CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Gracelyn was busy with her plan. She had to succeed, for the prize was too alluring.

Re-accepting that shameless daughter of hers would bring Nathaniel Woods into the family. What luck that she attracted his attention, right? After all, the Clayton and Woods families were supposed to be close. If only that old geezer hadn't kept his distance, they would have known the old Mr and Mrs Woods. But, since things went how they went, she had to come up with a way on her own.

«Steve, we should call her again,» she said. «Maybe she changed her mind.»

«What are you talking about, my dear?» Mr Clayton muttered while turning the page of the newspaper.

«Lara.»n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

«Oh. You think our daughter will take our apologies?»

At the word daughter, Gracelyn's lips twitched. However, she didn't say anything. There were more relevant issues at hand.

«Apologies? She is the one who needs to apologise. But, for the moment, we can forgive her. After all, she can bring us closer. Can you imagine the effects of building a house or a facility for Nate Woods? Or the LY Corp.

That would be better than any marketing campaign.»

«I don't think they're building anything, though.»

«Yeah, he will build sooner or later. What loss is there if he does it now instead of later? It's not much of a favour, for his parents-in-law.»

«I have the impression he doesn't see us as his in-laws.»

«You're so pessimistic, Steve. I think Lara will come back to her senses if we're clear enough.»

«Okay, dear. How will you call her, then? She blocked our numbers, and no one answers when you call from a public phone. I think she changed her phone number.»

«Might be. But we know Nate Woods's number. He can't change it just yet.»

«And what makes you think he won't hang up the moment he realises it's you?»

«We shall give him enough reasons not to. Or, even better, we shall give Lara enough reasons to call us by herself.»

«So, what do you think we'll do?»

«The only way to attract someone's attention, if they're like Nate Woods, it's through the press. Their only issue is public opinion, at this point. Their relationship is still fresh, and the press will tear them to pieces if they're not protected. And their lies will do even worse,» she said, shaking her head as if scolding a little child.

That daughter of theirs thought she could live a live free from the mistakes in her past? Not so easy. She had hidden from Nate her youth adventures, including that one-night stand transformed into a pregnancy.

What happened to the child, they didn't know. But they knew there was no way Nate Woods would have accepted her with something like that on her shoulders. If the press found out about it, they would bring damage to her and, by consequence, to him as well.

Someone as rational and cold as Nate Woods wouldn't accept such a risk. He surely didn't know.

«Do you think she aborted, or she gave birth to the bastard?» Grace inquired, turning back to her husband.

«I don't know. I would have aborted in her shoes. But, who knows?» he said, coldly. His eyes were dim, abandoned from any light.

He had given her the money for a safe abortion. It had been his last act of goodwill. Life as a single mother wasn't easy.

He would have accepted her back, as well, if only Grace wasn't so against it. She had cut all ties with Lara, and he had followed.

It was a little hypocrite, in his opinion. But it was not his call to make. He had done his best to provide for his family through the years, and that was all. He had done his part well, all things considered.

Maybe not as much as his wife wanted him to, but nobody could be perfect.

«And what will you reveal?» he asked.

Talking with the press was dangerous, and it could backfire at any moment. The first time, he had talked Grace out of it after her first interview, but he had no energy left to convince her a second time.

They were playing a dangerous game, and they were going to bring some damage - even though indirectly - to Nate Woods. That part was scary for his old heart.

«I'm not sure yet. Something small about her childhood and teenage years. It will be just a warning, for now. They'll get the message: we can say a lot more than Lara can afford.»

«And do you seriously think that everything will be right, in the end? That they'll forget we threatened them?»

«Listen, Steve. She's happy with Nate Woods, leeching off him like a parasite. Does she deserve it? I don't think so. What has she done in her life? What high qualities does she have?

No, she doesn't deserve so much happiness. Her way to atone is to share part of it with her birth family. After everything we did for her, it's the least she can do.»

«I still don't think it'll work.»

«Oh, what could go wrong? Nate Woods barely knows our names. Do you think he has anything on us? No. But we have something on him: Lara. He seems so smitten with her; she's his weak spot.»

«If we manage to get her on our side, she will talk with him on our behalf,» Steve said, finally understanding the whole point.

Lara would be afraid of what they knew, and she would call them by herself to ask for forgiveness. Then, to show her sincerity, she would have asked Nate Woods to sign a collaboration. That would have been the first step to reaching the elite.

Grace's biggest dream would come true thanks to the same daughter she had thrown out of home a few years before. Life could be ironic, Steve thought. Too ironic for his tastes.

«Can you imagine it, my dear?» Grace added. «We'll attend parties and galas by Nate's side. We'll talk with the most influential people in the world. And it will be just the beginning.»

«Yes, sure...» he sighed. Just the beginning.