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She shook her head, and her chin quivered. If she needed to cry more that was fine, but that certainly hadn’t been his goal in asking her. Tamsyn continued to shake her head and he let go of her chin.
“He lied, and made it seem like his screw-up was my fault. I wasn’t in a place to defend myself. Why are people so mean, Daddy? He didn’t have to be so mean.”
“I don’t know, kitten. Sometimes people are just mean and it’s not your fault. If anything, given what you’ve said about this guy, it seems likely he was cruel because you were doing something right. He’s intimidated by how smart you are, and how hard you work. He knows he can’t compete with you on merit so he tries to take you out at the knee.”
“It’s just…he made me doubt myself and feel like no matter how hard I work I’m never going to be one of them. And if I’m not one of them I can’t win. Why should I even try to play a game that’s so unfair?”
“You’re right, baby. It’s not fair.”
“It took me an hour to fix it.An hour.An hour they were all sitting in that conference room drinking whisky and talking about golf and private jets and… Argh! I hate them, I hate them so much. And after it was over Grant took me aside and told me they’d been pleased with my performance up until then, but any more screw-ups like this would block my path to advancement and might even cost me my job. It’s not fair, Daddy. It’s not fair!”
For weeks he and Lo had waited, hoping Tamsyn would let the little part of her out to play, or to be spoiled. They’d waited because they didn’t want to push too hard, or dig too far and expose a nerve they could never cover up. And here some fuckface had rendered his strong, proud girl a trembling, tearful mess.
This was the smallest and most vulnerable he’d ever seen her. While it didn’t seem fair to take advantage and spend some time with her little, it also seemed like what she needed most, inconsolable as she was.
He would do what he could for her until Lo arrived and then they’d see what they could do for their precious little girl.
