Chapter 28
ASPEN
The elevator rose higher, pulling my shoulders with it. The tension coiled and tightened my muscles until they sat by my ears. I stood in the back and when the doors opened, I kept my head low, doing my best to move with the crowd of employees that got off, while simultaneously watching for my dad.
I mentally rolled my eyes at the situation that reminded me too much of when I was a teen and snuck out of the house. The same tiptoeing, holding my breath as I looked around every corner, and hoping I wouldn’t get caught by my dad.
He was back from his golfing trip this week; I knew I was on borrowed time before he cornered me. But I was hoping to finish my coffee before that happened. Maybe I’d get lucky and finish my second cup. A girl could dream.
At least, despite his taunt about carpooling to work today, Lucian had business of his own to tend to, and I wouldn’t have his looming presence adding to the stress of facing my dad. It would be hard enough to sound like our marriage was what I actually wanted. The thought of Lucian by my side and having to act affectionate and in love sounded damn near impossible.
Not that Lucian had said anything about being a couple in love. He’d said I needed to make my dad believe we couldn’t wait to spend our life together, or a couple that needed each other, or how we had to say I do as soon as we could.
The way he avoided using the terminology of being in love, even when it came to creating a believable lie, pricked at my chest in a way I refused to look at too closely.
I didn’t have time to think about that now. One more corner before I reached my office door and safety. At least for a couple hours.
With one last deep breath, I rushed to the door, jerking it open, then quickly closed and fell against it with closed eyes, exhaling in relief.
Reaching out, I blindly hit the wall, searching for the light switch. I found it just as my eyes slid open…
And screamed.
My dad sat poised in the corner of my couch, his black suit matching the scowl hardening his features.
I slapped a hand to my chest and gasped for air. “Jesus Christ! You scared me to death.”
“Despite recent actions, you look very much alive to me,” he stated.
Unfortunately , I wanted to grumble. Maybe if he had scared me to death, I wouldn’t have to face the conversation I kept putting off with ignored calls and unread messages. His golfing trip made it easy to avoid him. Any other time, he would have tracked me down after one day of missed contact. I probably should have predicted finding him here first thing after an entire week.
Seeing him now made part of me wish I’d have responded to at least a few messages to soften the deep grooves of his frown.
Unwilling to jump directly into the impending fire, I morphed my face into a relaxed smile, full of innocence. “Hey, Daddy.”
Maybe I could distract him with questions about his trip and buy myself time. I mean, just because I faced him today didn’t mean I had to confess why I’d avoided him . Technically, I didn’t have to confess anything. It wasn’t like Lucian and I had agreed when I needed to tell my dad anything.
“How was the golfing trip? Was it everything you wanted it to be? I know you’ve always wanted to golf at Pine Valley. Does crossing that off your bucket list have you eager to do more once you retire?”
Internally, I cringed, hearing the exaggerated jovial ramble of questions, wishing I would’ve toned it back to a realistic pitch.
My dad’s eyes narrowed with doubt, seeing right through me.
He knew me better than anyone. After picking up where my mom left off and encouraging me to never feel ashamed of my passionate personality or heritage, he saw every part of me. While I continued to hide what others called spicy , his acceptance led me to never feeling like I needed to hold back with him. Unfortunately, that sometimes meant that he got waves of unfiltered emotions. Most of the time, it meant me being open and honest and unable to hide part of myself—including when I was lying.
“My trip was fantastic,” he surprisingly answered.
Wings of hope fluttered in my chest. Maybe he’d let it go. Maybe?—
“However,” he said, squashing my optimism like a bug. “I ended up missing a dinner with a world-renowned golfer when I left a day early because I hadn’t heard from you after an entire week.”
“Oh?”
“Mhmm.”
I blinked, hoping his freakishly blank face would shift to any emotion at all. Even anger was preferable to nothing. But until I could get a read on his emotions, I continued with innocent joy…just a little less manic.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said with a laugh. “God, I’ve been so busy that I barely had time to look at my phone. I even took a box of contracts home to work through the weekend. I barely left my apartment.”
His head tipped to the side. “Really?”
