Tristan's POV

I leaned into my chair and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the hundreds of things just begging for my attention.

I still couldn't get my mind off everything, nor the fact that Ashley had mentioned my mother. If anything, I don't believe in coincidence or in mistakes like that.

It meant my mother was back to her old tricks. I knew her too well to ever believe she'd stay out of my business.

The only question was, what exactly was she planning?

I tried to think back on everything. She had been uncharacteristically nice to Ashley, unlike the way she had threatened every other woman in my life whom she had ever thought would come close to me.

Something was up.

Could it be that she found out that Ashley was pregnant? Having a grandchild has been my mother's dream since I moved out and she realized she didn't have her hold on me anymore. Maybe that explains her extra involvement. But I knew her too well. She would have spread the news across town by now. It had to be something else.

I didn't want to press on it with Ashely, she would know I was suspicious.

The more I pretended I had no idea what was going on, the more likely someone was to slip up.

Something told me there was more to this. I needed to find out.

"Are you still worried about those pictures in the tabloids? The whole thing has been sorted out," Luke said. He was now standing in front of my desk. I hadn't even heard him walk in.

I chuckled.

Me worrying about that would mean that I actually thought he was competition.

"Why would I be worried about that?" You know how Vincent is. Tomorrow he'll be in another scandal again, this will all blow over." I answered instead.

He placed a folder on my desk.

"Just one question, if you were a mid-fifties woman with no job and nothing to do, what would you be up to?" I asked. I twirled in my chair.

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you suspect your mother now." He chuckled.

"No," I answered. "Suspension would mean that I'm unsure. I'm absolutely sure that she is up to something."

"If you are saying this, it's because you are thinking of something." He spoke. He pulled out a chair and sat down, staring at me amusingly.

I folded my hands, placing both of them on my desk. "I need you to keep an eye on her," I said.

His eyes widened. Several expressions swept across his face as he processed my words. "Are you crazy?" He finally whispered. "Your mother is the most suspicious person by nature. Do you know what she could do to me? I'd rather not get on her wrong side." He said alarmed.

He looked around the room suspiciously, almost as if he was expecting there to be some secret security cameras hidden in the room.

"You are like her second child. Besides, I'd do it myself but I have a lot to do." I insisted.

He shook his head no. "This was not part of the job description," Luke sighed.

"At least now you can add private investigator to your resume," I answered.

"More like Tristan's personal nanny." He chuckled.

"Think whatever you like, as long as you get the job done," I answered.

My mother has never managed to live a day without trying to get involved in my life. This shouldn't even be a problem considering my age.

It was ridiculous that at my age, I still needed to prove to my mother that I was an adult. This had to stop indefinitely.

"Is everything I asked you done?" I asked changing the subject.

"Just as you instructed." He smiled.

"Good," I answered.

He shoved the folder he had placed on my desk earlier closer to me.

"Good news, after all those proposals. Leonardo has finally agreed to the deal. We can now proceed with the plans." He smiled.

I pulled the folder closer to me as I examined its context.

"But... there is a condition." Luke paused.

Not more bad news.

"He wants a small stake in the deal too. He is even willing to help finance the whole project." He announced.

This could cost nearly billions.

"Tell him I agree, we'll just have to buy him out later on." I smiled.

"I was surprised by the whole thing. He had made it clear the last time that he wasn't interested in selling," Luke said.

I spun around in my seat, taking the moment to think.

"I wonder what changed his mind," I whispered.

This was much better than I could have hoped for.

With such good news this early, what could possibly go wrong?

All my problems were slowly resolving themselves. There was just one more thing I needed to deal with.

Luke left my office shortly after, and I continued with my work.

It was nearly an hour when I received a call from the receptionist downstairs.

"Your grandfather has arrived sir," He informed.

I thought of all the possible excuses to avoid him. I could always invent a meeting or say I had to be somewhere.

