Chapter 38 Iris
IRIS
My friends scurry after me as I fly out of Joe’s, storming along Fruit Street.
“You’re going to talk to him now?” Poppy asks in surprise.
“Why not?” I say, not breaking my stride. “He’s only a few blocks away.”
Maybe I should wait until after work and do this at home, but I don’t want to. There’s a fire burning in my belly that won’t be tamed, and I don’t want to lose my nerve.
But it’s not only that. At home, Mom will try to dismiss it.
She’ll tell me not to cause trouble, like she always does.
She might not torment me like my father, but her passivity is just as bad.
She’s never defended me, never made sure I’m okay after Dad lashes out.
I learned a long time ago I couldn’t count on her support, and I sure as hell don’t expect it now.
“Wait.” Violet matches my stride as we approach the office, something dawning in her eyes. “Is your father… John Prescott?”
I cringe, steps faltering. “Yes. I know you plan to work with him, but—”
“No.” Violet stops me with a firm hand. “We met with him yesterday, and I told Kyle there’s no way I’d work with that man. He was rude, arrogant, and dismissive.”
A bitter laugh escapes me. “Yep. That’s Dad.”
“God, Iris. I’m so sorry. I never would have met with him if I’d known.”
I rub my forehead, catching my breath as the others finally reach us. “It’s my fault. I should have told you.” I glance at her. “Did you ever find anyone to work on the carriage house?”
She shakes her head. “We’re still looking.” Her gaze strays to Prescott & Associates, across the street. “So, if you know of anyone, let me know.”
I nod, pushing the thought from my mind. I have one goal right now, and I need to focus. My pulse leaps as I glance up at the office. I’m going to confront my father after a lifetime of letting him push me around. Tell him I won’t tolerate it anymore.
But my feet hesitate, glued to the sidewalk, knowing I’ll see Aidan when I walk through those doors. Will he be glad to see me? Will he forgive me for pushing him away?
“You’ve got this,” Poppy says, squeezing my arm.
“Want us to wait here?” Daisy adds. “Moral support?”
I’m about to say no, that they can go, then catch myself. Daisy’s words from only a few moments ago come back to me—we’re here for you, lean on us—and I nod.
“Yes. Please. I won’t be long.”
Daisy smiles kindly. “Take as long as you need.”
Violet nods, expression intense as I turn back to the building. “Give him hell,” she says.
And I step inside.
My heart is a tornado behind my ribcage as I climb the stairs. Every atom in my body wants to turn back, but I don’t stop. I decide I’ll go straight to Dad, then see if Aidan wants to talk after. I need to speak to my father first.
But I can’t stop myself from stealing a peek into Aidan’s office as I pass, and my steps falter.
It’s empty.
My stomach plunges. I veer off course, going to the door to peer inside, as if I might find Aidan hiding in the corner, but nothing. The entire space is bare.
An icy chill washes over me.
Fuck. Did Dad fire him? Dad’s been losing his patience the last few weeks with the way Aidan has defended me, and I’ve never heard someone speak to my father the way Aidan did the other day, but would Dad really go so far as to let him go, after all he’s done for the firm?
If there had been any doubt in my mind about confronting my father, it evaporates in an instant.
I’m used to Dad pushing me around, but there’s no way I can let him do that to Aidan.
My veins burn with fury, and I spin on my heel, stalking toward his office.
Dani glances up from her desk, but I ignore her.
I stop only briefly at Tash’s desk, because I’ve always liked her, but she waves me into Dad’s office without hesitation.
Almost as if she knows what I’m about to do, and it can’t come soon enough.
I throw open my father’s door, startling him. He’s got the phone pressed to his ear, his brows slashing together when he sees me. With an exasperated grumble, he ends his call, leaning back in his chair to glower at me.
“Look who’s finally decided to show up.”
“Where’s Aidan?” I demand.
My father’s brows rise. “I think we have more pressing things to discuss, don’t you?”
I clench my jaw. “Where is he? Did you fire him?”
“No,” Dad says, puffing a humorless laugh. “He quit.”
I inhale sharply. Aidan quit?
My father laces his fingers together on his desk, assessing me carefully. “I offered him partnership, and he turned it down.” He pauses for a beat, then adds, “Because of you.”
My lungs freeze with shock. No. He wouldn’t, would he?
“I told him he was making a mistake,” my father says evenly, watching me. “But he was too stubborn to see it.”
I try to suck in a breath to calm my spiraling pulse. Aidan quit. He turned down partnership. Is that my fault?
“You know,” Dad says philosophically, “I’d hoped Brooks’s work ethic would rub off on you, but it seems to be the other way around.”
My chest tightens. “Don’t.”
“Well, what do you expect me to think, Iris? My star architect has walked out of here, thanks to you.”
Shame tugs at me, that old familiar feeling that I’ve messed up, again, but something else rears up inside me, something protective and fierce.
Something grounded in this new knowledge of myself, something akin to the way Aidan defended me.
Something that remembers what Poppy said—he’s a bully, plain and simple—and knows it’s not about me. Not really.
“I didn’t make him leave,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm. “You did. He’s been working for partnership for years, and instead of rewarding him, you forced him onto projects that were clearly meant to put him in his place. The more he stood up for me, the more you punished him.”
“Stood up for you?” my father echoes, brow furrowing in bewilderment. “What on earth are you talking about?”
I give an incredulous huff. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
But he doesn’t flinch, just stares at me, brow low, and I give a slow shake of my head.
