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publish date:
2026-04-07 16:10:54
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DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 072
Joan“Waiting for someone?”He flinched.Not subtly. Not in a way he could recover from quickly enough for me to pretend I hadn’t seen it. It was sharp, instinctive—the kind of reaction that only came when someone was caught exactly where they weren’t supposed to be.Good.Donald turned toward me slowly, his expression shifting through confusion, recognition, and then something much harder to mask. Panic.“Ms. Lancaster.”My name sounded unfamiliar on his tongue. Careful. Controlled. Like he was trying to measure the situation before deciding how to react.I didn’t give him time.I slid into the empty seat beside him at the bar, setting my clutch down with quiet precision before signaling the bartender for a drink. The hotel bar was exactly what I expected it to be at this hour—low lights, muted conversations, the soft hum of something expensive and discreet. The kind of place people came to be seen without really being seen.Donald’s kind of place.“I didn’t expect to run into you he
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 071
~~Brandon~~I didn’t plan to check on them. Not immediately, at least.Living in the same house didn’t mean I had to be everywhere at once, and lately, I’d been trying—unsuccessfully—to give Joan some space. Things had been… tense. Not outwardly. Not in a way anyone else would notice. But I’d started picking up on the small things—the way she went quiet more often, the way she seemed to be thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else, the way something always lingered just beneath the surface.Still, something felt off the moment I stepped into the house that evening.It was too quiet.Not the peaceful kind. The kind that made you pause without meaning to.I loosened my tie as I walked further in, dropping my keys on the console by the door. “Joan?” I called out casually, expecting a response from somewhere nearby.Nothing.But then I heard voices.Low. Soft.From the living room.I followed the sound, my steps slowing just slightly as I approached the doorway, like some part of me alrea
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 070
~~Joan's POV~~I knew something was wrong the moment he walked in.Kai was never this quiet.Not after school.Not after spending hours around other children, coming home with stories that made little sense but somehow meant everything to him.He usually talked.A lot.About who pushed who.About what he learned.About what he wanted to eat.Today—Nothing.He just walked in, his hand slipping out of the nanny’s as he stepped into the house, his small shoulders drawn in slightly, like he was carrying something too heavy for him.My chest tightened.I was already standing before I realized it, my gaze fixed on him as he slipped off his shoes without looking up.“Kai?” I called softly.He paused.Just for a second.Then he looked at me.And something in my stomach dropped.Because there was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.Confusion.Uncertainty.Fear.“Hey, baby,” I said, keeping my voice as gentle as I could. “How was school?”He didn’t answer immediately.Just sto
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 069
DeanThe room didn’t empty immediately after she left.It lingered.Heavy.Like the air itself had thickened, pressing down on everyone still seated at that table.No one spoke.Not at first.They avoided my gaze—subtly, but not subtly enough. Papers were gathered a little too slowly. Chairs shifted a little too carefully. Conversations that should’ve followed… didn’t.Because they knew.They all knew something had shifted in that room.And it wasn’t in my favor.My jaw tightened as I stared at the door she had just walked out of.Calm.Untouched.Like she hadn’t just walked into my company and reminded everyone exactly who held more power.A slow breath left me.Then I laughed.Low.Sharp.Devoid of humor.“Meeting’s over,” I said.My voice cut through the silence like a blade.That was all they needed.Chairs scraped back almost immediately this time. People stood. Moved. Left.Quickly.Too quickly.Cowards.Every single one of them.I didn’t stop them.Didn’t call anyone back.Beca
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 68
I hated that I had to remind them of that to get their respect. It felt like I'd been coercing them into doing my bidding, and I was sure that if Victor was here, he'd have advised me to try another way. But it was also necessary. Everyone needed a little reminder once in a while. “If I don't at least get a right to speak concerning a decision that'd limit my position in the company, then what's the point of owning so many shares?” I asked no one in particular. And no one answered. “Let the decision be made again. This time, we cast votes now that everyone is present,” I went on. “And whatever the results are, I'll respect it.”It took a moment before the re room erupted in murmurs once again. “Ms. Lancaster. You need to understand that we've already settled this,” Donald spoke first, and the others followed his beat. It was almost like he had more control than Dean. “This is unnecessary—”“Reopening the vote sets a bad precedent. Obviously—”“It’s a waste of time—”Their voice
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 067
By the time I got there, they had already started.Of course, they had.The receptionist barely had time to look up before I walked past her, my heels cutting clean, deliberate sounds against the polished floor. The closer I got to the boardroom, the clearer the muffled voices became—low, tense, controlled. A room full of men and a few women, convincing themselves they were doing something smart. I wondered when they were going to learn they'd just been wasting their time. I didn’t slow down.I pushed the door open without knocking and stepped in.One by one, voices cut off mid-sentence, heads turning, expressions shifting from focus, to confusion, to surprise.Good.Dean was the last to look at me.He stood at the head of the table, one hand braced against the surface, the other holding a file he no longer seemed interested in.For a brief second—just one—his composure slipped, but then it was gone.I didn’t acknowledge it. I didn’t acknowledge any of them.Shoulders squared and c
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 042
By the time I pulled into the driveway, the sky had begun to soften into evening.Kai had gotten quiet during the drive, no doubt the sugar wearing off, and exhaustion from the day starting to seep in. I'd purposely let him have more ice cream than he should've had on a weekday for that reason. I
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 041
The ice cream parlor was small but lively, filled with soft chatter and the faint sweetness of sugar lingering in the air. We found a table by the window after ordering, the boys already engrossed in their cups like nothing else in the world mattered. I watched Kai as he carefully tried to keep
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 039
Though I had a suspicion of why she seemed that way. Madeline was selfish—I knew that much from when she'd lived with Dean and me. Whatever the motives were, I knew their main driving force was self-preservation. She didn't exactly answer the question I'd asked, but I let her be. I had time. "I k
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 038
~~Joan~~The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.I stepped out into the lobby of the building, already reaching into my bag for my phone as I walked toward the exit. My mind was still running through the list of tasks waiting for me tomorrow when my phone buzzed in my hand.When I checked,
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