Chapter 6

Greyson Blackstone

"Can you fucking explain this!?"

Sage jumps. Obviously, my anger caught her off guard. I wonder what she expected when I told her to come to my office today. Surely even she cannot be this slow.

On the screen was a picture of her and some guy by the name of Pierce Radwell. Apparently, he is a well-known actor or something of the sort. Either way, the talk about this guy is very frequent and when the press finds out that the woman in the photo is the Granddaughter of Andrew Emerson it'll cause an uproar we aren't prepared for.

"Yeah...that's Pierce. I met him at the event." She answers, quietly. Why is she not angry back? Could it be that she realizes that this isn't a good thing for us. Maybe my genuine anger is perhaps working on her. I'll take note of that.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to keep myself composed since we are on school grounds. It'd cause suspicion if someone were to come in and see me like this with her. "Slade, are you aware that soon you will be recognized in the crowd as Andrew Emerson's granddaughter? That when you're around guys like this..."

"Like what?" She frowned.

I scoffed. "The kind that'll get you bad attention, he's a magnet for tabloids, the fucking text reads," I look at the screen. "Teen Heart-Throb Pierce Radwell was caught with a mystery woman at an event hosted by Andrew Emerson at the Emerson hotel. Possible new romance after breaking up with pop sensation Annalise Evans?"

After reading all of that, I looked up at her to see that she was smiling. She didn't understand what this meant. "Why are you smiling? Slade, why the fuck are you smiling?" I crossed my arms, then studied her. Immediately her smile vanished and her eyes went wide with shock. "I...I was not smiling." She scoffed. "I'm not seeing the problem here, why'd you call me for this?"

"Slade," I leaned in. "Our engagement will be announced as soon as you turn eighteen, now that's a whole year of preparing you to be worthy of being a Blackstone. Being around Princeton Radchell or whatever the hell his name is will only make your image less appropriate for a man such as myself." I explained to her and she looked confused.

"Uh...I was just talking to him, not making out with him or anything." She narrowed her eyes at me. "You don't need to worry about me Greyson, I'm not you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" My brows furrowed.

"I'm not a whore who needs to sleep around, you're the one who needs to be prepped for me. I am the prodigal Granddaughter of Emerson. Admittedly, I'm the only one, but I am the prodigal one. You, however, are the manwhore of Blackstone, so before you talk to me about making inappropriate moves, look in the mirror." She stands up.

Our gazes locked.

Then, without another word, she turned around and stormed out of the room. I'm not sure why she said all of that or why she was even angry. The one who has that right is me. She's going around associating with guys like that will only affect our relationship in a bad way. I don't want the public to look at her and think Pierce Radwell's ex-girlfriend or fling, I want them to look at her and see a Blackstone to be.

Sage doesn't know what the public is capable of coming up with, she doesn't know the dangers of being well-known around the country. The less she does will be more beneficial to her, all she has to do is appear in public in a graceful manner and smile. Nothing more and nothing less, simplicity is what she needs.

Because the moment they find one thing about her, she'll be in trouble.

****

"So fancy." Samantha, no Evelyn, maybe Layla, whatever her name is, says to me. Tonight I decided to take out a female because there was talk about me being a little too close to Sage. In order to stay them away. I must distract them with women who would catch the gaze of any man. Unfortunately, I've seen better.

I embedded my wine, looking through the corner of my eye to see if anyone was watching us. In these kinds of places, there's always one person who recognizes me and remembers seeing me with someone. They always automatically assume it's a lover. I explain to them that they are just beautiful acquaintances because, in reality, that's what they are.

I've got an image to upkeep, not the manwhore one, of course, but a charming gentleman. So I always treat everyone with the most respect. Although tonight I've already messed up, since I can't remember the bloody wow, man's name. Usually I'm good at remembering a name, at least for the night. That seems to not be the case tonight.

"I'm surprised you accepted my request to go on a date tonight, Mr. Blackstone." She smiles. I've come to figure out the mindset of the women I associate with. The majority who refer to me are. Blackstone is only with me because of my wealth and they believe they have a shot at it. This is best, cause at the beginning of any interaction, I tell them to call me by my first name. Those who do call me by my first name either know me as family and Sage, or have been acquainted with me more than once and are interested in my wallet.

