All Chapters of THE CEO'S PAWN: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Stupid, stupid, stupid!Bree accused herself as she pushed open the door to her favorite down town bar.It's seen her at her worst and this was one of those days she just needed to drown herself in the flavored alcohol they sold here.Her lacrimal glands were failing her as tears made their way down her perfectly made up face, ruining hours of trying and perfection.Ughhhh!She'd rather not waste her precious bodily fluids on the low life scum she'd wasted her years with.Cole didn't deserve her tears in any way, never have.She dragged her ass over to the bar and dropped her weight on the first vacant bar stool she saw, not sparing a glance at the other occupant of the space.There was a new guy tending the bar and not her go to guy, Jerry.Of course, just typical of the universe to go against her on this very horrible day and have her favorite bar tender gone too."What will you have, pretty?" The new guy asked.She

Bree's host didn't like having the control of his kitchen whisked away from him and he looked it.But she didn't give a dam about it.The only other option would have been to let him get something burning again or spend all morning trying.She wasn't a fan of the former neither did she have all morning to dedicate to his endless and utterly unsuccessful culinary practice.She finished up with the food and went on to serve it with no help whatsoever from Sir Broods-alot.Standing by the table she'd set, she waited, meeting his glare with an unwavering stare of her own until he caved in and pulled himself a seat.They silently dug into their food, a heavy silence swallowing them and disconcerting Bree.The only sound in the room was of their breathing and of cutleries meeting fine china.She waited until they were both done eating before she asked the one question that's been niggling her mind since she woke up in the room that wasn't he

It's been so long since the last time Ryder had been in this house, before now.He'd been just a boy the last time he'd stood in this hallway, staring at the pictures that lined it's length.The years he'd spent growing up here were the memories he was trying to let go of, he hated them most.Just like he hated Paul.And he'd made sure the man knew how much.His eyes ran down the pictures in their gold frame that cost more than an averagely priced car.He'd left with a vow to never come back here but yet, here he was, breaking that vow because fucking Paul had decided to have one more up on him even in death by willing all his assets to him - the estranged son.Not that he needed any of it, he was a fucking boss of his own now, but not dealing with this will only let it accumulate tax and come ass biting in the future.It grated his nerves more, knowing that he should have been on a vacation at some exotic location of his choic

Ryder woke with a throbbing head and eyes that hurt too much to keep open, to the ringing of his phone.He reached blindly for the annoying device, sliding his fingers across the across the screen to accept the call and shut it the fuck up."Ryder."He barked into the phone, his tone commanding and demanding immediate response."Hi, this is Roger Daniel, your father's lawyer. Didn't hear back from you concerning his will so I'm calling to check up with you."Ryder would have rather he didn't call and not so early too.Who the fuck calls someone this early in the morning."My house, 12pm." he said, his voice more threatening than informing.There were mumbles of disagreement that he didn't give a fuck about from the other end of the line just as he ended the call.He dumped the phone on his nightstand trying not to give in to the temptation of calling back at his office back at New York.He'd promised his team he'd take this

The meeting with the lawyer took more time than Ryder had given it credit for.Apparently, Paul had been a better business man than he'd been a father.He had a long list of successful business exploits and investments, all of which Ryder is supposed to inherit now.If things had been different, it might have made him happy to accept this, but now, it only left a void inside him that only keeps widening and getting darker, eating him up from the insides.This felt like a payoff for the nightmares he'd endured at hands of these men.And a payoff is not what he needed, he wanted his revenge for the nights he cried himself to sleep, begging for death because he hated himself.It had taken a lot of therapy and compartmentalizing to deal with the shit they'd dunked him in, he wasn't taking this as a plea.No, he was taking it out of spite, resolved to burn down all that his old man had suffered for, like a raging inferno. He'd zoned o