Page 107 of Billionaire Bad Boy Auction

“But?”

“But nothing!” I threw up my hands. “That’s the problem! This should be an easy decision. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. So why does it feel like I’m being torn in half?”

Dad leaned back. “Because you’re not as powerless as you feel, Portia.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“The universe isn’t fair,” he continued. “Never has been, never will be. But your choices? Those belong to you. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Time to use it.”

I stared into my tea. “I don’t know what to choose.”

“Why?”

“Because I just started the brokerage here,” I said. “Doesn’t that make me flighty? I flit from one place to the other.”

“You’re not flighty, Portia,” Dad said firmly, his voice cutting through my spiraling thoughts. “You’re ambitious. There’s a difference.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Ambition means you’re chasing something. Flighty means you’re running away from something. You’re not running, are you?”

I shook my head slowly. “No. I’m not running.”

“Then stop treating yourself like you are.” His voice softened. “You came back here to regroup, not to hide. And look at what you’ve already built—a new business, new connections, a life here again. That’s not nothing.”

“But what if San Francisco is the next step? What if I’m supposed to take it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What if it isn’t?” Dad countered gently. “What if the next step is right here? Or somewhere else entirely? The point is, you don’t have to decide today. Or tomorrow. Or even next week. Take your time. Figure out what you want, not what you think you should want.”

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Dean made it sound so final, though. Like there was no point in even talking about it.”

Dad tilted his head, studying me. “Dean Jackson is a good man, but he’s got walls thicker than the ones on this house. He doesn’t know how to let people in, and when they get too close, he panics. That’s his problem, not yours.”

“But I don’t want to walk away from him,” I admitted, my chest tightening at the thought.

“Then don’t,” Dad said simply. “But don’t let him make the decision for you either. You two need to talk—really talk—about what you both want. And if he can’t do that?” He shrugged. “Then maybe he’s not the one.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. Not because they were harsh, but because they were true. “I feel like…”

“What?” Dad asked.

“I think I hurt him,” I whispered. “Not intentionally, but he thinks I’ve already decided to go. He told me he doesn’t want me to wake up one day and regret staying to be with him. But I wouldn’t regret it. Not if it meant being with him.”

Dad nodded slowly. “Sometimes, people who’ve been hurt too many times can’t see the truth right in front of them. They get so used to expecting the worst that they can’t recognize when something good is staring them in the face.”

I chewed on my lip, my mind racing. “So what do I do? How do I make him see that I’m not going anywhere?”

“You don’t make him see anything. You show him. Not with words, but with actions. Dean’s a man who understands what it means to build something from the ground up. He knows how to fix things, how to make them work. But this?” He gestured vaguely toward me. “This is different. It’s not about fixing—it’s about trusting. And trust takes time. Like you said, you’ve only been together a few weeks. That’s not enough time to really know anyone. I don’t think you can say you know him either. He might be right.”

I sighed, frustration bubbling up. “I don’t know him, but I feel like I know him well enough. At least I did, but then he goes and does this. What if he pushes me away again?”

“Then you have to decide if he’s worth waiting for,” Dad said bluntly. “But don’t wait forever. You deserve someone who’s willing to fight for you as hard as you’re willing to fight for them.”

I groaned. “I should be celebrating. I should be packing my suitcase and looking for a rental in San Francisco.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“I don’t know,” I moaned and dropped my head. “I don’t feel like I’m me.”

“Not you?”

“I’m not the person I was two months ago. I’ve stepped into new shoes. I don’t know who I am. I know I should be thrilled at this job opportunity. But there’s hesitation and I thought it was because of Dean, but like you said, our relationship is so new. That can’t be it. Unless I turned into one of those women that falls head over heels in love in five minutes and gives up everything.”