AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Skye," he said curtly. "You should get to know her. You two would get along."
"Because she’s my age?" I asked sweetly. I leaned back in my chair and placed my bare feet on the edge of the desk.
He flinched. "She’s older than you." His eyes didn’t meet mine.
"By how much?" I challenged.
He muttered something.
"Two years?" I asked.
"Three," he snapped.
"Let me guess. She’s mature beyond her years." If I rolled my eyes as hard as I wanted to, I'd hurt my brain.
"Very much so," he agreed. "She studied business at university. She wants to do her Masters."
I wasn’t impressed, not yet. "She can’t be that smart if she’s hanging around with you." I grinned.
He snorted. "That’s what I keep telling myself. Why would a girl—" he cleared his throat. "Woman like her be interested in an old bastard like me?"
I choked back a laugh. "Oh, I could take a guess at that." It started with him being loaded and ended with… him being loaded. Oh, and him having an awesome daughter.
"She’s not after me for my money," he argued.
"Right," I drew out the word. "How was that trip to the Whitsundays?"
"Cut short by Bam Clinton," Dad growled.
"Oh yeah." Dad and future wife number five flew back early because Dad was sure the team would implode after Bam missed some charity event. "Well, I’m sure that didn’t hurt. Until you had to explain to Lauren where you went."
My father wasn’t beyond acting first and thinking about the consequences later. I got that from him too.
"She already moved out and filed for divorce by then," he said.
My jaw dropped slightly. I didn’t think he could say anything that would truly shock me. I was wrong. "I thought that came after your little vacation."
"Nope." He leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk in front of him, one hand over the opposite wrist, chunky Rolex uppermost. "Do you really think I'd take off with another woman unless my marriage was over?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I said slowly, "you really don’t want an answer to that." That was exactly what I thought. For a smart guy, my Dad’s brain seemed to be in his pants quite often.
He sighed. "I’m a better man than that." Silence hung for a few moments before he shook his head. "When did this become about me? I need you to step up and spend some time in the spotlight. It’s Down Under Bowl season. We might only get one shot at this, potentially for years. This is our chance to make a mark. Your chance to be seen as the future of the team."
Aaannnddd we’d circled back to that.
"Dad—"
"I’m not asking you to coach the team." He locked his eyes on mine in that way he did when he was determined I'd do what he said. "Just take an interest. This is your legacy. If you want it to be."
Which translated to, ‘Because I want it to be.’ It was all about his desires, not mine.
"I make no promises," I said after a few moments. "But I’ll try."
I'd rather poke out my own eyeballs than take over ownership of a football team. Why couldn’t he have bought an ice cream parlour, or a troupe of strippers?
Something fun.
"That’s all I ask," he said. "It won’t be so bad. Mostly you just have to smile and look pretty."