“You really can’t see it, can you? You can’t see what a bully you are.”
His gaze hardens. “Excuse me?”
“My whole life you’ve pushed me around, made me feel like shit. Told me I’m useless, lazy, that I don’t work hard enough. That I don’t try.”
A muscle tics in his jaw. “Watch it, Iris.”
“No, you watch it,” I growl, jabbing a finger in his direction.
“Just listen to me, for once in your life.” My voice shakes, but I force myself to go on.
“Do you know how hard it is being your daughter? Nothing is ever good enough, no matter how hard I try. I know I’ve made mistakes, and I’m not who you want me to be, I get it.
I spent years blaming myself, wishing I could fix what’s wrong with me.
” Tears sting my throat, and I swallow hard.
“But it’s not my fault. There’s a reason I’m like this, and if you’d only had an ounce of compassion, you might have noticed it for yourself. ”
Dad stares at me, silent, something unfamiliar swimming in his eyes. Remorse. Guilt, even. I’ve never seen that look on his face in my life, and it gives me the courage to go on.
“I know he told you,” I say, voice catching. “He told you…” My pulse stumbles as I force the words out. Somehow, saying this to my father is a thousand times more difficult than saying it to my friends. “He told you I have ADHD.”
Something shifts in my father’s eyes at the mention of Aidan, his expression hardening again.
“Don’t talk to me about Brooks,” he snarls, and frustration bursts through my chest.
“Did you even hear me?” I snap. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
“I heard,” Dad says evenly, “but it has nothing to do with Brooks.”
“It has everything to do with him! I would never have discovered this about myself if it wasn’t for him.”
The moment I say the words, I know it’s true. Yes, he went about it all wrong, but I’m so grateful—so relieved—to have this new knowledge about myself. Aidan has changed my life in so many ways, and I can’t imagine spending another minute without him.
“He’s the only person who’s ever made me feel whole,” I say, throat closing around the words. “Like I’m not broken. Like I actually have something worthwhile to offer the world. And that’s… that’s everything.”
My father’s eyes narrow, moving over me sharply. “Is there something I need to know?”
Shit. I hadn’t meant to reveal quite so much, the words just spilled out of me. But that same fierce part of me wants to tell him that I fell in love with Aidan, that he loves me in a way I never knew was possible. He helped me find my strength, and it’s changed everything I thought I knew.
The instinct to shield Aidan makes me hesitate, but he’s already quit. Already burned the bridge behind him. Dad can’t hurt him now, and I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of hiding my desires, my heart, my needs.
Tired of hiding myself.
“Yes.” I lift my chin. “We’re in love.”
Dad’s nostrils flare. “He crossed a line with you?”
I stare at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding? You don’t get to play the protective father card now. Too little, too late, I’m afraid.”
There’s a flicker of confusion on my father’s face, and that’s when it hits me. He’s not concerned about me.
He’s concerned about the firm.
Of course. A bitter laugh escapes me as it becomes crystal clear. Blurred professional boundaries could jeopardize the firm’s reputation. Worse, they show my father he’s not in control.
Because he’s not. Not anymore. And I feel the need to make that clear. To punish him the same way he’s punished me.
“We crossed every possible line,” I say viciously. “In his office, at job sites, on the mini golf course…”
My father blanches, mouth hanging open in disbelief, and satisfaction sweeps through me. I should have known I’d never get through to him by talking about myself. The firm is all he cares about. All he’s ever cared about.
And that’s not going to change.
The realization settles in my gut, unpleasant, but not unwelcome. It’s a truth I should have faced years ago. He never wanted to see me, to understand me. With that acceptance comes freedom. For the first time, I don’t need to prove myself to my father. Don’t need to be anything other than myself.
And it’s the sweetest sense of relief.
I square my shoulders, meeting Dad’s gaze directly. “I won’t be returning to work here,” I say calmly. Dad draws breath to argue, but I hold up a hand. “I’ll repay every cent you loaned me, but I will do so on my own terms, and if you don’t like that, well…” I shrug. “There’s not much you can do.”
And with that, I turn and walk from his office.
Dani is hovering near Tash’s desk when I leave, leaning close to eavesdrop. She smirks when I meet her gaze.
“I can’t believe he actually slept with you,” she mutters, shaking her head. I lift my hands to my hips, ready to put her in her place, but Tash beats me to it.
“Oh, shut up, Dani,” she snaps. “You’re just jealous.” She turns to me, rising from her chair and lowering her voice. “That was… Good on you. And for what it’s worth, I think you and Mr. Brooks make a good couple.” She pats my arm. “Are you okay?”
I breathe out, long and slow. “I think so,” I say, gaze sliding to Dani again. She shrinks, scuttling back to her desk, and I nod. “Yes. I’m okay. Better than okay.”
Tash hugs me tight, and I thank her for all her help while I’ve been at the firm. And when she asks for my number and says she’d like to keep in touch, I can’t help but smile.
Then I make my way back to the street, where my friends wait.
“Well?” Poppy asks, looking like she’s about to burst.
“I did it,” I say, my body shaking. “I stood up to him, told him about Aidan, and walked out with my head held high.”
They encircle me in a hug, cheering for me, telling me they’re proud. Emotion rushes through me as I take it in, knowing I’ve done the hardest thing of all by standing up to my father.
But as the adrenaline wanes, the ache in my chest becomes harder to ignore. There’s only one person I want to tell, and I can’t wait another moment.