Page 54 of Sweet Temptation
I wondered if he could see the desperation in my eyes because he surprised me by nodding. “Fine, I’ll tell you what happened,” he said. “But it won’t change anything. And you can’t get angry if you don’t like what I have to say.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “So…”
He put his arms on his knees and leaned forward, his head low as he began. “Our families have been business rivals for years. It started back when both our grandfathers set up their pharmaceutical companies. The LaFleurs have always taken issue with us. They would poach our employees or sabotage our research. If they knew my grandfather intended to buy a warehouse, they would buy it before him, or if they knew my grandfather was making a deal with a third party, they’d swoop in and steal the contract. It was constant and petty. They did anything they could to make his life difficult. For years, they buried my grandfather in litigation just to be a pain.”
I shook my head, trying to understand. “Why would they do all of that?”
“They’re just not good people.” He glanced down at his hands, like he couldn’t stand to look me in the eyes. “Our grandfathers were once colleagues, but William said your grandfather was always jealous of his success and that’s why he targeted us.”
My brow scrunched in response. I didn’t know how to react to what he’d just said. I’d never met my grandfather, so I could hardly defend him. But Noah still hadn’t explained why he thought Matthew was such a villain.
“But you said this was both our grandfathers, right?” I asked. “So, why are you so angry with Matthew?”
“Matthew is just like your grandfather, if not worse,” Noah said. There was little emotion in his voice, and I got the feeling he was trying his best to sound calm, so as not to upset me.
“What did Matthew do?”
“A couple of years ago, the patent ended on the main drug my family’s company makes. Matthew immediately started manufacturing a generic version of it and practically gave it away. Our sales tanked, and Hastings Laboratories has barely been able to stay afloat since. He knew exactly what he was doing and how it would impact us.”
“Oh,” I murmured. I’d only just met Matthew, and I didn’t know him all that well, but I was surprised he would be so malicious.
“My family’s company is in pieces, and my grandfather has sunk his entire personal fortune into trying to buoy it back to life,” Noah continued. “No one knows just how much trouble we’re in…”
“That’s terrible.”
He nodded, but he was still struggling to look at me. Talking about this had to be hard for him, especially if his grandfather’s company was struggling as much as it was. I still wasn’t sure I understood why my family hated his so much. Why had my father deliberately tried to sabotage them? And had my grandfather really started years of fighting simply because he was jealous? I wouldn’t put it past him considering he’d hidden my existence from my father. Still, it seemed remarkably petty.
As I considered Noah’s explanation, I felt like I was missing something. If my grandfather had acted out of jealousy, then why did my father hate his family? And why had William and Matthew reacted so strongly when they found out we were in a relationship? I felt like there had to be more to the feud than the business rivalry Noah had described.
“So, is that it then?” I asked.
A flash of emotion crossed Noah’s eyes, and I knew he hadn’t told me the whole story.
"What aren’t you telling me?”
He shook his head. “I think I’ve said enough for one night.”
I sat up in bed. “You can’t just give me half the story.”
“The rest is... It’s personal,” Noah muttered. “It goes beyond just business.”
He stood and started pacing around the room. There was a deep frown line furrowing his brow, and it was clear he was really struggling with what to say. Whatever was next in the story seemed even harder for him to talk about, so I waited silently to see if he would explain.
"Okay.” He held up his hands in defeat. “I’ve told you this much, I might as well tell you the rest.” He finally stopped pacing and sank back onto the bed across from me.
“I don’t really know how to tell you this. But my father was having an affair with Matthew’s sister, Georgina.”
My eyes went wide, and I stared at him for several long seconds as I tried to compute what he’d just said. I definitely hadn’t been expecting him to say that and didn’t know how to respond.
“My aunt?” I whispered the words almost to myself.
Noah nodded at the shock he saw in my gaze. “I still don’t believe it myself some days. It was so unlike my dad, and with everything that’s happened between our families... Well, at the time it was unthinkable to imagine a LaFleur and a Hastings getting mixed up like that.”
“Are you sure then?” I asked. “That they were having an affair?”
"I’m sure.” His eyes were fixed on the ground. “They were together in one of our labs one night.” His voice had gone so quiet I could barely hear him as he breathed the words, and my heart ached for him as he spoke. “There was a fire. Some faulty wiring. With all the chemicals in there, the place went up in seconds. Neither of them survived.”
My body went cold. All I wanted was to go to him and hold him. I could see how much he was struggling to recount the story, and I felt awful for pushing him to explain. It was no wonder Noah had been avoiding telling me what happened.
