Chapter 155: Bring Her Home

Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Bring Her Home

Richard Calloway did not like surprises. He paid a team of highly aggressive corporate lawyers a massive fortune specifically to ensure he never received any.

"Say that again," Richard said into his phone.

The lead corporate attorney on the other end of the line cleared his throat nervously. "The journalist leading the investigation into the 2019 financial discrepancy. The one who triggered the recent ethics complaint."

"I know about the complaint," Richard snapped. He paced across the expensive rugs of his home study. "What is her name?"

"Audrey Ellis," the lawyer replied.

Richard frowned. He recognized the name. She was a top sports reporter. She had written the exclusive piece on Mason just a few weeks ago.

"And?" Richard asked.

"And our security consultants ran a full background check on her to build the ethics case," the lawyer continued carefully. "Mr. Calloway, Audrey Ellis is Mason’s girlfriend."

Richard went completely silent. He stopped pacing. He stared blankly at a bookshelf.

Victoria was sitting on the sofa across the room. She was reading a novel, but she immediately noticed the sudden shift in his posture.

"What is wrong?" Victoria asked quietly.

Richard did not answer her at first. He held the phone tightly against his ear.

"Send me the files immediately," Richard ordered.

He hung up the phone and looked at his wife.

"Mason is seeing her," Richard said.

Victoria looked shocked. She gently closed her book. "Mason has a girlfriend?"

"Apparently," Richard replied flatly.

His tablet pinged loudly on the desk. Richard walked over and opened the encrypted email. He tapped the screen and downloaded the attached security report. He did not care about the text. He scrolled straight to the evidence.

He saw recent, high resolution photographs.

Audrey and Mason together.

They were standing outside a restaurant. They were not just standing near each other. Mason had his hand resting warmly on the small of her back. She was looking up at him and laughing brightly. The way Mason looked at her made it obvious they were more than friends. They were clearly a couple. They looked entirely settled.

Richard turned the tablet around so Victoria could see the screen.

Victoria stared at the photos. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she did not immediately react negatively. She actually smiled a very tiny bit.

"She is beautiful," Victoria noted softly. She tapped the screen to zoom in on Mason’s relaxed face. Then she frowned in confusion. "Why didn’t Mason tell us?"

Richard’s expression hardened into stone. He pulled the tablet back.

"That is exactly what concerns me," Richard stated.

He wasn’t angry simply because his son had a girlfriend. He was angry because Mason had been keeping something incredibly significant from the family while Audrey was simultaneously investigating their company. To Richard, those two facts looked dangerously connected.

Richard sat down heavily in his leather desk chair. He started putting the pieces together in his head.

"Think about it, Victoria," Richard said. His voice was sharp and calculating. "She’s a sports journalist. She’s supposed to cover football, and now she’s digging into our company. Mason is one of the most important executives in this company. He never told us about her. And now her investigation is becoming increasingly focused on people inside our own walls."

Victoria shook her head. She stood up from the sofa.

"You are jumping to conclusions," Victoria argued.

"I am looking at the facts," Richard corrected. "She might have gotten close to him specifically for the story. Journalists do terrible things for front page headlines."

Victoria gave him a very sharp, unamused look.

"You do not know that," Victoria said firmly. "Look at the way he is looking at her in that photograph. That is not a corporate setup."

"Then why did he hide her?" Richard challenged.

"Because she is his girlfriend, Richard," Victoria replied smoothly. "Not every secret is a conspiracy."

Richard crossed his arms. He was completely unconvinced.

He was not worried that Audrey would literally steal Mason away. He was worried about something much worse. He was worried that Mason would start choosing Audrey over the Calloway family.

Richard knew the company was already under massive pressure from the press. The board was getting nervous. Now Mason was emotionally involved with someone actively investigating them. If Mason started believing Audrey’s accusations, he could turn against members of his own family. He could leak information. He could ruin everything they had built.

"She is already asking questions about this family," Richard warned quietly.

"She is investigating the company," Victoria pointed out.

"The company is part of this family," Richard stated. His voice left absolutely no room for debate. "What happens when she convinces him that protecting her means turning against us?"

Victoria sighed. She walked over to the desk and rested her hands on the polished wood.

"And what exactly has Mason done that makes you think he will abandon his family?" Victoria asked gently.

Richard had absolutely no good answer.

Because Mason had not actually done anything. He had simply kept his relationship private. He showed up to work. He managed his division.

Victoria pointed this out immediately.

"You are angry because your son has a woman in his life you didn’t know about," Victoria said.

"I am angry because he didn’t trust us enough to tell us," Richard argued back.

Victoria smiled sadly.

"Then perhaps ask yourself why," Victoria suggested softly.

That hit Richard directly in the chest. It gave them a completely different perspective. Richard saw secrecy as a massive betrayal. Victoria saw it as evidence that Mason wanted absolute privacy from their high pressure world.

Richard stood up from the chair. He looked at the photograph on the tablet one last time. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"I want to meet her," Richard decided.

Victoria looked at him cautiously. "Meet her?"

"If she is going to be part of Mason’s life, I want to know who she is," Richard explained.

Victoria understood his tone immediately. He was not planning a warm, welcoming family dinner. He was planning an interrogation.

"Richard," Victoria warned.

"I am not going to insult her," Richard promised.

He paused for a second.

"I am going to ask questions," Richard clarified.

Victoria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Those are sometimes worse," Victoria muttered.

Across the city, Mason sat in his glass walled office. He was reviewing a thick contract file when his personal cell phone started ringing.

He glanced at the screen. He answered it.

"Yes?" Mason said.

"Come home tonight," Richard ordered smoothly.

Mason immediately knew something was wrong. His father never called his personal line during business hours just to invite him to a casual dinner.

"Why?" Mason asked. His guard went completely up.

"Your mother and I need to talk to you," Richard replied.

Mason leaned back in his leather chair. He became incredibly suspicious. He mentally scanned through the latest corporate crisis reports. He wondered if Miles had finally made a move.

Then Richard casually asked a question that made Mason’s blood run entirely cold.

"How long have you been seeing Audrey Ellis?" Richard asked.

Mason completely froze.

His hand gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. He did not say a single word. He stared blankly at the wall of his office. He realized the absolute worst scenario had just happened.

His parents knew. And he hadn’t even introduced Audrey to them yet.

He did not know how much they knew about the investigation. He did not know if Miles had leaked the relationship to them on purpose. He just knew he was completely out of time.

The drive to the Calloway estate took forty five agonizing minutes.

Mason walked through the heavy front doors. The massive house felt uncomfortably quiet. He walked directly into the formal living room.

Victoria was sitting on the sofa. She looked completely nervous. She offered him a tiny, apologetic smile.

Richard was sitting calmly in his leather armchair. He looked entirely like a judge waiting to hand down a sentence.

Mason stopped in the center of the room. He did not bother taking off his coat.

"What is this about?" Mason demanded.

Richard looked directly at his son.

"Your girlfriend," Richard stated.

Mason’s expression changed instantly. The defensive walls slammed perfectly into place.

"You know about Audrey?" Mason asked. His voice was dangerously low.

"We know enough," Richard answered.

Richard stood up. He buttoned his suit jacket and met his son’s intense gaze. He did not yell. He just delivered a quiet, firm command.

"Bring her home," Richard ordered.

Mason stiffened. He bristled completely at the absolute authority in his father’s voice.

"Why?" Mason challenged.

Richard did not back down at all.

"Because I want to meet the woman who has my son keeping secrets from his family."