Free The Billionaire’s Tenacious Boss (The Maxfield Brothers Series Book 1) by Leslie North

him. “How are your grades?” he asked quietly.
    “Fine.”
    Fine? “Could you be more specific than that?”
    “I don’t know. Ask Mom.” Ben’s eyes were glued to the screen.
    Stephen sighed. Clearly, Ben didn’t want to talk about his grades. “And how’s the soccer thing going?”
    “It’s over.”
    Over? “What do you mean, over? Aren’t you interested in soccer anymore?”
    “The season is over.”
    Suddenly Stephen couldn’t take it anymore. He reached over and ripped the controller out of Ben’s hands. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” he shouted suddenly.
    “What the hell?” Ben said.
    “You do not use words like that! And you certainly don’t speak to your father that way! What has gotten into you? This is supposed to be our time to spend together, and all you want to do is play these video games! Is this why your grades aren’t good? You’re spending too much time racing cars instead of studying?”
    “What do you care?” Ben suddenly burst into tears.
    “I care because I’m your father!” Stephen roared.
    “Stephen!”
    He whirled around to see Angie staring at him from the doorway. Ben raced past them as he left the room.
    “Shit,” Stephen said as his anger deflated.
    “What the hell was that all about? I came to say goodnight, and you’re screaming at your son!”
    “It’s none of your business,” he said tightly. “Good night.”
    He tried to brush past her to go after Ben, but she grabbed his arm. “It’s none of my business, but you need to cool off. Whatever is going on here is more than video games, and you know it.”
    Staring at her, he realized that she was right. He had a problem with the fact that Ben was ignoring him, and until he knew why, he couldn’t do anything to change it. He shrugged helplessly. “What can I do?” he groaned.
    “Cool off. Then apologize to him.”
    She let go of him and walked down the hall. He sagged against the wall as he watched her leave. How had things gotten so out of hand between him and his son? And why was it that Angie of all people should be the one to witness his meltdown?
    But she was right. So instead of going after Ben, he went to his own room and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was too worried to sleep, but there was nothing else he could do tonight anyway.
    “We need to talk,” Suzanne said in a tight voice.
    Stephen looked up as she walked into his room. He was about to turn down his bed. “What?” he asked with a sigh.
    “What do you mean, ‘what’? You know exactly what’s wrong. You screamed at our son!” she exclaimed.
    “He needs to pay attention to me when I’m speaking to him! I’m his father, and he doesn’t respect me. All he wants to do is play those damn video games,” Stephen retorted.
    “He’s ten, he’s a kid,” Suzanne sighed. “What is this really about?”
    Pinching the bridge of his nose to alleviate his stress headache, he finally shook his head. “It’s like he’s not even my son anymore. He’s barely spoken to me this entire trip. All the information I get is secondhand. Suzanne, I haven’t seen him since Christmas, but it’s like he’s turned into a different child.”
    Suzanne stood at the foot of the bed and stared at him. “Stephen, you’ve missed so much this year. From games to award ceremonies to Bring Your Father to School day.”
    “Bring Your Father to School day? I don’t even know what that is.”
    “Because when he does invite you to events, you’re always too busy. So he’s stopped telling you about things. That’s how he copes. That way he’s not disappointed by you letting him down,” she said softly.
    With a soft moan, Stephen sank into the bed next to her. “Shit. I am the worse father in the world.”
    “No. You’re not,” Suzanne said as she put her arms around him. “Part of it is my fault. I moved three cities away, and I always take Ben with me when I go on weekend out-of-town trips. It makes it difficult for you