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And I still don’t have the money. I have to watch exactly what I say to him. I need the million dollars to get my rural ambulance service up and running.
Once I get that money from him, we’re going to have a very long talk, and he’s going to hear everything I have to say. He won’t get a choice, and he won’t get the final word in that conversation.
“You’re not going to say anything to Jessie, or about her.” I step between the two of them, shielding her from his view.
“You’re really going to do this?” Dad gives a bitter laugh and shakes his head. “You think that supporting a woman who is clearly distracting you from your goals is a good thing to do? You’re going to ruin your life if you keep it up. More so than you already have.”
“I’m not distracted.”
Dad sighs, giving that patronizing shake of his head again. “You only have a week and a half left before I have to give you the money. In that time, how often are you going to be with her? How often are you going to be distracted from your goal? You spend time with her, and you spend time doing that damn wilderness rescue. You’re going to get distracted, Brookes, and when you do, our deal is over.”
Before I can say anything, Jessie’s footsteps echo across the floor. I spin around, watching as she yanks open the door. Her blonde hair sways as she hurries into the hallway and slams the door shut behind her.
Fuck.
Even though I want to go after her right now and try to make this better, I have to deal with my dad first. He needs to know that I’m not going to tolerate him treating her the way he treats everyone else.
The moment I’m done dealing with him, I’m going to go after Jessie.
And hope my dad hasn’t managed to scare her off.
“I’m not going to get distracted. It was out of line for you to come here and set up camp in the break room. I don’t know what was said before I walked in here, but I saw the look on Jessie’s face. You need to back off and treat me like an adult for once in your life.”
Dad stands up, walking closer to me. He stops a few inches from me, that mocking smirk on his face. “You think you’re an adult now? An adult would have his own money. He’d be able to build a business without climbing on his father’s back and making a bet. Especially when he knows it’s a bet he can’t win.”
I feel like I’m going to explode. This conversation lost its point years ago. We’ve been going back and forth about what I should do with my life since I was ten years old. He’s never given up on the hope that I would be exactly like him.
He should give up hope. My father may be intelligent and good at making money, but he’s been nothing but a terrible dad since I chose a path different than the one he would have picked for me.
It’s time for me to get my shit together and stop bending to accommodate him. I need to put my foot down.
“This is the first and last time you’re going to pull this kind of stunt. I will not have you chase off the woman I love because you think you’ll have better control over me that way.”
“A woman like that is not going to settle for a man like you,” Dad says, his voice dripping with condescension. “You think she wants a man who changes his mind when the work gets too hard?”
“Glad to know what kind of man you think I am.” I step away from him, my upper lip curling in disgust. “I used to look up to you. I thought you hung the damn moon. If the last several years have taught me anything, it’s that you’re nothing close to the man I thought you were.”
There’s nothing else to say to him. Even if there was, I’m done talking. Standing here with him isn’t important. I need to find Jessie and make sure she’s alright. I need to know what happened before I walked into that room, and I need to apologize for everything after.
I spin on my heel and walk out of the room, leaving the door wide open behind me. Dad can see himself out.
Mark wanders by with a cup of coffee in his hand, still attaching his badges to his lab coat. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Brookes.”
“My dad’s here and he made a show of pissing me off, and fuck knows what he did or said to Jessie.”
Mark’s eyes widen and he looks toward the break room. I can feel my dad’s gaze riddling holes in my back but I don’t care. His polished dress shoes click against the floor as he brushes by me and heads for the door.
People stop to talk to my father on his way out. I’m sure some of them are hoping for any small ounce of gossip they can get. If there’s one thing I hate about the hospital, it’s how fast gossip spreads around here.
It’s worse than being in high school.
I look around, trying to see a flash of Jessie’s blonde hair or the burnt-orange scrubs she wore today. “You haven’t seen Jessie, have you? She took off a few minutes ago. I was still dealing with my dad.”
Mark shakes his head and hands me his coffee. “You look like you need this more than I do.”
“Thank you.” I take a long sip of the coffee, still looking around the hallways for Jessie. “I have to figure out where she is right now. I’m going to lose my shit if my dad scared her off.”
Mark claps a hand on my shoulder. “You’re being dramatic. Jessie likes you. I can see it when she looks at you. And she’s a tough woman. She might not have left your dad a whimpering mess on the floor today, but she could have.”