Immediately, his voice rang in my ear. "Coward," his voice spoke.

That wasn't me. Our conversations never lasted longer than ten minutes. This couldn't possibly hurt.

"Let him in," I answered.

I hung up the phone, putting it down.

It took him nearly fifteen minutes to arrive. The first thing I heard was his cane scraping against the floor. He pushed open the door to my office, and walked in, wearing his usual sardonic smirk and dragging behind his injured leg.

"I see you've reduced yourself to this, instead of being in your main office like a real working man should." He said sarcastically.

Today he was clearly in the mood for a quick attack, jumping straight to insults.

"I'm so happy to see you too, Grandpa," I droned sarcastically. I leaned back in my chair.

He pulled out a chair and slowly lowered himself down to sit.

"No worries son, I'm just making sure you don't become a stain on my legacy." He answered.

His cane slammed against my very pricey wooden floor as he finally settled himself down. "I've heard some rumours circulating around. That you've been parading yourself around with a maid." He said vehemently.

What did I ever do to deserve two grown adults who failed to realize that I didn't want anyone interfering in my life?

If being old means having no life at all and constantly meddling in other people's business then someone please just kill me now.

I could tell him about Ashley's pregnancy but, that was a surprise altogether for another time. It was the blow I needed to finally give him a heart attack and leave him in a coma. I couldn't use that card carelessly.

"I still fail to see how any of this is your business," I answered.

"It wouldn't be if I didn't constantly have to clean up every one of your messes." He said coldly.

"I never asked you to," I snapped back at him.

If anything, it was his fault that I was in this position. He was the one who handed the ring to Madison. It was hard enough trying to keep calm and not act as shocked as everyone else was. I found out the moment he smirked back at me from the crowd. I was meant to announce that our new hotel was opening in a few months. Instead, I left the podium as an engaged man. I should never have followed along with the madness.

"You wouldn't be the first rich man to have a mistress. You need to learn to handle your private business more discreetly. Just think about getting married to Madison. The kind of influence it would bring to you. Maybe I'd finally be able to respect you as a businessman. After that, you can sleep with whomever you want. Women like her know better than to ever expect men like you to be loyal." He smirked.

I laughed sarcastically. "Good thing I've never needed your permission to do anything. Even more so when it comes to my business," I answered.

He sighed theatrically. I knew his next words were about to be worse. "Do you really intend on being this weak and pathetic for the rest of your life? Think about all the things you could achieve. Do you really think you are going to continue getting lucky and landing deals like the one Leonardo foolishly handed to you?" he paused.

Was he really using the 'weak' card again? Didn't he get tired of doing that?

"You are just like your father. I warned him multiple times never to marry that mother of yours. I'm just here to prevent you from making the same mistakes he did." He continued.

"You clearly didn't do a good job considering I'm here." I pointed out.

He ignored my remark, moving on to his next point.

"You should be getting married to someone like Madison, someone who can help to build our family's legacy," he stated in a calculated tone.

"Well, if you like her so much, why don't you just marry her yourself?" I said.

He paused, smirking at me amusingly. "That doesn't sound too bad." He answered.

I looked at him in disgust. I didn't know if it was because he had just said that or that it was Madison he was willing to get married to.

I turned my eyes away from him, trying to ignore his presence altogether.

He remained silent, staring into empty space. Having him quiet has got to be my top ten favourite moments with him. Why did I continue to entertain him despite all these comments?

Anyway, he probably didn't have that much time to live anyway.

"You bastard," he muttered.

I looked up, feeling more bored than ever.

"You and I are more alike than a thought." He laughed. "Don't tell me you finally decided to make use of that information I gave you, that's the only reason this deal would have gone through with Leonardo, turns out you are not so dumb after all." He said.

He was now staring at me amusingly like he was staring at his own reflection.

"I'm nothing like you," I replied.

