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I don’t even want to know how many fathers she’s had to deal with. In her case, the worddaddytakes on a meaning I don’t want to think about. The mere thought of her with another man, even just for money, annoys me more and more. But I can’t tell her that. For one thing, it would be hypocritical because I use an escort service myself. Then, as much as she scolds me for never accepting help, Emily is exactly like me, unwilling to let anyone come to her rescue. From this standpoint, we’re the worst team in the world.
***
The restaurant my father chose when I called him this morning after talking to Emily is one of those flashy ones where seventy-year-old wealthy millionaires go. I know half of the faces in here either because of the many times I’ve been here while living with my parents or because, when you’re among the rich elite, ultimately, the places you hang out in are always the same. Being close to the Jailbirds, I got to know most of them.
No one seems to notice my presence as the hostess leads me through the tables to a corner of the room where my father and Aaron are already seated. The lustful look my old man gives to the hostess makes my skin crawl, and the look of disgust my brother can’t hide relieves me. At least, we share a contempt for my father’s affairs with girls a third his age.
When my brother found out I was coming to town to meet with the man I hate the most, he decided to join us. He’d called to find out why I decided to meet my father after all these years. When he heard the reason, he first asked me if I’d gone crazy, and then he offered to come to dinner with us to act as a buffer—either between my father and me or between the two of us and the rest of the room witnessing his fury.
Aaron and I have always been in competition. When we were kids, it was over who got more attention from our parents; as adults, who was more successful at work. He has always been my father’s favorite, the one who decided to follow in his footsteps, work alongside him, and continue in the success of a company that has been in our family for generations. I’ve always been jealous of his success, though I’m glad I’m not as detached from my feelings. However, I’ve always appreciated how Aaron is a cold calculator who always manages to put out fires between the old man and me.
“You’re late” is the first thing my father says in all the years we haven’t spoken to each other.
“No, actually, I told you I’d be arriving at this time due to my flight, but you decided to have dinner when it was most convenient for you.” I unbutton my jacket and sit across from the two of them.
Aaron glances at me, begging me not to start a fight immediately, but it’s in my DNA to hate the man across from me completely. I should be diplomatic, given what I am about to ask, but my father doesn’t fall for flattery. Flattering him now to get what I want is not going to convince him.
“Your brother had less than half a day’s notice to clear his busy schedule, yet he arrived five minutes early.” The eternal comparison with my brother is nothing new. It annoys me to get treated like the dumb son, but at this point, it’s no longer a reason to get into a fight.
“Because he used a car and was able to leave in enough time, not take a fucking plane across the country,” I murmur in a low voice, but my father manages to get the gist of my response.
“If you hadn’t decided to turn your back on your family, you would have not one, but four private planes flying you around,” he points out.
Aaron rolls his eyes and sips his whiskey before answering. “With his career, he can afford to travel in a private jet. Not everyone feels the need to flaunt their wealth.”
Another thing my brother has always hated about our father is the arrogant way he squanders money. He once had the police clear the homeless camps downtown because he had to attend a club in that neighborhood in the evening. More than one person pointed out that he had put his own well-being before a public order issue. He replied that if the city of Los Angeles managed its money as well as he did, it would have the budget to solve the problems of “garbage” and be able to restore dignity to this mess of a city. His press office had to work overtime to spin the story in my father’s favor and didn’t succeed entirely. He never apologized for his words.
“Forgive me if I’m late. I told Evan to go ahead because I had to go to the hotel to make myself presentable.”
At Emily’s voice, my eyes widen and I turn toward her, though not before seeing my father’s smirk and the surprise painted on my brother’s face. She’s wrapped in a red satin dress that accentuates her breasts, the straps so thin I don’t know how they’re holding the weight of the fabric, and a slit up the leg that reaches almost to her hips. The pair of black Louboutin heels make her mile-long legs look elegant and damn sexy. I’m so stunned by her presence that I can’t even speak. Why the hell did she show up? And when did she manage to style the long hair now falling around her bare shoulders? There has been no time to do all this since getting off the plane—unless she never intended to go to the hotel. Did she change in the car in front of the driver?
I was very clear in saying I didn’t want her at this dinner, and she assured me she would stay in her room, but obviously, she lied. My anger is amplified when I look at my brother’s worried face and my father’s hungry smirk. This dinner has reached another level of interest for him. He’s stripping her with his eyes, and the disgust I feel when he gets up to grab her hand and kiss it almost makes me vomit.
“Evan didn’t tell me he was bringing his girlfriend. It’s really a pleasure to meet you, Miss…” His tone is as slimy as the grin on his face.
“Emily. I’m Evan’s colleague, not his girlfriend. If I’m not mistaken, this is a business dinner, right?”
My father lays his inquisitive gaze on me, a raised eyebrow indicating he doesn’t like to be ambushed in front of all these witnesses. Beside him, Aaron looks nervous for the first time, incessantly turning the glass of whiskey on the table, his attention focused on the face of the man in front of me.
“You never told me what you wanted to talk about,” he says coldly.
Emily sits next to me and presses her foot on mine under the table to reassure me of her presence. Normally, I would have found her gesture comforting, but with my father in front of me, I smoke with anger at the mere idea of his filthy thoughts about her. It’s a difficult situation in which I’m made vulnerable—she’s my weakness, one my dad can use to destroy me.
“The trust fund.” I hold my breath while holding his emotionless gaze.
“Interesting.”
“What did you think I came here for? To rekindle the relationship?”
“I was expecting a phone call after you opened that farce of a company with fellow inmates. You’ve never been the brightest of my children, but I didn’t think you’d be fooled by four criminals. I really thought you were smarter. Just a father’s hope. I’m happy I bet on the right son for the family business. Is your new adventure already sinking into debt? Honestly, you never did know how to build a company.”
His words land like a bucket of ice on me.
I knew he would humiliate me as always. That’s why I didn’t want witnesses. I feel Emily’s hand resting on my leg and squeezing tightly, and it breaks my heart. Being humiliated by my father is a habit by now; being humiliated in front of Emily is too bitter a pill to swallow.
“Dad!” Aaron’s harsh warning snaps like a whip in the tense air at this table.
“No, Aaron, it’s fine. Let him express his convictions. We both know he didn’tchooseanything. I left without looking back, and he had to cling to the only son with the patience and determination to stick around until he kicks the bucket and inherits everything. Because if there’s one thing you underestimate,Dad, it’s that people stay with you because of your money, notyou. You’re lucky that Aaron loves your company too much to stab you in the back.”
