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I released the air in my lungs and dropped my arms, staring at my reflection. The black suit. The crisp, clean white shirt. My blond hair neatly combed back from my face. In a matter of hours, I’d walk the grounds of campus alongside the recruiter.
I was ready, and really, this meeting was long overdue. It was about time I put my happiness into my own hands. Because no one else was going to, especially my father.
I took a final glance in the mirror, turned, and headed out of my room, down the stairs, and toward the front door. But when I headed into the coatroom and grabbed my keys from the dish, then turned around, my father was standing there waiting for me.
His sharp gaze took in the suit. “Where are you going?”
“A meeting.”
“Care to elaborate?”
I barely resisted rolling my eyes. Dad knew very well which meeting, but he wanted me to say it. “With the Bucknell recruiter. And you may as well know I’m probably going to accept their offer.”
For a moment, I wondered if he heard me. He didn’t so much as bat an eye, and then one corner of his mouth turned into a smug grin. “In what car?”
“What?”
“I asked, in what car?” he repeated slowly like I was dumb.
“Mine.”
“You mean the one I bought you. With money earned from my business. The one you take for granted. The one you want nothing to do with. Well, isn’t that cheeky?”
My cheeks burned. “Last I checked, it was a gift.”
“Maybe, but let’s get one thing straight. As long as you live here, under my roof, nothing is fully yours. You got that? Nothing.”
I swallowed, unsure of how to navigate this. Would he try to stop me from leaving?
When it came down to it, I was pretty sure I’d win if it came to a physical altercation. Years of water polo and long hours in the gym had chiseled my muscles. And I had height on my side. But as much as I resented my father, I didn’t want it to come to that. So like an idiot, I hoped I could reason with him.
“Dad, I’d be no good at running Elliot Landscaping because I don’t care about running my own business. I want a career coaching if I can have one, and this is the best shot I’m gonna get. It’s not like a ton of schools have water polo programs. So, if I’m good enough to warrant a scholarship at a good school, I’m gonna take it.”
“You think I run Elliot’s because of passion? You think I care about landscaping and pool care?” He laughed. “No, son. I do it because it makes me money. I do it because I have become the biggest company in the state. From taking on residential work to giant firms, earning huge contracts with businesses from here, to Chester, to Virginia Beach, with branches all over. I do it because it’s made us filthy rich. You think you can earn a good living as a coach?” He huffed a breath. “Well, that’s cute. Real cute.”
I gritted my teeth. He was such a condescending ass.
“Look around,” he continued, spreading his arms wide. “How do you think I got us here? It wasn’t on a coach’s salary, that’s for damn sure.”
“I don’t care. I’m not you.”
“You say that—”
“I mean it,” I snapped, grinding my teeth so hard I thought they might crack.
Dad’s eyes flashed an angry gray. “Come on. Let’s go. Do the smart thing.” He reached out and gripped my arm. “No woman is going to want you once you’re my age if you can barely afford to support her.”
I ripped my arm away from him and shouldered him out of the way. “I know for a fact that’s not true,” I said stupidly as my thoughts flashed to Penelope and Julie. Two girls who liked me for who I really was. Who saw me for me.
“It’s that girl, isn’t it?”
I frowned and turned back, confused. For a moment, I wondered if he could read my thoughts. “What girl?”
“The Ewe girl. She was at your meet a couple weeks back. She must be it, right? The reason you're so hell-bent on taking this scholarship? How sweet.” His smug grin stretched. “She convinced you this was a good idea, and you listened. Follow your dreams, and all will be merry and bright or some kind of fluffy crap like that.”
“No.” I shook my head, hating him for mocking her. Hating that he even knew she existed because he didn’t deserve to know someone like her. She was kind and strong and loyal and gracious. Everything good in the world, and everything he wasn’t.
“But of course she’d say that,” Dad continued. “And you didn’t even question it. Didn’t even bother to think of where she comes from. Her father works for me, and he can barely even afford the mortgage at their dump in Hillbrook, let alone in a decent neighborhood. She could give a crap less about making any real money because they’ve never had any.”
