CHAPTER 14: POWER AND CONTROL

The faint smile on Benjamin’s lips lingered just long enough to make Alexander’s chest tighten.

It wasn’t a smile of amusement but rather a confirmation or at least it felt like one.

"You knew," Alexander repeated in a low and hard voice. "Did you plan this?"

Benjamin didn’t immediately answer. He poured himself another drink. "You really think I have time to meddle in the gossip columns?"

"Don’t do that," Alexander said sharply. "Don’t make this sound like nothing." He moved closer to the desk. "Those photos weren’t random. The restaurant has only private access; someone arranged for the press to be there last night."

When Benjamin did react, he added, "You think I wouldn’t notice that?"

Benjamin took a slow sip before leaning back in his chair. "And what if someone did arrange it?" he asked calmly. "Why assume it was me?"

"Because you always have a motive," Alexander shot back. "You invited Gregory Carter to the restaurant when the meeting could have happened right here in the daytime. But you chose an intimate place after dark. And you also made sure Evelyn was present."

"You are reading too much into this, don’t you think?" Benjamin chuckled. "You are making me sound so bad here, son."

When Alexander scoffed, he added, "It could be anyone but why do you think it’s me?"

"Because you have spent your life calculating outcomes and weighing people like assets on a balance sheet."

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed faintly but his composure didn’t falter. "You speak as though that’s a flaw." He rose from his chair and walked around the desk. "The difference between chaos and control, Alexander, is understanding when to let a fire burn and when to contain it. This—" he gestured loosely toward the tablet on the desk "Is merely smoke. Nothing more."

Alexander’s hands clenched. "It’s not smoke when someone else gets burned. You have dragged Evelyn into this."

Benjamin gave a faint smile. "Evelyn Carter is a smart woman. I am sure she will survive a few headlines." He shrugged. "I mean, she has already survived worse."

Alexander’s voice turned icy. "You used her."

Benjamin’s gaze lingered on him. "Used her?" he echoed softly with a tone threaded with mock surprise. "You make it sound so ugly. I may have simply redirected attention where it would be most beneficial."

Alexander’s jaw tightened. "Beneficial to whom?"

"To all of us," Benjamin replied smoothly as he stepped closer. "The company and our family. You act as though I have committed a crime when all I have done is protect what we have built."

"Protect?" Alexander bit out. "By turning someone’s pain into a PR strategy?"

Benjamin tilted his head slightly as he studied him. "You are awfully defensive, son. It almost seems like this is more than business to you."

Alexander’s throat worked. "This has nothing to do with that."

Benjamin’s lips curved again. "Doesn’t it?" He let the question hang in the air deliberately. "Tell me, Alexander, why does Evelyn Carter’s name on a gossip column make you this angry? I mean, you have faced worse scandals and you didn’t flinch then."

Alexander felt his chest tighten. The question struck deeper than it should have and not because it was true but because it was close enough to hurt.

He hated how easily Benjamin could see through him and how effortlessly he stripped away the layers Alexander kept so carefully in place.

He said nothing and tried to keep his features neutral. But the silence gave Benjamin everything he needed.

The older man’s faint smirk deepened. "Ah," he murmured. "I thought so."

"Don’t—" Alexander warned, his tone sharp.

But Benjamin only chuckled under his breath. He was clearly enjoying the reaction. "You have always been so careful and so restrained. from the sidelines while Jack made a fool of himself." His smirk deepened. "Tell me, how long did you pretend not to care about her?"

Alexander’s glare hardened. He didn’t want to answer or think about it. It was something he had buried the second he realized it could never be his and he wished to keep it that way.

"This isn’t about me," he said coldly, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore.

Benjamin ignored that and decided to keep pushing. "You could have had her years ago if you wanted to. But you wouldn’t cross that line, would you? Not while she was with your brother."

He swirled the drink in his hand. "But you have always been loyal —" He sighed. "Painfully loyal, I must say but now—" He spread his free hand with a faint smile. "Now things are different."

Alexander’s jaw clenched but his pulse was loud in his ears. He wanted to argue and tell his father that he didn’t care and that Evelyn’s happiness, not opportunity, was what mattered.

But the words caught somewhere between his chest and his pride.

"Stop twisting this," he said through his teeth.

Benjamin gave a soft, humorless laugh. "I am not twisting anything. I am simply pointing out what’s right in front of you. Jack ruined what he had. The Carters are humiliated and you could turn all that into something useful." he nodded toward him. "You care about her so use it."

Alexander stared at him with a flicker of disbelief in his eyes before disgust replaced it. "You want me to use her?"

Benjamin’s smile faded into something colder. "Don’t pretend to be naive," he scoffed. "Emotions, alliances and business are all part of the same game. The only difference is who learns to play it better." He leaned in slightly. "Evelyn trusts you and that makes her an asset worth keeping close."

Alexander felt something twist inside him. It was the anger, guilt and maybe even fear. His father’s words always had a way of sounding reasonable even when they were rotten to the core and that terrified him more than he had ever admitted.

"You really think this is all about control, don’t you?" he said in a tone trembling with restrained fury.

Benjamin’s gaze held his. "Control—" he said simply, "is the only thing that keeps everything from falling apart."

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Alexander could feel the walls of the office closing in which made him feel suffocated.

No matter how old he got, Benjamin still had a way of making him feel like his wrong ways of achieving things were correct and that this world worked only on power without which one could easily crumble to the ground.

Finally, Alexander stepped back. "If you are trying to turn this into another one of your power games, I am not playing."

Benjamin’s faint smile returned. It was calm, knowing and dangerous. "You already are," he said. "You just haven’t realized it yet."

Alexander didn’t reply but his stomach churned. And for the first time in a long while, he wasn’t sure whether Benjamin was wrong.

.....