This time it was his turn to laugh. "You don't know it yet, but you will." He said. "That's why you've been parading around with that girl. You finally are doing what I taught you. I suppose you'll be through with that girl now that the deal has been approved." He answered.

I hadn't noticed that I was clenching my fist around my pen, my hands reddening around it as I increased pressure on it. It was nearly at its breaking point when I decided to let go.

It wasn't the fact that he was undermining me that made my blood boil, but rather the way he spoke of Ashley. Had it been someone else, I would have punched him.

"Don't you think it's time for you to leave? At your age, it must be time for your diaper change." I spat.

He smirked. "Well, you can avoid me all you want but you know I'm right." He spoke.

He beat his cane against the ground before using it to lift his weight. "Think about what I said," He said.

He gave me his signature smirk before walking out of my office. I heard my front door closing soon after.

My lungs were tightening. I was finally able to release the breath that I had been holding.

I trashed the folder he had mentioned soon after I had read through it. I was never going to resort to blackmail. I'd say it wasn't my style but that would be a lie.

From what I figured, Ashley had no idea about it. Why would she feel the need to hide it?

Leonardo, however, must have known something. It would be ignorant of him not to have figured it out. His body language said it all after I casually mentioned Ashley in one of our meetings.

It wasn't exactly my place to say anything either, that Leonardo was Ashley's...

My phone vibrated on my desk, stopping me from my train of thought.

Madison's name popped up, followed by a text.

I paused for a second reading through her text.

My grandfather's words replayed in my head. Maybe he was right about something. In his sadistic way, he had a point. After all, what's wrong with playing along in this game? Even just for a little bit.

I agreed to her dinner invitation.

I continued with my work. Minutes later, I received a call from Ashley, along with a loud knock on my door. Lucky for me, Luke was in my office. He didn't open the door either.

I just knew I had to blow her off. Considering everything I was about to do, it was better this way.

"Are you going to leave the poor girl hanging like that?" Luke asked after our phone call.

It's best if she's out of here when the whole thing happens," I answered.

***

I hesitated, taking a deep breath and deciding whether to knock on Madison's door or not.

I lifted my fisted hand to knock, and right at that moment, the door flew open.

Madison stood in front of me as she leaned on the door.

Her bright red lipstick matched the bright red mini-dress she was wearing, leaving very little to the imagination.

She smiled as I tried to think back to how I had convinced myself to do this.

"For you," I said handing her the white roses that my left hand had been clenching onto.

She happily accepted the gesture, drawing the flowers closer to her nose as she took in the scent.

"You should come in," she whispered standing away from the door.

I scanned the room. The blinds in the whole suite had been closed, blocking the outside view of the skyscrapers. The natural light from outside was replaced by dim lights lighting up the house.

I decided to move over to the living room area which was just an extension of this room.

"A total gentleman and as punctual as always." I heard Madison say.

I looked at her from over my shoulder and tried my best to convey a convincing smile.

I settled down and took a seat on the couch. For a while, she disappeared from my view in the direction of the kitchen, probably to put away the flowers.

She returned minutes later, her hands free of the flowers. She took a seat next to me.

"I still can't thank you enough for what you did for me. Who knows what would have happened if you weren't there?" She drew a breath, pretending to hold back tears.

"I'm glad to have been there," I answered.

She leaned in, placing her hands over mine as her fingers brushed against mine. It took everything in me not to flinch.

"We are doing our utmost best to find those men. I'll make sure that whoever is responsible for this pays for it dearly," I said. "It's just that so far we have not had any luck. The criminal seems a lot smarter than we could have expected." I added. This time it was my turn to pretend to be disappointed. Your safety is of the utmost importance. We will do everything in our power to protect you."

"Thank you," she muttered, brushing her hair from her face.

She turned away from me, her eyes drifting toward the kitchen.

"Why don't we just skip over to dinner? I figured I owed you after you saved my life. I had the chefs prepare the utmost best." She suggested.

I had no reason to object, right?