Either way, I want what I want, so it doesn't matter. "Of course, a lady as beautiful as you deserves to be taken out to extravagant places." That was bile, everything that came out of my mouth was complete shit. It leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth to say such things when I don't mean them. Unfortunately, it's natural for me to be this way, since my Father beat it into me, not physically, or mentally. Threatening was his favorite method.

"Well, I appreciate the gestures she leans in, revealing more chest. I'm not sure why women use that as a tactic to lure me. I've seen it before, hundreds of times in fact. They're all the same.

Before I could say anything, my gentleman relieved me from more gentleman flirting. Sage's name flashes on the screen. This has never happened before. The only one that calls out both of us is always me. I'm the one who makes the plans or tells her updates, so to see her calling leaves me a tad apprehensive. "Excuse me." I said to my date, then got up and walked to the bathroom.

When I was inside, I answered, "Slade, this had better be good."

"Greyson...I'm...I...!" She panics.

I wait for her to speak but all I hear is her heavy breathing and sobs. "Slade, what is it?"

"My...My Dad he's...Greyson he's..." She cries out. I didn't wait for an answer and stormed off towards the table. "Alright Slad, I need you to listen to me," I said, my tone calm. "You need to tell me what happened and where you are." Sage wheezes into the phone and I am gradually losing my calm as this progresses.

When I arrived at the table, I looked at the woman while grabbing a hundred boots, then I took out a few hundreds and placed them on the table. "Listen, I've got an emergency, I'll have to cut our date short. Here's the money for the bill." I explained to her while holding the phone against my chest. Before she could say anything, I zoomed out of the restaurant, giving my key to the valet boy.

"Slade, talk, tell me what happened." I pushed, my tone losing the calm factor it once had minutes ago.

More sobs. "I...He...I came home and he was...he was on the floor..." She cries. "There's blood...Greyson...blood! A lot of it!"

She's home

My car appeared, I tipped the valet boy and got into my car, pushing the key in the ignition. Then I used Bluetooth and drove, connecting my phone to Bluetooth. Hearing her crying louder didn't make me any more composed, but I knew I had to be in situations like this.

Stupid! I slammed the wheel. Why didn't Andrew or I send patrols for her? The moment Andrew told the public she was an Emerson was the moment she was a target. That family has a shitload of enemies out there and Sage is the perfect person to take that anger out on, given that she is the weakest and youngest.

Fuck!

"Greyson!" She cried out. I pressed my lips, then gulped down my feelings. "Sage, I need you to calm down."

"I can't...what if he's dead!? I can't tell if he's breathing Greyson!"

I breathed out. "Sage, baby, calm down. I need you to calm down for me, your Father will be alright. I need you to grab your house phone and call the police."

"I...I called...I called them before I called you." She informed me. What the fuck is taking them so long? She called me five minutes ago. They should already be there! Either way, I'm not even close to her house, I'm on the other side of town, so it'll take me twenty minutes or more to get to her. Dammit! What a stupid time to go out on a fucking date.

"Okay, Sage, I'm coming right now. Alright?" I tell her.

"I'm scared." She says. It was moving to hear such a strong girl with a fire in her eyes crying like that, cowering in fear. Right now, more than anything, I'd prefer that she is angry with me instead, but that won't be possible. Her Father is lying on the floor surrounded by blood. This is a reminder that even she is weak.

I suck in my breath. "Sage, I'm right here, I will be there soon."

"Get here soon..." She stops and screams. I felt my heart drop at the sound of horror in her voice. "What's wrong Sage!?" I yelled. All she does is scream, I hear utensils falling and glass. There's movement and then my blood turns to ice when I hear a male voice. "Stay away!" She screams out loud. "Sage! Sage!"

The phone cuts off.

The phone fucking cuts off!

I recall her phone but it goes straight to voicemail.

Fuck!

I'm coming Sage, I'm coming.