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Setting the items down at one of the spots at the four-person table, I step back to allow Conrad’s father to sit.
“This place is exactly somewhere I imagined someone like you working. A scholarship kid from a single, young mother in a town not worth remembering the name of. No surprise here.”
My blood runs cold at his mentioning my personal life and where I come from. “How do you know those things about me?”
Howard leans back in the seat and unbuttons his suit jacket. “When my son tells me he is ruining his life and abandoning the plans I set for him before birth for a woman, you think I wouldn’t find out who that woman is?”
“Maybe he made those decisions because he was tired of livinghislife the wayyouwanted him to.”
Nostrils flaring, Howard leans forward with one long finger pressed onto the tabletop. “Not sure I like the service at this place. Bring me a scotch neat and maybe I will reconsider that tip.”
Plastering on my most perfect fake smile, I lean down so that we’re at eye level. “You can shove your tip up your ass,sir.” Standing, I look toward the bar to make sure my coworker or Garrett doesn’t think anything is off. “I’ll go ahead and grab that drink for you.” Without another word, I turn and head toward the bar.
Once I have the drink from Garrett, who eyes Howard, I turn and head back in that direction. He is leaning back in the chair again and one of his legs is resting on the opposite knee as he scrolls through his phone.
“Here you are,” I announce cheerfully as I set the drink down.
“Sit,” Howard demands without looking up from the phone.
Cocking my hip out, I rest my hand there and narrow my eyes at him. “Excuse me?”
With a sigh, he looks up from his phone. “Sit. I’d like a word with you, and based on the fact that I’m your only table, you have the time.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve already checked on the group on the patio, and they got fresh refills and had finished their apps.
Reluctantly, I take the seat across from him. Howard swirls the amber liquid in the glass and takes a sip. “Clearly you don’t have top-shelf liquor here.”
“Did you come here to insult my place of work, or is there a purpose for your visit?”
“Obviously I would never willingly choose to spend my time in a place like this.” He sneers as he looks around one of my favorite places to be. Whiskey Joe’s may not be the fanciest establishment, but we have a great team and loyal customers who love coming here on the regular.
“Then why did you grace us with your presence?”
That smirk appears on his face again, and my stomach clenches, knowing the reason he is here could not be good. “I’m assuming my son thinks he doesn’t need me and that’s why he has decided to beindependent.”
Raising a brow, I try not to give my answer away. “Not sure what you mean by that, but your son wants a life of his own and not one that you are forcing on him.”
“It’s cute how you defend him.” Howard leans forward and rests his forearms on the table. “I’ll cut to the chase because I want to get out of here.”
“That makes two of us.”
His nostrils flare at my snarky comeback, and I get the feeling people in Howard Dugray’s life don’t talk back to him much, if at all. “Conrad thinks he is safe with that trust fund of his from my father and while I don’t have direct access to it, I have excellent lawyers that are confident I can win power of attorney over it, and that means I will manage every bit of what is in there.”
The confident smile and tone of voice worry me. I know nothing about wills or what a lawyer can and cannot do. He has the upper hand in this conversation, and I wish I paid more attention in the law class I took my senior year of high school, although I don’t think this would be a priority topic.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that my son is too stubborn to listen to me and thinks I won’t make any moves, but you seem like you truly love him. So I will give you two options: stay with my son and I take everything from him, including any job opportunities he was being hopeful for after graduation, or end your relationship and he won’t have any reason not to fulfill the plans we had until you came along.”
Everything around me fades away as his words sink in. Howard Dugray is a powerful man and, from what I have seen, a ruthless one at that. The fact that he is willing to ruin his own son’s life shows he has no empathy and a cold, dead heart.
“Why can’t you just let him be?” I whisper.
Howard lets out a sinister laugh that gains the attention of other patrons. “My son went against me, and that’s unacceptable in my world. There are consequences for your actions, and these are his. You should be grateful I’m leaving the decision up to you instead of doing as I please. I would say I’m being fairly generous.”
This man is pure evil. I will never understand people like him. Parents like him. My mom did everything to make my life better and motivated me to follow my dreams and what I love. For Conrad’s dad to want this much control over his son’s life, even at the expense of his happiness, is pathetic as a father.
Throwing back the last of his drink, Mr. Dugray stands and straightens his suit jacket. “You have until the weekend to make your decision. But know this, Miss Anders, there really is only one right option. Let’s hope you’re smart enough to know which it is.” After tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table, he heads toward the double doors he entered through not too long ago, and even though it is a warm spring night, goose bumps form on my bare arms as a shiver runs up my body.
