Chapter 6 – DO Your Duty
Luke – 22 years old
A nother day, another pay check in the back pocket.
I’m finishing off Dougie’s oil change when Marvin, my boss, comes into the bay, talking on the phone. Who’s the poor soul this time? I wonder to myself. Marv is a nice enough guy but a creep when it comes to the ladies. He knows his shit regarding cars, but absolutely fuck all about holding down a stable relationship.
I shake my head when he says, “I’ll pick you up at seven, gorgeous.”
Covering my mouth, I swallow the bile that’s rising.
He hangs up the phone, then heels clicking along the shop floor grabs his attention.
“Maaaaaarvin, darling!” Urgh, for fuck’s sake, Cindy’s here.
He greets her with kisses to her cheeks and grabs a handful of her ass. She smiles down at him and pushes him away before asking, “Now, where is my Luke?”
Not your fucking Luke, bitch … Leave me alone.
Ever since she first laid eyes on me, she’s had it in her head that we should date. In her dreams. Don’t get me wrong, she’s stunning to look at. Perfectly toned body, curves in all the right places, pretty face. Marvin practically drools every time he looks at her.
“There’s my big strong man.” Her freakishly long manicured fingernails scratch up my arm, and I gently move her off me.
“Cindy.” I nod before turning and walking towards the office. Don’t follow me, don’t follow me. Pleaaase.
Her heels click behind me, and I internally scream for help.
“Dinner tonight?” she purrs. Before I can respond, a voice answers for me. I spin towards him, ready to fight back, but he pins me with a glare.
“He’d love to, Cindy … Wouldn’t you, son?”
“I have plans, Dad,” I grit out, clenching my fists. If I had Cindy’s nails, I’d have broken my skin.
“No, you don’t.” Smiling menacingly at me, he turns to Cindy, who looks like she might combust with excitement. “He will pick you up at seven sharp.”
I zone out of the conversation they strike up over my meal with Cindy tonight.
Why the fuck is he here? He’s never stepped foot in here before? But more importantly, what’s in it for him if I take Cindy out for dinner?
Once she’s convinced by my dad that I will pick her up for our “date,” she finally leaves, and Dad joins me in Marvin’s office.
“You have no fucking right to do that to me!” I shout the moment he closes the office door.
“You sure about that? Because you could have stopped me at any point, but you didn’t, son.” I scoff at his use of son. He hasn’t ever treated me like a son, thinking he could buy my love and loyalty like he has with Mum and Liam. When that didn’t work, he turned to taking things away that I loved.
Truth is, I need this job at the garage. I do his stupid shit so I can stay working here. He and I both know that it would only take him handing Marvin a cheque with the deal that he doesn’t give me a glowing job reference and I would be out of job here and struggle to get another one anywhere else.
Only reason he hasn’t done that yet is, so I take over for him peacefully. If he made me lose this job, well, he knows I would follow through with my threat from the last argument we had of ending Walters Media for good. I swore to him that I would bring Walters Media to its knees if he interfered with my life and forced me to take over.
I just need a little longer, a few months at the max, then I will have enough money saved to get out of here for good. Being twenty-two and still living at home with my parents feels wrong. Even more so when the house I live in and the people inside it feel foreign. I pride myself on being independent and will do this the right way: save my money and get the fuck out of here. Close the door on them all—for good.
When I don’t answer, he continues, “I have a deal I need closed and signed. This is the jackpot for us, Luke.” Why the fuck should I care?
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare down at him. “What’s this got to do with me?” I already know the answer, but I need to hear him say it.
“Cindy is the daughter of Vergo industries, who we have the deal with, but her father won’t sign the contract because his whiney daughter wants you.”
Fucking bastard is using me for a fucking deal.
Clenching my jaw, I shake my head.
“A few dates should be enough for her father to sign the dotted line, then you can leave her, I don’t care. But you will do this and won’t mess this up for me. DO your duty for this family.”
As soon as those words leave his mouth, my hands fly out to grab him by his shirt, but he sidesteps out the way. Terror flashes in his eyes as he regains composure, wiping down his suit jacket, then he turns and opens the office door. “It’s about time you started taking my words seriously, I’ve been kind to you up until now. Next time, I won’t be.”
Pulling up the long driveway to hell, I mean, home , mixed emotions run through me.
My father’s last words were like a mantra in my mind throughout my date. Cindy’s attempts to get me back to her place were cringeworthy at times. “Darling, I could do with a bath and a foot massage.” She wiggled her overdrawn eyebrows at me. “ You want to help?” I had to hide a gag with a cough for that one.
I drop my head into my hands after I turn the car off. What could he mean by “Next time, I won’t be”? How far is he willing to go.
There’s been times over the last six years where I thought, fuck it, I’ll please him and take over as CEO . But the little voice in my head would plead not to. Over the years, I’ve put a face to that little voice— Hadley’s face . And the comfort from thinking she would be behind me on my decision makes this all worthwhile.
I open my glove box and pull out the copy of the photo I made of Hadley and me.
Tracing her face with my fingers, I make a silent promise to my Tigger.
One day, I’ll make it back to you.