28. Twenty-Eight #2
“Is that so?” He put down his newspaper and gestured toward the settee across from him. “Have a seat. This looks like a serious conversation.”
“It is.” I did as he instructed. Fighting over the little things wouldn’t get me anywhere. This was a big thing that deserved my full focus.
“I guess it’s too much to hope that you’ve changed your mind and decided to come work for the company.” He didn’t say it in a manner that made me think he believed it was a possibility.
“That’s never going to happen,” I replied so he was doubly sure. “I don’t want to work for the company. It’s too much pressure. I find no joy in the business angle of things. I just… It’s not what I want.”
Rather than argue, Dad nodded. “Your mother sat me down a few days ago and said just that.”
“I’ve been telling you that for years.”
“I know. I guess it just wouldn’t seep in.” Defeat dragged down his shoulders. “Is it so wrong to want my son to follow in my footsteps?”
“No, but when I made it clear that’s not what I wanted, why couldn’t you let it go?”
“You’re my son. I wanted you to be a part of the family business.”
“I want—no, need—to do my own thing.”
“I know.” He glanced out the window. “I guess I’m the one who is going to have to adjust on this one.”
“You definitely are,” I readily agreed. “That’s not why I’m here, though.”
Suspicion lined his features as he turned back to me. “Why are you here?”
I took a deep breath. This was what I’d come here to do. I couldn’t back down now even though my father appeared to be in a melancholy mood. “I need to know what you’ve been doing with Ryder Stone,” I blurted, not giving myself a chance to back out.
Dumbfounded disbelief seemed to blow through my father. “How…” He didn’t finish the question.
“How did I know? I saw you guys together, not once but twice. Once I was in Paris with a friend.” She was way more than a friend, and I wanted to normalize that. “With my girlfriend,” I corrected. “Then I saw you with him another time.”
Rather than start shoveling shit at my shoes to cover for himself, Dad looked tired. “He’s been relentless. He thinks I can go to the casino board and plead his case so he can get his license back. I told him that’s not a thing, and even if it was, I wouldn’t help him. He won’t let it go.”
I waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, I made an exasperated motion with my hands. “That’s it?”
“What else is there?”
“He’s openly plotting against his own children to retake the Stone.”
Dad did something I never expected and burst out laughing. “Of course he is. He’s always been a plotter. That has nothing to do with me, though.”
“But I saw you with him twice.”
“He’s tracked me down no less than five times since he got out of jail. I’m not sure how he’s doing it—my guess is he knows someone who knows my secretary—but he just shows up.
“The first few times, I humored him because I felt a little bad for him,” he continued.
“It’s obvious he’s desperate. Like really, really desperate.
In addition to losing his wife and older children, his mistress has taken off with his youngest child and left the state. He has nobody in his corner.”
“Have you ever considered there’s a reason for that?” I challenged.
“Um, every single day. I have no love for Ryder Stone. I never did. I’ve stopped engaging with him entirely. I don’t even pretend to be polite.” He shifted on his chair. “What’s this about?”
“I thought… Well, I thought maybe you were working with him.” I had to tell the truth. I was sheepish when doing it, shame making me feel sick to my stomach. “Part of me figured you were too selfish to actually do anything for him, but I was still a little worried.”
“Should I be grateful that your defense of me is that I’m selfish?”
I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I had to be realistic. “It’s the truth. That’s what I told Zach and Ruby.”
“You’re right that I’m too selfish to work with Ryder. I would never help him. He’s unhinged anyway. He’s always been a little off. Right now, he’s bonkers.”
“He’s working with Tallulah’s mother. We saw them at Netflix Bites yesterday.”
Dad wrinkled his nose. “Why would you eat there where there are so many better places in Vegas?”
Of course that was what offended Dad most. “Tallulah likes macaroni and cheese. That part doesn’t matter. I need to know why Ryder would be hanging out with Sharon.”
Dad’s sigh sounded like a leaky tire, it was so drawn out. “Son, have you met Sharon Jackson? How can you even ask that question?”
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Ryder likes to talk big,” he replied. “He thinks he can sneak into the board meeting tomorrow night and somehow get them to vote him back in charge. He says he has blackmail information on a few board members, and as soon as two or three side with him, the others will fall into place.”
“And how does Sharon play into this?”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? How do you think he got the blackmail material? Sharon Jackson has always been good for one thing. That’s why you shouldn’t be dating her daughter.”
I jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t. Tallulah is nothing like her mother.”
“I have nothing against Tallulah. Sharon will always drag her down, though. The girl is strong, but Sharon is still her mother. You can’t totally turn your back on your parents no matter how old you are.”
“I actually don’t agree with that. Tallulah will overcome Sharon.” I believed that to my very marrow. I had to. “Just to be clear, though, are you saying that Ryder tapped Sharon to seduce Stone board members so he could blackmail them?”
“Yup, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this?”
“When I saw the way Tallulah tried to interject herself into our conversation, I knew something was going on between the two of you. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her that her mother is a … well, you know.”
I did know. Tallulah did too. “This will not come as a surprise to her.” Something occurred to me. “Do you know which board members?”
Dad smirked. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Will you give me their names?”
“I’m selfish. I don’t want to get involved in this.”
I shot him an exasperated look.
“Since I feel that I owe you for being a bit of a buttmunch as a father, I’m going to tell you, though,” he added.
I didn’t know what shocked me more. His word choice or his easy capitulation. “Did you just call yourself a buttmunch?” I asked because I couldn’t help myself.
“Can you think of a better word?”
I honestly couldn’t. “I need those names.”
“I take it Ryder and Sharon are about to be taken out of the equation.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it, but that’s exactly what’s about to happen.” I took a deep breath. “Also, thank you for understanding that I need to do my own thing.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it. I do accept it, however. You need to be you, Ronan. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that.”
“Better late than never, right?”
“Yes, I guess we have that going for us.”
Something was better than nothing.