the car. I stood for a second sweeping a gaze round the entire place, before I closed the door behind me.

It had been at least two months since I was last here. Since I was last at home.

And stepping out from the car in to this place made me feel uncomfortably close and at the same time intolerably far away.

My parents were nice folks, retired couples who raised a good family—God bless them for that.

I began down the sidewalk and in minutes I was pushing the living room door wide open. It was still the same old place, sophisticated furnitures and portraits lined half the walls. You could barely make out the end of the hall.

But I knew from memory that a dining space was some were at the far end and there was a bar also some were there. With stairs and all that. It was just a bigger more homely and Exotic version of my house.

“Welcome back Master Jaxon.”

I jumped, leaping in to the air with shock. My heart beating at an outrageous pace.

“Good God! Lincoln!” I held a hand to my head and place one on the wall to steady myself.

I could have sworn I didn't see anyone in here.

“You almost frightened the hell out of me now.” I said taking in the steward's appearance. The man had been working with us for a very long time, and that even went far back to before I was born and grown up.

He looked old now, with wrinkles and all that, but he still had that boyish glint in his eyes when he smiled and he did that now.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.”

I nodded. “It's fine.”

I turned my attention to the stairs and asked aloud. “Haven't you seen my Dad.”

“Yeah, he told me to let you know he was waiting for you in the study.”

“Ugh!” My heart sank straight in to my pants.

He pointed at the hallway in the corner. “He's in the study.”

“Oh.. uh, Thank you.u” I stuttered and turned to stare at the hallway, dreading it as much as the fact that I had to walk down there.

“Alright then.” He disappeared in to a side door. Leaving me standing alone in the living room, sweating profusely and anxious.

My expression was solemn. When ever my Dad asked me to meet him in his study, it meant I had done something grave or he had something really important to discuss with me. And that had never been the case for a long time now. Really long time.

I dragged in a long deep breath to steady my thumping heart and took the first step towards the hallway, then the second. My face was already drained of color by the third step.

I could hear the sound of voices coming from the study, though I couldn't make out what was being said. I definitely unmistakably knew the sound of my father's voice, but there was also another speaker whom I couldn't identify. And there was only one way to find out.

I braced myself and took two quick strides, closing the distance and kept going.

Almost inches from the door: I heard the voices more audibly

The other speaker was saying. “It will take alteast forty-eight hours to block the news from all the communication channels.”

I halted, with my hands on the doorknob and leaned in.

They were talking about me.

“Do whatever you can, just anything. Will Bushel is trying to capitalize on this scandal to reap off some profits from my company.”

I frowned. What was going on?

Will Bushel was one of our most powerful contenders and business rival. But how was he capitalizing on the scandal about me to reap out profit from the company?

I twisted the doorknob and eased myself in to the study, immediately shifting the focus of the entire room to myself.

Dad was standing over his reading table, with his two hands planted firmly on them. His eyes hardened as he saw me.

I looked away and nodded at the other man, I couldn't recognize. He nodded back at me. He looked to me like a lawyer—his black suits and tousled blonde hair tied in perfectly with this.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked towards them. “Good morning, Dad.”

His glare didn't drop as he bit his lower lip while watching me. After a tensed up moment, he finally blurted out. “What have you been up to lately, young man?”

I held my breath. “Nothing— just..uh focusing on work.” I stuttered.

“Nonsense!” He walked round the table and drew close to me. He looked strong and agile in his black wayfarers and for one foolish moment I thought he was going to punch me.

I sucked in my breath and waited. He sat back in the chair across the ‘lawyer’ or whoever he was.

“You have been on the tabloids since 3am this morning. So are you trending for doing nothing.”

I nodded. “Everything is just a misunderstanding.”

He fixed me a cold stare. “Explain?”

“I only drove Laura home last night after she finished rehearsals at my place, we took a walk and that's how we ended up on the internet, for just taking a walk!” I said, anger stirring up in me, my fear now gone.

“Is that all?”

I nodded. “She had been in the news earlier in the day and that put me in the spotlight but that's just all.”

“What about the other girl?”

My face darkened. “Do you mean Evan?”

“Yes.”

I took in another long breath to steady myself before continuing. “She was my girlfriend untill yesterday. We broke up, but whatever she told the media is all a misunderstanding, we've sorted that out within ourselves.”

My Dad nodded, his eyes softening a bit. The man beside him cleared his throat and all eyes in the room turned to him.

He sat up in his seat and cleared his throat again. “I don't mean to discredit everything you've said, but I would love to get just one point clear here.”

He locked eyes with me and I suddenly felt uneasy about whatever he was about to say.

And that reminded me of the question I was dying to ask. “Who are you please.”

He adjusted his tie and before looking me square in the eye again. “I'm George Bagwell, A lawyer from out of town. I'm here to help you sort out this whole ordeal.”

I nodded. “Okay, so what was the question you wanted to ask?”

“What's your relationship with Ms. Laura Jacobs, the singer Vixen?”

My stomach clenched and my mouth suddenly went dry.

Dad turned in his seat to look back at me.

I stood there repeating the question to myself— who was Laura to me?