She snorted. “Maybe it was, but Iamdoing a good job. I love working there. I love working for Ethan even when he frustrates me, but it’s not any more than any other boss I’ve had in my life and he’s a lot nicer than you are to your staff.”
“I’m not there to be friends with employees,” her father argued.
She didn’t want to go down this road again. “Dad. What you said about me was disappointing and extremely hurtful. Not just to me but to Ethan. You cheapened what we’ve got. It’s not cheap. Not one bit of it.”
The hours she spent researching everything about her father’s illnesses were followed by reflections on her relationship with Ethan.
Was she mad that he’d tried to puff his chest and show his male dominance? Yeah. No doubt there.
But he was trying to protect her.
He loved her, she knew. He was doing what his gut reaction told him to do.
Not the best direction to take, but in thinking about it, no man had ever defended her before.
Had stood up for her.
Had even supported her.
Ethan was everything she wanted in a man and she had to tell herself it wasn’t right for her to be upset over that.
“I see that.”
“I’m asking you to treat me like your daughter. A full-grown adult who might have made some mistakes in her life. Some bad choices or ones you don’t agree with, but learned from them. Someone who has found love and is not backing down because you might not approve of him, because I know damn well if he wasn’t my boss, you’d be fine with it. Right?”
His father sighed. “Yes.”
“Give me some credit. Ethan and I talked about this before. If things don’t work out with us for any reason, I’ll move to another position. But I don’t see that happening. At least not now. And if it does in the future, then I’ll deal with it. I know I can. I’m dealing with you. Maybe I’ve got my stubborn strength from you. Did you ever think of it that way?”
Her father cracked the barest of grins. “No.”
“Then do that. I’m sorry if you don’t approve of my relationship, but I’m not stopping it. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you the same, it just means it’s one more thing we don’t agree about. Nothing new there, right?”
“Correct.” Her father took a deep breath. “It’s going to take me some time. As long as he doesn’t fire me.”
“He’s not going to fire you. He’s not happy with the way you talked to me. No more than I am. It might go a long way if you apologize, but only if you mean it. Don’t do it because of the power he has over you.”
“I’ll apologize to him just like I am to you. I’m sorry for so many things. I’m not saying it because I’m lying in a hospital bed. I’m saying it because you just told me how you feel. You’ve explained what I’ve done to you and you’ve thrived despite it, maybe even because of it. I was wrong. I’ll admit it.”
“Thank you for that, Dad. I’ll talk to Ethan. I’m not saying he’s going to be rainbows and unicorns after this, or not for a while, but he’ll come around.”
“He will if you lay the law down with him like you did me.”
Another twitch of her father’s lips, telling her he was relaxing and maybe, just maybe, there could be hope for a better relationship between them too.
“I plan on it.”
She left the hospital an hour later, then went to Ethan’s condo. He was working from home. He’d let her know when he texted last night telling her to take the day off.
It wasn’t like she could surprise him since she couldn’t get into the building, so she sent him a text and he met her outside.
Rather than go to his place, she walked toward the benches by the Harborwalk looking out into the ocean.
To her, the place where it started it for them all over again. The run where they began their personal journey.
“How is your father doing?”
“Much better,” she said. “I asked why he wanted me here. I needed to know and believe him. He was honest.”
