Playboy billionaire Aiden Grayson is being blackmailed and when he meets his handsome new bodyguard, Julian, he's slowly overcome by feelings he can't deny.
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Aiden Grayson is a child of privi...
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02. FATHER KNOWS BEST
Instead of getting back together with Kyle to sit down and form a plan to get to the bottom of this blackmailing madness, for the past couple of days, Aiden has kept himself busy by trying to drink his troubles away at home.
He had been enjoying the peace and quiet that comes from living alone, his large mansion being his safe place, but it all soon comes to an abrupt end thanks to the repetitive ringing of his doorbell.
"For the love of God, can I not have just a few days to myself?" Aiden slammed his drink down before going to answer the front door.
He was irritated because he hadn't been expecting any visitors today. On top of that, he hated when people dropped by his place unannounced.
Finally reaching the door, Aiden swung it open ready to tell whoever it was to go back to wherever the hell they came from, but he had to stop himself at the last second because, much to his surprise, his parents and Kyle stood on the other side of the door. Each of them had concerned looks on their faces, excluding his father who mostly looked disgusted by the depressive looking appearance of his son.
"My God, you look like hell," Thomas said. "And your eyes... It's almost noon, how are you already wasted? When's the last time you consumed something other than alcohol? Or better yet, when's the last time you showered? I can smell you from here."
"A simple hello would have sufficed," Aiden sharply replied.
Thomas said nothing in return as he pushed past Aiden to enter the house.
"Will you two ever get along?" Lydia asked her troubled son before following her husband.
"It's not me," Aiden muttered under his breath. "It's Thomas."
Aiden couldn't recall the last time he called Thomas father or dad out loud. Their relationship has been strained for years, neither of them knowing how exactly to repair it. Their downfall began when Thomas forced Aiden to take over the family business after he retired. Having Aiden run the company that he built from nothing had always been Thomas' dream. It'd been something that Thomas had always wanted to see come to fruition, but it was also something that Aiden never wanted.
A few years after Aiden graduated high school, not wanting his son to be further led down the wrong path by people who didn't have his best interest, Thomas had given Aiden a harsh ultimatum: learn the ins and outs of the business so that he'd be capable of running Grayson Ent., or indefinitely be cut off financially.
Aiden's mother didn't like her husband's aggressive request, but she also didn't do much to offer any alternatives for Aiden.
At the time, the choice that he needed to make had been obvious to Aiden.
He'd been living quite carelessly after leaving high school; for years, instead of being productive and doing something with his life, Aiden chose to mess around and embrace his dark side. He kept his circle small and only hung out with people like him – other spoiled rich assholes. Not really knowing what he wanted to do with his life, it was easy for Aiden to slip into that 'I don't give a fuck about anything or anyone; I'll do whatever I want' lifestyle when he had instant access to his parent's money and was rarely ever told no.
