28. Twenty-Eight
28
TWENTY-EIGHT
I couldn’t stop smiling.
Yes, I knew I was acting ridiculous. I wasn’t a teenager enjoying the first blush of infatuation. I was a freaking adult. Heck, I was having a child with this man. I’d gotten pregnant after a drunken one-night stand. Or, well, it was supposed to be a drunken one-night stand. It had turned into something else, though, and I’d never been happier.
And wasn’t that a sobering thought?
I was thirty-five years old—I would be thirty-six two months after the birth of my baby—and I was finally happy for the first time in my entire life. Rex had done that for me. Okay, I’d done some of it for myself. Since getting pregnant I’d given a great deal of thought about what I wanted. It had forced me to stop being so wishy-washy and instead define my goals and dreams. Rex was still the main source of my happiness.
When I thought back to my teenage years, how annoying Rex and Zach were with their booger flicking and booby ogling, it gave me pause. How had I ended up with the guy who called me Booby Ruby? The question had barely bubbled up when I realized Rex had dropped the nickname as soon as we slept together. It had disappeared into the ether.
Like your preconceived notions regarding him being a booger flicker, I silently added.
Okay, the booger flicking thing was still gross. I had it on good authority—Olivia actually—that flicking boogers was a normal boy thing. It was something they didn’t outgrow until they were teenagers. I was still on the fence whether that was weird or not. What was weird was I’d decided it was something I could overlook. Sure, he didn’t still do it. The memory still haunted me.
And yet still Rex was worth the booger flicking memories. That made me smile as I set about making oatmeal for breakfast. Rex had promised to bring me a snack later, so I wasn’t worried about getting my grease fix. It would simply happen later.
I hummed to myself as I carried my bowl to the living room, content with the idea of watching something mindless on Hulu, and then there was a knock at the door. I knew it wasn’t Rex. He had a keycard, although he still knocked before using it. There was something soft about the way he knocked. This knock was full of bad energy and back hair.
I already knew who it was before I opened the door. A smart person—I was smart but occasionally liked to push the envelope—would’ve pretended I was elsewhere. I couldn’t stop myself from facing off with him, though. It was just too darned tempting.
“Father,” I drawled as I took in Dad’s wan features. He didn’t look as if he’d slept. His hair was greasy, his suit rumpled, and there were dark circles under his eyes. “To what do I owe the honor?”
“Nobody needs the prissy act.” Dad pushed past me without being invited inside my suite. Up close and personal, he smelled like disappointment and B-team showgirls who worked off Strip because they weren’t talented enough to work on Strip. “Are you alone?” He scanned my living space.
“Rex is doing something with Mom,” I replied as I retrieved my oatmeal and sat on the couch. I was surprisingly calm despite the fact that Rex considered my father dangerous. Speaking of Rex, he was going to be mad when he realized I’d let my father into the suite.
Ah, well, this felt like a conversation that had been a long time coming.
“I didn’t realize your mother was shopping for dates in the juniors section,” Dad sneered.
“I think you have her confused with yourself.” I spooned some oatmeal into my mouth and regarded him, my mind moving a mile a minute. Did he know that they’d brokered a deal with Chet Haskins? Did he realize that his last shred of hope at reclaiming his position in the company—something that wasn’t going to happen regardless but definitely wasn’t going to happen now—was gone? Did he realize we knew exactly what he’d been up to?
I wasn’t afraid of my father. Not physically. Rex’s words regarding desperate people echoed in my head all the same. What if I’d misjudged my father? How much trouble was I in here?
“How is Claire?” I asked, opting to buy myself time. “Are you two … getting along?”
Dad shrugged. “They’re going about how I expected.”
I wasn’t certain how to gauge that response.
“She’s not happy,” he added out of nowhere. “Apparently, my lack of funds is a dealbreaker. She’s staying with her mother right now … and cursing my name.”
I studied his profile. “Are you sad about that?”
“I’m … irritated.” He shot me a dark look. “The fact that she said I had nothing to offer her now that my money is gone ticks me off.”
Hold up. “Are you telling me you actually thought she was with you because she loved you?” A disdainful snort escaped. “Good grief, Dad. Buy a freaking clue. She only got with you in the first place for the money.”
“That’s not true,” Dad barked, his annoyance obvious. “She cared about me. It wasn’t just the money.”
I couldn’t decide if he was delusional or lying to save face. Before this moment, I would’ve always gone with the latter possibility. Something was off about him, though. “Perhaps we should have a talk.” I spooned more oatmeal into my mouth and debated how to drop the truth on him without causing him to fly off the handle. I wasn’t in the mood for a screaming match. “None of them ever loved you,” I ultimately blurted.
“None of whom ever loved me?” he challenged blankly.
“Your mistresses. The women you had short relationships with. Yeah, they wanted you to buy them gifts. Some of them were hoping to get pregnant to trap you. All of them chose you because of your position in the Stone Group. Your personality—and I’m guessing your bedroom prowess … or lack thereof … didn’t draw any of them in.”