Warning bells chimed, but I continued, my smile barely hanging on. “Well, figuratively. It was like a box of paperwork on my laptop since we’re mostly digital. But, yeah. I kept busy all weekend, working on the couch and watching Friends reruns. Which quickly turned to Charmed reruns. You know how much I love them both.”
“Surely, you at least stopped to go out for food.”
“Nope. I took you up on your offer to have Dolores cook me some meals to reheat,” I explained, using at least one truth. “Otherwise, I ordered in.”
My dad nodded and hummed, his face still lacking hints of anger, but also missing his usual easy smile.
His non reaction reminded me of the few times I had tried to lie. He hadn’t lashed out in anger then, either. Instead, opting to let me dig myself into a hole until I had no option but to tell the truth.
But this was different, because there was no way that my dad knew anything about mine and Lucian’s agreement. I wasn’t technically lying because he didn’t know what to ask to lead me to lie. I could call it a lie of omission, but I stubbornly refused to.
No matter how I tried to process his actions, I couldn’t make it make sense and finally, curiosity urged me past the clanging alarms of danger. “Why?”
He huffed a laugh as his eyes slid closed and his lips barely curved into a smile that looked more like a wince. When he directed his gaze at me again, it wasn’t blank. It was angry.
Oh, shit.
“Because when I stopped by your apartment yesterday, no one was there.”
Oh, shitohshitohshit. Oh, shit.
He huffed another laugh. “In fact, when I asked the doorman when you might be back, he informed me that I just missed you and didn’t anticipate you coming back since you moved out.”
Blaring sirens mixed with the clanging crash of all my effort to avoid telling him I was engaged to Lucian falling around me in a chaotic mess of my own making.
Of all the ways I imagined telling my father about Lucian, not a single one came close to this.
And not a single one included him speaking the last words I ever thought to hear. Words that would make every sacrifice and moment leading to this one pointless.
“This kind of response…” He shook his head, and the blank expression fell from his face, leaving behind deeply pinched brows and a heavy frown. “It’s like a child lashing out because they didn’t get their way. It makes me wonder if you’re anywhere near being the CEO this company needs. It makes me wonder if you ever will be.”
“Of course I will be. I am ready,” I corrected quickly with fervor. “This…this whole thing is a misunderstanding. It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it, Aspen? Please explain it to me so I can understand what the hell is going on.” His tone pleaded with me while still holding the edge of frustration. Enough frustration to apparently remove me from owning Quinn Music Group all together.
The realization landed with a blow that threatened to knock me to my knees. The realization that I needed to fix this hit me harder than Lucian’s threat last night.
But how?
How did I explain without making the situation worse?
Fear gripped me, wondering if telling him the lie about my relationship with Lucian would only make it worse. What if he saw through it and ended it all because he caught me in a lie?
Fear dug deeper when I thought of admitting the truth and calling Lucian’s bluff. What if Lucian ruins my dad’s retirement?
My heart thundered, pounding harder and harder within my chest as if trying to escape the situation.
My mind scrambled for the right answer, quickly running through the pros and cons of each, when another question arose that I hadn’t considered—hadn’t thought I’d care.
What if Lucian pulled out of our arrangement, and I never lost myself to the pleasure and release only he could give me under his control?
The air stuttered in my lungs, jolting my heart and mind. My heart lurched into my stomach while my mind restarted with the clarity of knowing I didn’t need Lucian Daire.
But none of it settled enough to feel like the right choice.
None of it felt good—just for reasons I hadn’t expected or planned for.
Fuck it , I thought, sinking into my own frustration.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them.
Lifting my chin, I gave my father a confident smile and explained exactly how he asked me to.
And I couldn’t wait to see the look on Lucian Daire’s face when he finally realized the decision I made.
Not for him and his threats, but the decision I made for me.
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Find out what Aspen decided in book two, Lucian, in the coming fall of 2025.
“Only one thing to do when you marry the boss whom you hate: Blame it on the Champagne.”
If you’re looking for a little more angst in your books, you can check out my new adult, second-chance romance, SHAME . Find out how Anna and Kevin discover each other and learn to understand their unique sexuality.
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