"Sure," I replied, moving away from her.

We both stood off the couch as she led me toward the dining area, a door away from the kitchen.

The table was already set up with two plates, a red wine bottle, an extra bottle of wine, and candlelights to set the mood.

I pulled out a chair to sit in. We both began digging into the food. If not for the bitter taste that Madison's presence brought, I would have thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I must say, I had exquisite taste in finding the best chefs.

Madison's calculating gaze was fixated on me the whole time as she proceeded to blubber about some story in Paris. Pretending to listen was exhausting. It's no wonder therapists get paid so much. I'm starting to think they've earned it.

"You aren't drinking any of your wine, perhaps you should have some. It's simply the best." She drew out her words seductively.

I nearly choked on my food. I coughed to recover.

I would know that the wine was good. Every single wine brand sold here was handpicked by me.

"I'm just saving the best for last," I answered.

"You don't look okay, you should have a little bit of your wine." She insisted.

I smiled as I lifted the glass to my lips.

"You know," I paused halfway as I placed the glass down. "I was thinking we could discuss a little more about our business deal. I never saw or heard of any of those plans you said you had." I said. I folded my hands as I looked at her amusingly.

"You know, today is a very special occasion. Why don't we leave the business talk for now?" she asked. With a smile, she leaned in and narrowed the distance between us.

"You are probably right. Why don't we move on to talk about things that we'd both find amusing?" I suggested. I ran my finger across the base of the wine glass.

"Like?" She whispered resting her chin on her hand. She stared at me with the same level of amusement.

"So, are you going to tell me what exactly it is that you put in my drink?" I asked.

She blinked as a terrified expression swept across her face. She quickly masked it with the nonchalant face she had on earlier.

"I-I..." she stuttered.

Fortunately, I was able to save her from her disaster. "You don't have to lie to me, I know exactly what you've been up to." I said casually. "I'd offer it to you to drink yourself but I'd appreciate it a lot more if you left this hotel while sober and still awake."

She stared at me discombobulated.

She looked away. "I-I have no idea what you are talking about." she stuttered as she tried pushing out of her chair.

I placed a tight grip on her hand, pinning it to the table.

For the first time, I saw Madison truly horrified, and this time she didn't hide her horror.

"Sit down," I demanded.

Her hand trembled under my grip as she reluctantly obeyed.

I released my hand from hers.

"If you like and if this is making you feel uncomfortable, we can move right ahead to the business part of this conversation," I suggested. "Like how you planned the robbery," I said.

Tracking down the culprit was a lot easier considering my contacts. The formal 'assistant' or 'friend' wasn't too difficult to find. People can do a lot of things when they are under pressure to avoid prison, including giving a full confession on videotape. From there, finding those guys wasn't that hard either. I knew she was behind it, it had just taken me time to get the evidence I needed.

"I have no idea what you are accusing me of." She mumbled, her eyes staring down.

I pulled out my phone to show her the video of the full confession. I enjoyed watching her panic throughout every second of that three-minute video.

"You are just trying to set me up," she replied as she tried to choke back her fear.

I decided to go on to the next video on my playlist.

I decided to install some hidden cameras in the suite. She was too dangerous not to keep a close eye on. From my busy schedule, I had asked Luke to only pull out the important footage, who knows what else I could have found.

I played the video of how she had slipped some powder into the wine before I arrived.

That was a rookie mistake. Everyone knows that if you are trying to drug someone, at least put it in both the food and the drink, that way it has better chances of working. Not that I'm encouraging this.

"If you like, we can have the police test it out. They'll tell us exactly what it is that you slipped in there." I said.

She shook her head in denial. "You can't do this, it's illegal. You can't just put secret cameras around the hotel. What would your guests do if they found out about this?" She said in a panic.

"I promised to prioritize your safety, didn't I? This just happens to include it. I can't help it if you are a danger to yourself." I answered. "You on the other hand, imagine what people would say if they found out that this is what you do. You'll never be able to show your face again," I said.

