Taming The Wild CEO novel Chapter 67

B O N U S C H A P T E R 5 : T H E M O S T A N T I C I P A T E D F A M I L Y R E U N I O N

J A V I E R S U M M E R S

“I can confirm that it is indeed you. When Javier called me an hour ago informing me about his encounter with Maria and that you might be the person behind Phoenix Orientem Plc, I did not believe him so I came here just to see it for myself.” Thornton gestured to everyone in the room. “If you all excuse us. Please leave the meeting room as we would delay this meeting for an hour for some family chit chat.” He turned his gaze back to Draven and narrowed his eyes. “Do get acquainted with each other while you wait. After all, we all are going to work together.”

When nobody moved a muscle as they were all too engrossed in seeing the interaction between three brothers, Thornton barked his order again. “Out. Now.”

As if a flock being chased by a predatory opponent, they all rose to their feet and hurried out of the meeting room. Ella rose to her feet and was ready to leave but Javier caught her wrist. “You could stay if you do not mind the family drama that is about to unfold.”

“Oh, yes, please do ask your fiancé to stay so she can learn what an asshole you are, Jav. We can put her to the test, shall we? See how far she will run once she learns all the dirty little secrets the well known Summers family are,” mocked Draven, crossing his arms with a malicious grin on his face.

Thornton gave her a sad smile, almost looking sorry that she had to be in the middle of this family drama. “You could stay or leave. The choice is yours. Do not make yourself suffer any discomfort.” He nodded then turned to Maria who had one arm dangling on Draven’s chair and pointed at her. “You, however, leave. We do not need any outsider here.”

Draven laughed at Thornton’s stern voice. A small frown appeared on his forehead as if he could no comprehend his eldest brother. “Why? What if I said that Maria is my lover, will you allow her to stay and listen to our family chit chat just like you are allowing Miss Ella Stanford?” He purposely used the words that Thornton had used earlier to provoke his older brother. Even after ten long years, he was still being playful although unlike ten years ago when they all had been young, his jokes were more twisted and laced with sarcasm.

"Lover?" Even though Thornton’s jaw tightened in annoyance, he still managed to smile at his little brother. “I would bet ten million dollars that she is just someone you would like to fuck occasionally. It has indeed been ten years, Brother, but I doubt anything has changed. You are still a player who avoids commitment like a plague.”

His answer caused his little brother to roar in laughter. “Damn. You know me that well, huh? I supposed living together for seventeen years is truly counted as something." He took a subtle pause as if reminiscing his memory then shook his head. "Well, you are not entirely wrong, Brother. Though you must admit that I do have a good taste in everything especially when it comes to women.”

“Correction,” Thornton interrupted then added, “especially in psychotic and mentally disturbed women.” He glanced at Maria and found that there was no expression on that woman's face. Unlike a few minutes ago when she had charged in here like she owned the world in the back of her hand, now she was muted and acted as if she was a statue instead of a human being. A one hundred and eighty degrees contrast. Every now and then she seemed to stole a glance at Draven before staring back at the floor.

“Oh, you wound me.” Draven placed one hand on his chest and pretended to wince in pain. He let out a small sigh and without even looking at Maria, he instructed her to wait outside. “Go and wait with the others outside. This should not be long.”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied obediently and left without looking back.

Once Maria closed the door behind her, the atmosphere inside the meeting room shifted. Thornton closed the gap between him and Draven and stopped right in front of his chair. His hands reached out to Draven’s collar and he pulled his little brother up until they were faced to face.

“What the bloody hell?!” cussed Draven as he struggled to break free. “What the fuck do you think you are doing? Let me go.”

Ella stepped forward, wanting to calm these two men down but Javier caught her waist and kept her beside him. “You do not want to get in the middle of that, Miss Stanford. Moreover, I will not let you even if you want to. For the sake of us all, please do keep in mind that you are carrying our baby.” He tightened his embrace as if it would protect her from any harm. "Both of my brothers need to vent it out."

“Pretty much.” Draven shrugged one shoulder as if he did not give a damn.

“They knew we have been searching for you for the last two years and they did not say anything!” Thornton shook his head and started pacing.

“Have it occurred to you that it might be a little too late? I mean I have been gone for ten years and only two years ago you started looking for me?” Draven scoffed.

“You know why we could not look for you immediately! Grandpa would never allow it. You know what a tyrant he was. Only after he passed away that we could use all resources at our disposal to find you and you did not make it any easier.” Thornton lifted his hand and pointed at Javier and Ella. “What have you done instead? You tried to ruin your brother’s relationship. You ordered Maria to threaten and blackmail her. You attempted to taint the Summers name. Your own family. Your flesh and blood!”

“A little drama queen are you not?” Draven sat down on his chair and leaned back. He propped his leg up on the table and leaned his head to one side. “How many times do I have to tell you that you are no longer my family, huh? That Summers is no longer my name. It means nothing to me.” He grabbed a bottle of water on the desk and squeezed the cap open then took a drink. With a sigh, he placed the half empty bottle back on the wooden surface. “Are we truly going to waste everyone’s time with this family chit chat?” Again, he mocked Thornton using his own choice of words. “Those people came here to discuss about our project. Let us cut this conversation short and get back to work.”

Thornton gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowed as he tried his best to keep his emotion in check. Although he was annoyed by his little brother’s repulsion, he did understand the reason behind it. And moreover, he felt guilty too for not searching for his long lost brother sooner. He felt guilty for being weak and had not stood up for his brother. “Very well,” he replied curtly then walked towards the door then hit the button on the wall next to the door to unlock the door. “If that is what you want then fine. Let us get down to business.”

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Dear Gentle Readers, what do you think will happen? Will things get messy?