Dad’s nostrils flared. “You take that back.”
Was he kidding me right now? “You cannot be serious.” I made a clucking sound with my tongue and shook my head. “This is just sad, Dad. Like … so, so sad. Are you actually telling me you thought they loved you?”
“Why wouldn’t they love me?” He turned defensive. “I’m a catch.”
“Not for your personality you’re not.”
“How can you say that? I’m your father.” A soupcon of sadness overtook his features. “I just don’t understand how you can take your mother’s side in all of this.”
“You don’t understand it?” I finished off my oatmeal and put the empty bowl on the table. “You cheated on Mom.”
“So? I didn’t cheat on you guys.”
“You still broke our mother’s heart. You treated her like crap. She’s the only reason you had any of this to begin with and you were awful to her.”
“And do you think she ever let me forget where the opulence came from?” Dad sneered. “She held it over my head for the duration of our marriage.”
“I don’t particularly remember that. Are you sure you didn’t imagine it because I’m pretty sure that didn’t happen.”
“It did happen.”
“Or you have such a fragile ego you imagined it.” I was done playing this game with him. “You need your ego stroked more than anybody I’ve ever met. It’s embarrassing.”
“You’re a woman. You don’t understand these things.” Dad vehemently shook his head. “Men need to be told what good providers they are.”
“We didn’t need you to provide for us. Mom’s money assured we would always be okay in that department. What we needed was a father who was interested in what we were doing.”
“I was interested in what you were doing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Remember when I was in ballet? How many recitals did you come to?”
“You had two left feet. You never had the discipline to be a ballet dancer.”
“That didn’t matter.” My temper got the better of me as I glared at him. “It doesn’t matter how well your kids do something, you just show up for them. That’s the important thing.”
“Is that what you’re going to do with your kid? Are you going to show up to dance recitals and pretend they’re good?”
“I’m going to support my daughter no matter what she does.” I had no doubt I would be good in that realm. More importantly, I knew my brother and sisters would, too. “My baby will have all of us supporting her. We learned from the best what not to do.” I gave him a defiant look.
“Listen to you.” Dad shook his head. “You act as if I had nothing better to do than to coddle you.”
“That was your most important job, and you never came through. We are who we are in spite of you.”
He stared out the window. I was on the desert side of the hotel by choice because the Strip side was too busy. “I’m getting it all back,” he said out of nowhere after a few seconds of silence. “This hotel, this casino, I’m taking it all back. I’m going to be in charge again. If you want to stay here, you’d better start treating me with some respect.” His tone was icy.
I knew thanks to a text from Rex that the contracts had already been signed. Dad’s plan was dead. He simply didn’t realize it yet. My mother wanted to be the one to tell him that he was done. I couldn’t stop myself from ruining his day, though. I needed him to realize he’d lost.
“You mean because you think you have a deal with Chet Haskins to buy The Chiffon and turn it into an amphitheater?”
Genuine shock reverberated across his features. “How…?” He trailed off. I could practically hear the gears in his mind working.
“How did we figure it out?” I challenged. “You can thank me for that. You’ve dropped enough anvils over the past few months that we knew you were up to something. You kept bringing up the amphitheater, and we don’t currently have room for it. It’s not as if we have open property stretching in every direction. There was only one place the amphitheater could go.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Who have you told?” His tone was so chilly it gave me pause. For the first time, there was a genuine air of menace around him, and I was afraid of my own father. He might not be the strongest man in the world, but in this moment, it was clear he wanted to hurt me.
“I think you should go.” I stood to put more distance between us. “This conversation is over.”
“This conversation is nowhere near over,” he snapped. He was on his feet. “Who have you told?”
This was a mistake, I realized. I should’ve let him run off at the mouth and act smug … at least until Rex returned. He was bringing food. He wouldn’t be long. Then we were going to eat it in bed and do the things we’d both been longing to do for months. We were going to enjoy the moment and plan for our future at the same time.
Dad was currently the only obstacle in our way, and he was almost done. Why hadn’t I just kept my mouth shut? That was my fatal flaw.
“Go,” I ordered, reaching for my phone on the table.
Dad anticipated what I was going to do and knocked the phone away. He was still a good seven feet from me. I couldn’t move very fast, however, and I was in no condition for a physical fight.
He wouldn’t take it that far. That’s what I told myself anyway. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t certain of that conviction.
“What do you want?” I snapped, fear rippling through my voice. “What’s the plan here?”
“The plan is to take back what’s mine.” Dad stomped his foot. “I will not lose everything. It’s not happening.”
“You already have.” The fight went out of me as I regarded him with something that could only be described as pity. “You lost your wife. You lost your children. You never really had your mistress, but in all your complaining, I’ve never once heard you express regret about losing your child with Claire. All you care about is the status you think she gives you and the bragging rights running the casino most certainly affords you.”
I had never been more frustrated with anybody in my entire life. “You are a terrible human being. Why can’t you realize that?”
Dad took a step toward me, his fingers flexing. My heart caught in my throat. Then I heard it. The distinct sound of the keycard being used on the other side of the door. I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding when Rex appeared in the doorway.
