"What did you say?" Aaron opened his eyes, immediately putting himself in a fighting stance, as if just the mere sound of her voice triggered that behavior in him.
“The things I heard you say on the phone had very noticeable accounting errors.” she explained, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her gaze on his, to show that it wasn't a mere scowl that would startle her “Maybe it's not very obvious to anyone outside of this business, but if you get your accountant to review it, I'm sure...”“For your information, it was my personal accountant who I was talking to.” he revealed, staring at her like she should be ashamed of herself."Serious?" Rose blinked in disbelief "Well then, I'm sorry to break it to you, but you have the worst accountant in the world."“And on what basis do you say that about a professional who has been in the market for years?” Aaron rolled his eyes irritably.“With the foundation that three and a half years of college gave me.” she snort“Alec! What have the two of us talked about you going up there?” Rose gasped, as soon as she opened the door to the hospital room, back from a quick bathroom break where she figured nothing bad could happen. But, well, she should have known better than to challenge a child.Near one of the armchairs at one end of the room was a window overlooking the street. And, unfortunately, Alec had discovered that if he climbed the armchair and leapt onto the inside ledge of the window, he could watch people outside to distract himself, no matter how high the window was and how dangerous it was for him staying in a place like that.“Sorry, Rose…” he pouted cutely that made it impossible for her to scold him, even as she reached over to pick him up and pull him out of there “But just being inside the room is so annoying ! When can we leave?”"Do not worry dear. The doctors said they'll discharge you soon, you just need to stay here one more day under observation, so we can get the resul
“Do you really not hate me, Grandma?” Alec asked, his little face full of hope, but also fear."How could I? Regardless of who your mother is, I could never reject a Vamcap! It goes against all our family values, even if your father forgot most of them when he left home! How could I let him further damage our family's reputation by sending you to those two's home and letting Alphonse raise you to become like him?!" she persisted, so vehemently that Alec ended up cringing again "It's absolutely ridiculous to think that I, in the role of matriarch of our family, would do something like that..."“Uh… And now Grandma wanted to say that it doesn't matter if your mother is mean or not, Alec, because she knows what a wonderful little boy you are. And not only does she know it, but so does every other Vamcap, especially her brothers. So none of them would ever be able to hate you, let alone let you live in another house, even if it's your parents'." Rose cut her off, genuinely feeling
Just a few times in his life has Aaron Vamcap been forced to admit he was wrong. Because, in truth, just a few times in his life had he been truly wrong, especially when it came to the people he chose to trust.But this time, Rose Springs had proved him wrong.“Everything went as expected, Mr. Vamcap.” his assistant, Mrs. Norton, spoke on the other end of the call, as the driver pulled into the driveway of the mansion “The human relations department has already handled the case of Mr. Mitchell. He was informed of all the reasons that led him to just cause and also what procedures he should follow, including the rights and duties, now that we are going to sue him for embezzlement and sale of information. Any news about the case will be communicated to him immediately, as you requested.”“Very well, Mrs. Norton. Also keep me informed when the list of possible names to replace him as head of the finance department is completed. I want to get a full report on each one and do th
“Follow me” he said to the clearly hesitant girl in front of him, silently guiding her through that more open area of the house until the two reached the corridor of offices and leisure rooms, where he opened the door of a them to her and waited for the door to be securely locked behind them both before finally speaking "Now, I'm going to ask you just one question and I want you to be very honest with me, for your own good: did you know what Edward Mitchel was doing?""Who?" she asked and, as much as her confusion seemed genuine, Aaron was unfazed.“Three days ago you told me there was something wrong with the financial information I was discussing on the phone. And, because of that, I discovered a huge embezzlement scheme in my family bank.”“Oh, so your business is in the banking business?” she commented, as if it wasn't a big deal, “Now I understand why my parents seemed so fond of you. Anyway, let me see if I understand, my tips helped you get out of a problem and you'r
"Uh... Andy... I'm not sure if that's a good idea..." Rose lost count of how many times she had repeated that same phrase as Aaron's sister guided her through the house towards his office, looking very determined to prevent her from turning around and walking away, as she wanted.“Don't worry, Rose. My brother won't dare be rude to you while I'm around.” she promised resolutely."But... Can you at least explain to me why we're going to him in the first place?" Rose sighed, realizing that there really was no running away from a member of the Vamcap family, especially when one was determined."You will see." Andy smiled, full of secrets as if they were old friends, as he continued to guide her to the place where, more than a month ago, she had signed the papers to marry Aaron.As strange as that particular situation was being, Rose had to admit that she was deeply grateful to have Andy around and, most likely, if nothing happened to get in the way, the two would become gre
“How about a glass of lemonade, Rose?” Jullian's voice asked and Rose noticed, in her peripheral vision, that he was approaching the table where she was sitting with something in her hands, which was probably a tray, but she was so focused on the documents in front of her that she ended up not lifting her hand. head.“Thanks, Julian. Can you leave it on one of the tables nearby, please? I'll have a drink as soon as I finish analyzing the data I found in those old folders.” she explained, reading and rereading each word until she was sure she hadn't missed anything."Oh, I see Andy managed to steal the financial records you wanted from Aaron's office without him noticing." the butler chuckled as he placed the tray on one of the coffee tables in the room that Rose had turned into her office, or as close as there was to it, now that she officially worked for the Vamcaps.“Yes, but Andy warned me that he'll probably notice soon, so I need to finish reading them as soon as possi
She'd better be working when he found her, because if she wasn't, he was sure to rip up that contract Andy had made him sign and put Rose Springs back where she never should have left: in some corner of the house where he couldn't lay eyes on her until the year was out. He mean, that was the only reason he was going to see her right now: to check that she had done a good job, as he had promised. It had nothing to do with him letting himself be convinced by the words of Jullian, Alec, Andy, and now even Adele's milder behavior towards her, trying to convince him that Rose wasn't a bad person...And it certainly wasn't because he simply wanted to look at her face again. No, he had nothing to do with it.Snorting, he continued down the halls towards the room that seemed to have become her favorite place to work lately. Not that he'd memorize that because, more and more, since he'd watched her tend to Alec in the hospital with an affection that seemed to be genuine, his eyes tende
"No, Dad, please don't do this to Rose...!" the younger girl tried to beg, but Rose just pushed her away and put her hands over her face as if on impulse, bracing herself for the punch that was coming.However, he never came, because, now burning with rage for a very different reason, Aaron had entered the room at a speed even he didn't know he was capable of, so that he could grab Michael's wrist the moment he was about to attack his own daughter."What a...!" Michael began to curse, apparently thinking that anyone else had stopped him, until he looked up and saw Aaron's murderous expression, which caused his face to immediately turn pale. “Mister… Mister Vamcap. But what a joy to see you. Uh... As you can see, I heard that my daughter had been a less than perfect wife as you deserve, and after realizing that she really had been very naughty, I thought I could teach her a little lesson..."Finally, he shut his disgusting mouth when Aaron landed a punch on his jaw, causing