She pushed back her chair with full force, causing the chair to hit the ground.

She looked around in a panic, almost as if she had started seeing ghosts.

I was tired of being poor little Tristan everyone thought they would fool. If my grandfather was right about one thing, it was that I'd allowed people to walk all over me for far too long.

"I know who is behind this. It's your mother, isn't it? She planned this whole thing." Madison yelled.

I wouldn't be surprised if my mother had been a pain in Madison's life for the past week. After all, we were Montenegros for a reason.

"Blame it on whoever you like," I said casually.

Her fear had turned into hate. She was on the verge of pulling out her own hair.

"Because I'm such a nice guy, I'm offering you a way out and we can both carry on with our lives," I said. "I need you to leave this city, preferably out of this country all together," I suggested.

"What makes you think I plan on going out quietly?" She chuckled.

Some people just don't know when to lose.

"Your other alternative is a mental institution, surely you agree. You are a danger to society." I paused. "Although come to think of it, prison would serve as a very good alternative for you," I warned.

The only reason I wasn't sending her to jail was because I'd have much better use for her later. It's always useful to have leverage over your enemies. She would be a lot more useful in the future than you think. Maybe my grandfather was right, in some ways we were alike.

"I want you to leave immediately, pack all of your things and get out." I said.

"I wouldn't want anything more," she said stamping her feet as she moved to her bedroom.

Because I wanted to gloat, I followed her to her bedroom as I watched her throw her clothes into her suitcases.

She paused, staring at me, terrified. "The least you can do is send one of your stupid employees to help me," Madison yelled.

I leaned into the door frame. "Why would I do that? You didn't need any help when you were busy plotting so why should anyone help you now?" I asked.

It was a couple of minutes as I watched her struggle with all her clothes. I would have loved it if she was out of here sooner but I was enjoying every minute of this.

"I know why you are doing this. It's because of that whore, isn't it? I'll make sure that I deal with her." Madison spat vehemently.

She tried to manoeuvre her suitcases but nearly tripped in the process.

"Don't you dare get anywhere near her. If you even as much as breathe at her the wrong way, you'll be in an orange jumpsuit faster than you know it. No one would be able to save you." I threatened.

"She is worthless and poor. Sooner or later you'll find that she'll betray you. "She couldn't stand you if you didn't have any of your money." She said vehemently.

"You mean the same money you wanted?" I questioned. "She might not have as much money but you, you surely have a way of taking the class out of the upper-class." I said coldly.

I watched her struggle with her bags out of the suite. She clearly never worked a day in her life.

If she left anything behind, she'd have to find it in the trash can.

I walked towards the front door to open it. It was the least I could do to make sure she left this place even sooner.

I opened the door. To my surprise, I was met by a very panic-stricken Ashley who looked like she was just about to knock.

At first, relief swept across her face but it was soon replaced by fear.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

I didn't want her to be here because I knew just how unhinged Madison was. I didn't want her to be in any danger. Now, here she was on a silver platter.

"I forgot why I was here," she mumbled.

Madison reappeared.

Ashley and I stepped out of her way as we watched her push out her luggage.

Ashley didn't say anything, she just stared confused.

"What happened to her?" Ashley asked pointing at Madison who was now down the hall.

Madison's hair extensions were loose, make-up smudged all over her face. Her appearance now fitted the psychotic person that she was.

"It turns out she didn't like the hotel as much as she thought. Now she is leaving." I answered.

Ashley looked at me with her brow raised. She wasn't convinced.

I pulled her into a hug. After everything, I just wanted to hold her. She didn't pull away, instead, she wrapped her hands around me.

"What are you still doing here at this time? Maybe I should take you home," I suggested. I kept her in my arms.

Maybe today would be the day that I finally meet her family.

__________________________________________

A/N: Thank you so much for reading.

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