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Her head slowly turned in my direction. “I want you to have what you want, but I see so much of your father in you that I… I want to do whatever I can to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes he made.”
I didn’t respond right away, giving my father space to speak up for himself. In the courtroom, Victor Phoenix was a bully. When it came to family and friends, he was known for his manipulative way of getting anyone to do what he wanted. With his kids, he gave us just enough to worship him and want more of him. But with my mother… that was the only person I’d ever seen my father submit to.
At one point, I revered their love. As I aged and matured, I realized that shit was toxic as hell. It always blew my mind to see him soften when it came to my mother. I used to think, as a child, that she was the one who had all the power. That made me want to please her even more.
“What mistakes are you referring to?” I asked. “And why do you think it’s your responsibility to keep me from making them?” I kept my tone as soft and low as I could to ensure she understood I was asking genuinely, not trying to be smart. If I hurt her feelings, Pops would be ready to try to kick my ass.
“His cheating,” she said. “Your father prioritized his career more than our marriage, and that’s why we had so many problems. I don’t want your family life, your marriage, to suffer because of work. I want you to fall in love and realize its value and priority before taking on that position, so you won’t do anything to mess your marriage and children up.”
I could understand where she was coming from. This wasn’t the first time she suggested work was the reason they had issues in their marriage, but it was the first time she said it led to his cheating. I didn’t see the correlation, and without him giving input, I probably never would. It wasn’t like Milli’s mom was a secretary or client, so I’m not sure how work led to their separation and his affairs. That wasn’t my concern, though.
Love wasn’t my priority right now—my career was. Climbing the ladder of success was a distraction that deterred me from the pursuit of love. It felt like just yesterday I was fresh out of college, passing the bar; now, I was thirty-eight with no wife, kids, or anything going for me outside of my professional accomplishments. So, again, I could understand where she was coming from. For quite some time, I made becoming named partner and managing partner my goal to the point where nothing else mattered. Now, it seemed like I was behind in life in other areas that should have mattered most.
Still, even with me acknowledging that truth, becoming managing partner was still my highest priority. After I accomplished that, then I’d focus on my personal life. It was frustrating feeling like women who were supposed to be for me were against me making that happen the way I believed it should.
“I don’t know the details of… that… and I don’t care to know,” I explained. “What I do know is, work has never made me cheat on a woman, and I doubt that will change when I get married. I don’t think it’s fair to require marriage before I get the position that was promised to me, especially when those terms weren’t expressed from the beginning.”
“Well, you know now, so it’s on you. When it seems as if you have a social life that’s leading to love, marriage, and a family of your own, I’ll make you managing partner of my firm,” Pops said.
My eyes shifted as I huffed and sat back in my seat. I looked over at the bar, and at the sight of Maritza talking on her phone, something shifted inside of me.
“What if I’m already on track for that?”
The wheels were spinning in my head, and even though I knew there was a chance they wouldn’t believe me, I was going for it anyway. It seemed being a damn good lawyer, partner, and leader wasn’t enough to get the position that was rightfully mine.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked.
“I am dating… in a serious relationship, actually. I just… hadn’t planned to propose until I was where I wanted to be professionally.”
They both stared at me for a few seconds before laughing.
“You expect us to believe you’re seeing someone?” he asked.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Then why haven’t you mentioned her before?” Mom wondered.
“Because I didn’t want to mention another relationship and have you getting excited about marriage and babies like you always do. I wanted to be sure she was the one before I introduced her to you all.”
“And you believe she is?” Pops asked.
“I do. So there’s no reason that position shouldn’t be mine next year. I’m in a committed relationship and will be proposing soon.”
“I have so many questions.” Mom sat up in her seat with a wide grin. “The first of which is when can I meet her? She must be truly special.”
“She is. Uh…” I stood. “You can meet her now. One sec.”
Mom squealed and clapped her hands as I walked away, and my heart hammered against my chest. All I could do was pray Maritza went along with this. If I took too long to find a woman, they would be even more skeptical about the relationship being real. The only way this would work is if I introduced them to someone now.
My breath came out shaky as I gently grabbed her elbow and turned her to face me. She gave me a genuine smile.
“Jeremy, hel—”
Before she could finish her greeting, I pulled her petite frame into my chest and kissed her. No tongue, but I did allow my lips to linger on hers. She stared up at me with wide, expressive eyes and an open mouth.
“Please, go along with this. I need you to convince my parents we’re in a relationship.”
Her brows wrinkled before she nodded her agreement and cleared her throat. As she ran her left hand down her throat, I took her right hand into mine to lead her over to the table.
