I used her moment of distraction to my advantage, and I grabbed her keys off the counter and slipped out the door. I’d come here to learn… to impress my father. And that was what I was going to do.

Walking back, I easily let myself into my father’s office, thanks to the keys the dopey woman had left unattended, and I was once again standing at the large door.

His meeting must have just ended because the door was slightly open. I lifted my hands to the door to push it open and stopped.

“They should be here any minute,” he said, clearly talking to someone on the phone.

He laughed, and I heard the squeak of a chair. I took a step back.

“Thank God for Jude. That poor boy, Roman, doesn’t have a lick of sense in him. He’s a sweet kid — and he definitely got my good looks,” he chuckled, briefly before continuing. “He’s cute, but dumb. If it wasn’t for Jude, I’d be worried sick for the future of this place. Roman would run it into the ground.”

My heart plummeted as he laughed again.

“Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

Taking another step backward, I kept going until I felt the cold touch of the elevator at my back.

“Cute, but dumb.”

My father thought I was an idiot.

My hands clenched tightly to the keys, still in my hands as anger grew in my heart.

And it never stopped.

Chapter One

“What the hell is all that noise?” I snapped, my voice booming through the thin walls of my spacious office.

No one answered, and the commotion outside my door continued as my hands moved to the sides of my head where a headache was quickly forming.

Ever since I’d officially taken over our family business, Cavenaugh Investments—for the East Coast division anyway—I’d been working in this oversize office that I’d inherited from my brother, which had originally been passed down from my father. Sitting here, where Jude and my father had once sat, was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Of course, all those feelings were dashed and tossed aside because of the incessant racket happening outside my door. Calming silence usually filled my afternoons, but it had been replaced with animated feminine screams, excited laughter, and squeals of glee.

Fucking hell.

I really should have listened to my inner monologue when I’d contemplated the idea of soundproofing this place or hiring a virtual assistant.

I needed silence. Dead silence. All the time.

It was how I operated and what I demanded in order to do what I did for this company, which was basically everything. My employees, although they might find it strange, knew this, yet here they were, causing a shitstorm right outside the boss’s door.

Who even allowed them in to the office?