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I think about all of the work I've put in, all the hours I've dedicated, just to hand off my cases to him like this. And anger sears through me.
“You can't possibly be firing me for this.” Why isn't he thinking rationally about this situation? Instead of acting like the man I know, he's acting like a wounded animal lashing out. Firing me is the worst thing he can do right now, for his and Clifton’s sake. Without me to mediate, they’ll be at each other’s throats, and Clifton will wind up in jail - I’m sure of that.
“I can fire you for any reason I see fit.” He sounds suddenly calm and colder than I’ve ever heard him be.
I need to get off the phone before I say something I regret.
“I'll be in tomorrow to clean out my desk and leave things with Lanie.” With anger pounding an ugly baseline in my head, I end the call and stare down at my phone, trembling.
What am I going to do now?
I’ve lost my boyfriend and my job all in the same day.
And it’s all Clifton’s fault.
Chapter Seven
Clifton
I have never liked wearing suits.
I'm happy in slacks and dark-colored button-down shirts, but in suits, I feel ridiculous, like a penguin. And no, I don't have to be wearing black and white to feel like I look like a penguin.
I smooth a hand down the lapel of my jacket, waiting for the elevator to open and take me to my father’s floor.
Unfortunately, I have no choice in how I dress. I accepted his offer, the offer that saved me from going to jail, but also trapped me in his web of lies like a fly waiting for an inevitable death. I spent so much of my life trying not to get under his thumb, and in the end, he'd managed to get me in checkmate.
The elevator door opens and I step inside, pressing the button for the floor of his law firm.
My father has always been a damn good lawyer. He knows how to bend the law, how to make friends with the right people, and how to get what he wants from anyone. After all, he's had a lot of practice bending the truth and making people believe him.
His ability to manipulate those around him is practically legendary in my mind. The only person he'd never been able to wrap around his little finger was my mother.
I know he wants me to follow in his footsteps and take over his firm someday, but I know that I'll never be more than just his puppet. He'll never be proud of me, and he'll never let me believe that I earned my way in. He'll never let me forget that he built this empire and allowed me to be part of his glory and sacrifice.
But I don't want to live my life the way he expects. I want to be free to make my own decisions, my own mistakes, and build my own empire. Just because the name on the building is the same doesn't mean I’ll be anything like him.
While I don't regret the fight that I got into with my ex-girlfriend’s husband, I do regret the consequences. Even though I never asked my father for his help, he did bail me out. And like everything else he's done for me in my life, it comes with a hefty price. He gave me the option to work for him or go to jail and lose everything.
Obviously, that's not much of a choice.
The elevator doors slide open and I step out, feeling like a prisoner in a very fancy cage. It's a feeling I know I need to get used to because nothing's going to change while I’m trapped here. While I plan to go in with as good an attitude as I possibly can have, I know this will be the slow death of my very soul.
“Son, it's good to see you here.”
With my heart slamming behind my ribs, I turn to face my father with the most phony smile I can muster up. “It's good to be here.” We both know I'm lying, but I also know that keeping up appearances is the most important thing to my father, and that he'll play along.
His eyes narrow even as his smile freezes on his lips. “Your office is three doors down on the right.” He gestures with one hand.
Instead of responding, I dip my head at him in a faux bow. I can play the part of a professional perfectly, after all, for my entire life, he's demanded excellence and trained perfection into me.
I might even go so far as to say my acting skills rival his.
I cross the shining marble floors toward the office he’s set me up in. If I want time to pass quickly, I need to dig in right away. And the best way to do that is get in my office and get started.
I reach the door he indicated and push it open, expecting an empty room as cold and emotionless as the man who runs the place. Instead, I see Emma.
She’s on her knees with boxes around her and glances up at me with swollen red eyes and surprise in her beautiful features. Obviously startled, she wipes away her tears as if she can hide that she’s been crying.
