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209|For The Record
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Beautiful Disaster 210|Whack-A-Mole
Still agitated over his chat with Marybeth earlier, Austin walked into the house in Pelican Creek for his daily briefing with his capos before heading to the business district."Rough night?" asked Tim, shoving an Americano in his hands."You have no idea," Austin replied. "And before you start with me, I'm taking the weekend off to work on my shit like you said. We're going camping in Stanford.""Good for you," Angelo slapped him on the back. "Good old country air should do you guys some good."Austin knew it would take a lot more than good old country air to fix his mess. But at this point, he was willing to try anything."Where the hell is Van Staden?" he asked, changing the subject."I'm right here," Nadia said from behind him.Austin turned around, surprised to see her in a red pantsuit and black heels, her frizzy hair pulled back in a bun. He was so used to her all-black ensembles; the red was a refreshing change."Let's get started," he said, pointing at the freshly scrubbed cou
Beautiful Disaster 211|Let The Chips Fall Where They May
Stunned silence followed Lukas' revelations, leaving Austin reeling on his feet. He promptly sat down, convinced if he didn't, the force of gravity would yank him down."What did you say?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure his hearing was still perfectly fine."You heard me," replied Lukas. "Those records got Iris killed. And I beg you, please, Son, get rid of them. And do not breathe a word to anyone about this.""Father, you knew," Austin whispered, unable to believe that his doubts about his father's innocence and the truth had finally collided so unexpectedly.Sure, he'd had his suspicions for a while now about the ledger. But his father confirming what he'd long suspected wasn't as liberating as he thought it would be. In fact, it filled him with an all-new dread because it wasn't just his life on the line now, but Marybeth's too, since she'd seen the ledger."You knew," he whispered again, and before he could talk himself out of what he was about to do, he'd already jumped
Beautiful Disaster 212|House On Maple Lane
As soon as the finance team confirmed they'd received his father's payment, Austin contacted Sienna to fill her in on the latest development for her exposé, promising to send her the corresponding documents ASAP."How far are you with the first draft? How soon can I review it?" he asked.Sienna nicely reminded him it had only been two days since their meeting, and an exposé of such magnitude required time and research."I've done all the research for you! How much more time do you need?""With all due respect. This isn't something we can—" Sienna tried to interrupt, and Austin lost his shit, going off on her."If there's anything I hate, Sienna, it's time wasters!" he growled, pacing his office. "I've given you all the research you need. Now quit dragging your feet and write me that damn exposé. You have a week!"A brief pause on the journo's end followed his demands, and Austin assumed they were in agreement. So he cut the call and threw the burner phone in his messenger bag just as E
Beautiful Disaster 213|May Or May Not Mean Something
Austin followed Lionel out of the house, pulled out a cigarette, and sat on the flimsy steps."May I?" Lionel asked, pointing at the pack beside Austin as he joined him, the rotting wood grumbling under their combined weight."Are you allowed to smoke?""The only good thing about dying is that I'm allowed to do anything I want," Lionel smiled, and Austin couldn't help but like him a little. Anyone accepting death with as much grace as his father-in-law displayed was worth liking."How long do you have?" he asked, handing him the cigarettes and his Zippo."I told you I don't know," Lionel replied, fumbling with the lighter."The doctor must have told you something.""It could be a year, three months or a week," Lionel said. "He wanted to run extensive tests, but I felt it was a waste of money.""Do you want to live? Because if you do, I'm sure we can make a plan," Austin said, giving him a sidelong glance through the thick haze of smoke."I think I've lived," Lionel said, stuffing the c
Beautiful Disaster 214|Limited Time
The two hours after Marybeth's unplanned lunch meeting with Estelle seemed to go by slowly. Once or twice, she glanced at the clock at the back of her classroom, wishing the minutes would tick by faster.She wasn't looking forward to the camping trip, but after her hellish week, she'd brave mosquitoes and good old country air. So as soon as the final bell rang at 2:00 PM, she grabbed her handbag and laptop, locked her classroom and headed out, stumped to see Austin hadn't arrived yet. He was always on time. So she grabbed her cell phone from her handbag and texted him, checking where he was.'Lost track of time. On my way,' he responded.Fifteen minutes later, he drove in, blaring his hooter and flashing his headlights at her.Marybeth dashed to the car, expecting to find Orlando and Anna in the back seat, but she was pleasantly surprised and somewhat confused when she saw her father and Danica instead."What's going on?" she asked as soon as she jumped in beside Austin in the front. "
Beautiful Disaster 215|Live A Little
They cruised through the nearly-deserted streets for a few more minutes, taking in the sights before they left the town square and got on a lonely stretch of dirt road that took them further away from civilisation the longer they drove.Marybeth stared in wonder at the natural beauty of the mountains and valleys surrounding them, and as the road narrowed and the trees and foliage grew denser, she couldn't help but notice how isolated they were."We're here," said Austin a few quick turns later as they drove into a cosy campsite surrounded by tall pine trees, where his men were already hard at work, pitching up their tents."Daddy! Marybeth!" Orlando squealed and dropped her tools as soon as she saw them, running to their car like her life depended on it. She almost lost her mind when she saw Lionel and Danica.Marybeth couldn't stop smiling as she watched her father scoop her up in his arms and twirl her in the air, giving in to her demands when she screamed, "Do it again!"Austin remo
Beautiful Disaster 216|What If
It was unbearably hot when Marybeth opened her eyes again, with bright sunlight flooding the tent. Positive she'd slept the entire day away, she gingerly reached for her phone to check the time. She smiled with relief when she saw it was just after 9:00 AM and quickly threw on her jeans and Austin's t-shirt before stepping into the blistering hot morning."Morning Sweet Pea," her father called out to her from the campfire. "Slept well?""Unbelievably so," replied Marybeth as she swatted a mosquito buzzing too close to her face."Where's Austin?" she asked, roaming her gaze through the campsite, her eyes falling on her handlers sipping coffee near the stream. She waved, and they did the same, almost blinding her with their smiles."He took Orlando fishing," said Danica, appearing beside Marybeth with a bowl of cereal. "You missed breakfast," she added, handing the bowl to her.Marybeth took it and joined her father but couldn't bring herself to eat the All-Bran flakes. She gagged a litt
Beautiful Disaster 217|Ends Here And Now
Orlando was a busy bee, helping Anna grill fish over the open flame when Marybeth and her little group finally returned to camp."Marybeth, come see what we caught," she chirped excitedly when she saw them."What did you catch, Orly?" Marybeth asked, glancing at their loot sizzling over the fire."I don't know what it's called, but we can eat it!""Impressive, Orly!" Marybeth said. "And you caught it yourself?""Grandma De Jager helped me," Orlando announced, beaming up at Marybeth."It's Grandma, Orly," Anna reminded her. "Grandma De Jager sounds so formal.""Right," said Orlando absently, her attention on their meal."Where's your father?" Marybeth asked, but Anna responded, pointing at Austin pacing up and down near a grove of trees, his cell phone glued to his ear."He's been on the phone since we came back.""With who?"Anna shrugged. "Work, I guess.""And he promised me he wouldn't work this weekend," Orlando chimed in, her rosy lips forming a perfect pout as she rummaged through
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