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His jaw twitched as he ground his teeth. How dare she speak of Mary that way. He
wanted to blast her with the knowledge that his own father, her husband, had had several
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affairs during their marriage. He couldn t bring himself to do it, though. She never knew.
What was the point of bringing it up now? Jacob wasn t married, had no one to answer
to, and the fact that she was treating him like some kind of a criminal irked the hell out of
him.
What do you have to say for yourself? she demanded.
What I do in my private time is no concern of yours, mother.
Private? she screeched. You have no private time. You are a public figure and
you are watched constantly. Her lip curled in obvious disgust. I ve seen pictures of the
two of you. The world has seen pictures of the two of you. I came home to talk to you,
hoping it was nothing but rumor, and what do I find? She shook her head, showing her
contempt. On a day you should be at work, no less.
It s Saturday, he said, keeping his voice level, not letting the anger out. Most
people don t work on Saturdays. Normal people.
You are not a normal person, Jacob Anthony Stone. You are the head of a multi-
billion dollar company.
He shoved his hand through his hair in frustration. Which is something I plan to
remedy very soon!
He hadn t meant to shout, and the look on his mother s face showed that she hadn t
expected it either.
What do you mean?
He hadn t figured out how he was going to tell her this, and having a shouting match
in the middle of his bedroom was about as bad as the situation could have gotten. Sinking
down on the edge of the bed he sighed.
Mother, I m leaving Stone.
You are not.
Yes, I am.
He scrubbed his hands over his face and prayed this was all a nightmare. That his
mother hadn t interrupted his morning with Mary. That she was still in England. But
when he lowered his hands and opened his eyes she still stood there in her beige suit and
matching shoes, shaking with fury.
This is because of her, isn t it? What has she done to you? Are you insane?
It has nothing to do with Mary, and I m not crazy.
If your father were alive right now he d--
He d what? He came up off the bed and moved toward her. What? What would
he do? Disown me? That s exactly what I want.
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It s always what you want, isn t it? You were always a selfish, spoiled boy. It s my
own fault, I suppose. I always let you have everything you wanted when you were young.
But this is your father s company we re talking about. How could you drag his good
name through the mud like this?
Okay, now she d just gone too far. Mother. Please.
Answer me.
He took her by the arm and as gently as possible led her from the room, down the
hall toward the kitchen. We ll discuss this later.
We ll discuss this now!
He wanted to slam his fist into the wall. He wanted to shout out his frustrations.
Years and years of frustrations at his mother s highhandedness. This was his life and he d
damn well do whatever the hell he wanted with it. And that was to get away from Stone
Enterprises before he turned into someone he couldn t stand. Someone who had
absolutely nothing left but a lot of money, and contempt for the world.
You need to go now, Mother. He led her through the kitchen and dining room to
the front door. We ll talk about this later.
She jerked from his grasp and stalked toward the door. She ll ruin you, Jacob. She
opened the door and stood there for a long moment glaring at him. That little slut will
ruin you.
Before he could respond, she went out the door, slamming it behind her.
How dare she call Mary a slut! He turned on his heel and marched through the house
to Mary s suite. The door was closed, and when he tried the knob it was locked. He
knocked. Honey. Let me in.
No response.
He knocked harder. Come on, sweetheart. Don t be like this.
The door swung open so fast he almost lost his balance. Mary shoved passed him,
fully clothed in her baggy jeans and sweatshirt, carrying her purse.
Where are you going?
Out, she said, her stride never faltering.
He went after her and near the leather sofa in the social room, grabbed her arm,
swinging her around. Mary. We need to talk.
She yanked her arm from his grip. Her eyes flashed fire and she snarled. Your
trollop doesn t wish to speak to you right now.
Mary, you know she says things--
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You let her! Mary poked him in the chest, hard, with a pointy finger. You didn t
even bother to say anything. You just stood there. First that guy at the ski lodge, now that
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