Chapter 15 - The Anticipated Storm At The Front Gates
By the following afternoon,
the predicted storm arrived precisely as Caleb had foreseen.
A sleek white Mercedes SUV roared up the long gravel driveway of the Westbrook estate,
screeching to a halt right in front of the grand double doors.
Sloane Mercer burst out of the vehicle,
her designer sunglasses pushed up onto her forehead,
her face flushed with hysterical rage,
and her expensive silk blouse slightly wrinkled.
She didn't wait for security;
she marched straight up the stone steps,
pounding her fists furiously against the heavy oak entrance doors until a startled footman pulled them open.
"Where is he?!"
Sloane shrieked,
pushing past the footman and storming into the grand foyer.
"Where is Caleb?!
You tell that coward to come down here right now!"
Grace was standing on the second-floor landing,
reviewing a clipboard of supply inventories,
when the shouting echoed up through the open rotunda.
She paused,
looking down at the dramatic scene unfolding below.
Nathaniel stepped out from the study,
blocking Sloane’s path before she could charge toward the private elevator.
"Miss Mercer,"
Nathaniel said,
his voice flat and completely devoid of emotion.
"You are trespassing on private property.
You were escorted off these grounds last night,
and your access badge has been permanently deactivated."
Sloane pointed a trembling, manicured finger directly at Nathaniel’s chest.
"Don't you dare talk to me about access badges,
you hired lackey!
My father’s lawyers are filing bankruptcy injunctions against Westbrook Corp as we speak!
Your boss is ruined!
He’s going to lose everything because of a common cleaner and her bastard child!"
Grace gripped her clipboard tightly,
her knuckles turning white,
though she refused to let the insults pierce her armor.
At that exact moment,
the private elevator doors behind Nathaniel glided open silently.
Caleb stepped out onto the landing,
his dark suit immaculate,
May you like
his hands tucked casually into his trouser pockets,
looking down at the screaming woman with chilling indifference.