He looked at me, relief palpable, then he glared at my father. “I knew,” he said to my unasked question. “I didn’t even stop for food. Somehow I knew he was here.”
“He was just leaving,” I said pointedly.
Rex nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.” He was significantly larger than Dad and a small thrill of anticipation ran through me when I watched him square his shoulders. He was in the mood to do some damage. “You can leave now, Ryder,” he said pointedly.
“You’re not the boss of me,” Dad fired back. “You’re not the boss of anybody. I’m the boss of you.”
“Let’s test that theory.” Rex took a menacing step toward Dad, making sure to cut off any path Dad might want to utilize to get to me. “What was the plan here?” he demanded when Dad backed away from him. “What were you going to do? Were you going to hurt Ruby?”
Dad balked in the face of Rex’s obvious rage. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s my daughter. I would never threaten my own daughter.” Even as he said it, he didn’t look convinced because he glanced down at his hands and realized they were fists. “I’m not the monster you think I am,” he said after a beat. “I just … I just worked so hard for it all.”
“Actually, you didn’t.” I shook my head. “It was all given to you and somehow you convinced yourself it was earned. It wasn’t, though, and you’re not getting it back.”
“I am.” Dad’s voice wavered. “I have a plan.”
“The plan is gone,” Rex countered. “Chet Haskins signed a contract—not an hour ago—with a notary and his lawyer present. We’ve acquired The Chiffon. He’s not getting a piece of the amphitheater. It’s done.”
Dad’s mouth fell open. “There’s no way. I … there’s just no way.”
“He’s wondering about the dirt that Chet had on him,” I said to Rex. “He’s freaking out.”
Dad’s response was automatic. “He didn’t have any dirt on me.”
“Then Cora, the other security personnel, the lawyer, and the accountant are going to be really disappointed,” Rex said dispassionately. “They’re eating and watching the thumb drive Chet provided them with even as we speak.”
Dad’s face drained of color. “She’s trying to ruin me.”
“I’m pretty sure you did that to yourself.” I crossed my arms over my chest and realized I could actually rest them on my stomach, like it was a small shelf or something. Well, that was kind of convenient. “It’s done, Dad. You should go.”
“It’s not done!” Dad exploded, causing me to jolt.
Rex closed the distance between them and had my father by the front of his shirt before I could even exhale. “It’s done,” he growled. The fierceness in his eyes should’ve been terrifying—and it probably was to Dad—but it turned me on. “You’re done. Don’t ever come back here.”
“Stop.” Dad slapped at Rex’s hand. “I’m your boss.”
“You’re nothing to me, and I’m not going to let you be anything to Ruby and our child. I’m sick of you. I’m sick of the games. I’m sick of the indifference. You have four amazing children, and you don’t care about any of them.”
“They sided with their mother!”
“Because their mother loves them,” Rex fired back. “Cora might not be perfect, but she tries, and that’s the thing that matters most. You never tried.”
“I can be better.” Dad threw me a desperate look as Rex maneuvered him toward the door. “I can be the father you want me to be.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t even want you to be my father any longer. I just want to be a good mother.” My eyes locked with Rex’s, and I grinned. “I want to be a good partner, too.”
“You already are,” Rex assured me. He didn’t even have to flex to open the door with one hand and unceremoniously shove Dad through it with the other. Cal was waiting on the other side. “Show him to Cora’s office,” he instructed Cal. “They’re expecting him. From there, he’ll be removed from the property for good.”
Cal nodded. He was grim as he grabbed the back of Dad’s shirt. “Let’s go.”
“Wait!” Dad cast me one final look, a plea in his eyes. “I’m your father. You can’t do this to me.”
There was no hesitation when I responded. “It’s already done.”
The suite was silent as we waited for the door to fall shut. Then Rex started for me.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he asked as he pulled me into his arms.
“No.” I shook my head. “There was a moment when I wondered if he could, but he didn’t. I think he’s too lazy even for that.”
Rex stroked his hand over my hair and rested his cheek against the top of my head. “I knew he was here. I almost panicked. Then I remembered that you’re the most capable person I know.”
I laughed. “And I didn’t panic because I knew you were coming. Although … I don’t see that snack you promised.”
“We’ll order room service.” He swayed back and forth, keeping me close. “You’re okay, right?”
“I’m better than okay. You’re here, so I’m perfect.” It was getting easier for me to say the things that needed to be said. I was never going to be Ryder Stone. I was going to be better than him, and that started with telling Rex how I felt. “Um … so … I have to tell you something.”
He pulled back, his eyes dark. “Do I have to kill your father?”
“No.” My smile was easy. “This is a good thing.”
He waited.
“I love you.” My voice was shaky, but the words were clear.
He broke out in a wide grin. “I love you too.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then how come you didn’t bring my snack?”
He sighed and pulled me back to him. “I’ll handle the snack. As for the love, you just wait. I’m going to show you how much I love you for the rest of our lives.”
That sounded like a pretty good deal to me.