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“I wanted to talk to you about something,” I say.
He frowns again. “Then make yourself comfortable.” He indicates the chair opposite his desk before returning to his seat.
I wait until he’s settled before I speak because I’m pretty sure he’ll want to be sitting down for this. He stares at me, his dark brown eyes full of concern and trepidation.
“I’ve finished college and you and mom agreed that I could do what I wanted to as long as I got my degree.”
“I remember.”
“Well, I’ve given this a lot of thought and I want to join the family business.”
“Well, your mama will be pleased to have you on board,” he says with a flash of his eyebrows, because he knows that is not what I mean.
My mom took over the running of the women’s and children’s shelter she worked at two years earlier and since then she has gone on to set up her own charitable organization to support abuse victims across the whole of the United States. She does this all while raising my two younger brothers and being an amazing mom to me and grandma to Matthias.
She is a superwoman and I admire her and her work greatly, but that’s not the kind of business that excites me.
“You know that’s not the family business I’m talking about, Papi.”
He sucks in a breath and leans back in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin. “Lucia,” he warns with a shake of his head.
“What, Papi? I’m not cut out for charity work, you know that. You also know this is the life I was born for. It’s in my blood and I can’t change that. I wish that I could.”
“This world is dangerous.”
“I know that,” I remind him. I watched the man I believed was my biological father and my two older brothers slaughtered when I was fourteen years old. “Is it really any less dangerous working in one of Mom’s shelters?”
He stares at me for a few moments. I love our relationship. Despite only being in my life for the past four years, he is my father in every sense of the word. He understands me in a way that my mom doesn’t, and even though I know it’s hard for him, he treats me like an adult and lets me make my own decisions. He jokes that it is the only way to prevent his hair turning gray, but I also know that it is because he recognizes that the same animal he has inside him — one that will never be tamed — lives in me too.
He arches one eyebrow at me. “She will be heartbroken.”
“I know, but this is my decision and you both said that you would respect my choices. I’m twenty-one now. I’m not a child anymore. I don’t need your protection any longer.”
“Lucia! You are my daughter, and you will always have my protection, whether you want it or not,” he replies sharply, causing me to sit back in my seat.
“I know.” I swallow, conscious of not pushing him too far. He may treat me like an adult, but he is still an overprotective father. “But you know there is a role for me here. I can be an asset to you and to the Montoya Corporation.”
“I know that,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It would be much easier if that weren’t true.”
“So, you will speak to Mom?”
“Oh, no,” he chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re such a grown up, you can speak to your mama tonight at dinner.”
I groan loudly, like a petulant teenager.
“But,” he adds, “I will be there and I will help you smooth things over.”
“Thank you, Papi.” I smile at him.
“Did you purposely choose to tell her this news the night before we go to London?” he asks, narrowing his eyes at me. He knows me far too well.
I shrug. “Well, I figure a week-long vacation in London with you will be the perfect way for her to come to terms with my decision.”
He laughs as he shakes his head. “You truly are my daughter, chica.”
Pride swells in my chest at that statement. Both my biological father and the man who had raised me as his own until I was fourteen were cold-hearted and cruel men. Some might say that is true of the man sitting before me, but he has shown me nothing but love, compassion and patience and I am proud to be his daughter.
I am about to reply with a snappy comeback when he looks behind me and smiles.
