Chapter 47

"Fuck!" Jadon bellowed as he threw the phone across the office. It landed with a thud on the carpeted floor just short of meeting its doom with the glass. Not that he would have cared if it broke into a million pieces. The phone was a cheap burner he had bought to get in touch with Tapiwa since she had blocked his number.

A hysterical laugh burst out of his mouth, shaking his shoulders. Jadon couldn't believe what they had feared had actually happened. He knew he should have been prepared for it when he refused to do the blackmailer's bidding, but damn, maybe some part of him had thought it actually wouldn't come down to this.

And the icing on the cake? Tapiwa blamed him for everything. Maybe she needed a scapegoat she could blame and hate, but that wasn't helping either of them in their current predicament.

It was barely seven in the morning, Jadon imagined he had maybe another half hour before the majority of people in the city got to see what he looked like naked on top of a woman. For a second, Jadon didn't know whether to shout or cry. Thankfully, it was more laughter that bubbled out of his lips.

But a minute later, Jadon sobered and reached for his usual mobile. As though needing to see it again so he could believe it, Jadon opened his social media page and just stared. The caption made a fresh wave of anger crawl up his spine.

'CEO Jadon Paterson screwing more than his father's company.' It was the tamest of the headlines he had seen since the pictures hit the waves. Some had gone as far as to suggest Jadon was an escort on the side. But the worst were the ones that suggested Tapiwa was the peanut butter between the two brothers.

Jadon had read them all, every single one of the articles that seemed to spring out of the shadows like bees from a hive. How so many sources had the story in one version or another typed and published in such a short space of time just amazed him.

But the one thing that remained common through all the lies, dramatization, and exaggeration of their story was the pictures. They were the same nude pictures the blackmailer had sent him in an envelope. But they were even more, all of them of him and Tapiwa ravaging each other on the bed.

However, despite the gravity of the situation, Jadon felt a twitch in certain parts of his body as he scrolled through each photograph. Damn, if not for the fact that they had just been exposed to the world for cruel judgment, Jadon would have mused more on how well they fit together.

One particular picture caught his attention and Jadon swore he could almost hear Tapiwa's moan through the image. Her head was thrown back, her spine arched as her hands gripped the sheets on either side of her body as though she needed something to anchor her or she would simply float away on the breeze.

Jadon saved the picture. Hell, what was he doing? Jadon went back to the top of the list and saved every picture. He didn't want to think too much about it, he just knew he wanted them.

It was as he was saving the last picture that there was a knock on his office door. He quickly locked his phone and set it on the desk, face down. "Come in," he called out. He assumed it was his secretary, and he was right.

Jadon realized he was also right, that the majority of people would be aware of his party night before the morning was over. He could tell the moment the elderly woman crossed the threshold that she knew. Mrs. Sitta refused to look up and meet his gaze as she walked over to his desk and set a folder on it.

An awkward silence then settled in the office as Mrs. Sitta continued to avoid eye contact and Jadon debated whether to offer an explanation for everything. However, before Jadon could reach a decision, his secretary broke the silence.

Mrs. Sitta opened the folder she had brought and pulled out a paper before she pushed it across the desk toward Jadon so he could see. "Sir, this is Uhm. This is an email from the Sunset estate. It just came in. They are pulling out of the offer to do business with the company."

The bottom of Jadon's stomach fell. Sweat began to form on his forehead despite the cool air circulating in the building. He blinked down at the papers, unwilling to even pick them up. Damn, that had been fast, he thought. The pictures hadn't even been up for twenty-four hours on the net and already companies were pulling out from doing business with them. His father was going to have an aneurysm when he found out.

Right then, as though the thought of the man had conjured him, the office door slammed open and Lewis Paterson stormed in, fury radiating from him in palpable waves.

Before anyone could say anything, Lewis pointed a finger at Jadon's secretary. "You, get out!"

Mrs. Sitta clamped her mouth shut and scurried out of the office as though it was on fire. Jadon didn't blame her. With the way his father glared at him, Jadon expected things to explode into flames any second.

Jadon watched his father exercise control honed by years of being in charge as they waited for the seconds it took them to be alone. Once they were, Lewis Paterson exploded. "Are you fucking trying to sink my company!?"

Jadon flinched before his back straightened and he pressed against his seat, shoulders squared. "No. I'm not."

The answer fell on deaf ears. Lewis snarled. Already standing on the other side of the desk, he suddenly bent forward and swiped his hand across the surface, sending the folder and everything else flying to the floor in a clutter of noise that was only drowned out by the roar of fury that left the man's throat.

Jadon jumped to his feet and took a step away from the desk. He had never seen his father in such a state and he had to admit that it made the unease double in his gut.

Cold eyes glared at Jadon as a tense silence filled the room, only broken by Lewis's heavy breaths. Jadon held his father's gaze, refusing to cower. He knew it looked bad, but he wasn't to blame for the mess. At least not this particular incident.

Maybe that was what he needed to explain to his father, Jadon thought. He should have perhaps talked to his father long before the shit had hit the fan, but Jadon didn't dwell on that. It wasn't going to solve the current predicament.

"Let me explain," Jadon started, carefully watching his father.

"I told you to stay away from that girl!"

"This happened way before everything else. We were drugged at a party and couldn't remember. Someone tried to blackmail me with those pictures after. That's when I found out." Jadon blurted everything out, knowing he probably wouldn't get another chance to explain himself. And Jadon honestly wondered if his father was even listening to what he was saying or believing him for that matter. From the looks of it, he doubted it.

Lewis's eyes narrowed, his anger only seeming to rise higher. "All you are telling me is that you were reckless and put the reputation of this family and company in jeopardy. I trusted you, Jadon. I made you the CEO of my company and let you run the show. And this is the thanks I get! I have already received calls from two major investors questioning the integrity of my CEO. Our damn shares are standing on the knife's edge because of you!"

"I didn't post the pictures!" Jadon exploded. Hearing his father speak broke something in him. "Don't you get it? Someone set me up, took those photographs, and then attempted to blackmail me for the Sunset estate contract. They are the ones to blame for this mess!"

"No!" Lewis fired back, pointing a finger at Jadon. "I blame you for this mess."

"What? How-"

"You put yourself in the position to be set up. And after you had already screwed yourself six ways to Sunday You didn't come to me so that I could fix your damn mess before it ruined us all!"

Jadon opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to argue with that. Logically speaking, his father was right, but even if time was reversed somehow, Jadon knew he wouldn't have gone to his father and confessed the mess he had found himself in, so there was no point in even defending himself.

Either way, it seemed his father was done discussing the matter. The older man matched back to the office door and swung it open. Before Jadon could wonder what was happening, two men from security walked into the office behind Lewis, who was once again facing Jadon.

Lewis's voice was cold, leaving no room for argument. "Escort my son out of the building. He is no longer the CEO of this company, with immediate effect."