2. Cooper
TWO
Cooper
I watch as she walks toward the filing room, her head down, and her usual shine dimmed. It doesn’t take a genius to understand exactly what was happening before I interrupted.
Nothing ever fucking changes with my father—he’s never been a dad to me. With her now not in his vicinity, I turn on my heel, walking back into my office.
The sooner he’s gone, the better.
“Have you fucked her?” he asks, an air of arrogance about him.
“Excuse me?” I ask, affronted as I glare at him.
I walk around my desk, taking a seat as he stands in the middle of my office. I won’t be offering him a seat. I need the control and power I get from being in this position with him .
“I said?—”
“I heard what you said, and it’s entirely inappropriate. Not only for a father and son, but for you to ask me that as her boss.”
He chuckles as he takes a seat opposite me and leans back in the chair. “I’ll take that as a no then.” His gaze moves to the door before he continues, “So she’s fair game.”
Clenching my fist, I stiffen as his words sink in. I will my temper to calm down. It’ll do me no good to attack him and stoop to his level.
“Let me make something very clear to you, Elijah ,” I sneer his name, ashamed that he’s my father.
“Meghan is my assistant and an asset to my team. Without her, half of the stuff that gets done around here never would be. She knows my next move before I even make it. She takes the time to get to know my clients and what their favorite fucking drinks are so that she can be prepared for when they come in. She keeps me on track.” I press a finger into my chest as I pull in a breath, staring at him.
“It’s okay to admit you want to fuck her.”
Under my desk I clench and unclench my fists, barely able to resist the urge to lunge for him. How fucking dare he?
“I’ll remind you one last time to watch what you say about her.”
Breathe, Cooper.
He might be right, I do want to fuck her, but it’s not a fuck her and discard her kind of need for me. I want to… I wa nt to have her and make her mine. But I can’t cross that line when she doesn’t want it too.
A smirk spreads across his face as he leans back further in his chair. “Come on, son. It’s just between us. I can help you navigate this. Protect the firm and get yourself serviced.”
“Get out and don’t come back,” I shout.
I’ve had enough of his bullshit.
He has the gall to look taken aback at my statement. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” My voice is laced with venom. “I said, get out and don’t come back. If you can’t treat Meghan or me with respect, then you aren’t welcome here.” I stand as he does, ready to take him on.
“You can’t do that. My name is on the door.”
“I can and I am. When you gave me the firm, it became mine. You no longer have a say in how it is run, and when you disrespect the people who work for me, you disrespect me. I won’t stand for you to do either.”
“I won’t allow this, Cooper. You can’t throw me out when you and I both know what I’m saying is the truth. You want to fuck her. You’re just pissed that I’m calling you out on it. You’ll do well to remember that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
It pains me that he’s right–the apple really doesn’t fall far from the fucking tree.
I need to stay away from her .
I need to not be like him .
Without saying a word to him, I pick up my phone and dial the building's security company, waiting for the call to connect. I’m done talking with him.
“Security, how can I help?” the unimpressed voice answers.
“This is Cooper Jackson from Jackson and Partners, I have somebody that needs to be removed on the thirtieth floor.”
My father interrupts me, throwing his hands up as he says, “I’m going, Cooper. But if I walk out of that door, don’t expect me to help you when you do fuck her and it all goes to shit.”
Hanging up the phone without signing off, I level a stare at the ‘great’ Elijah Jackson. “Goodbye, Elijah.”
Momentarily, his eyes flare in surprise, and I take the time to really look at him.
I didn’t see him much when I was growing up. He was always too busy with work and fucking his assistants. He’s no longer as physically fit as he once was, but overall he’s aged well. It’s probably why he tries to hit on women young enough to be his daughter.
Occasionally he likes to turn up at the office unannounced and make inappropriate passes at Meghan, that can take her days to get over. I should have dealt with it sooner, but some part of me was holding out hope that he’d change, that he’d treat me like a father is supposed to .
Today, seeing the look on her face and her palpable relief when I interrupted him, it made me realize one thing.
Enough is enough.
He stalks from my office and I collapse back into my chair before grabbing my phone and shooting a text to my mom.
As a kid, whenever I would rebel against my father, he’d take his anger out on her, never physically, but verbally. He was an aggressive attorney in court, and I could see how his verbal attacks always left my mom shaken and withdrawn. She’s really come out of her shell since their divorce.
A knock sounds on my door, and I call out for Meghan to enter. She steps through, her gaze darting around the room before resting on me.
“My father won’t be coming back,” I say, not wanting to go into the details.
“Oh.” Her perfect plump lips form a perfect ‘O’ and I drag my gaze away, pointedly looking at the file in her hand.
Stepping forward, she places it on my desk before moving back toward the door. She hesitates before speaking. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll get back to the report I was working on.”
“Okay, what time is our catch up again?” I ask, my gaze intent on the file in front of me. I’m not taking a single word in, but I can’t look at her. Not when I want to pull her into my arms and just hold her. To make everything better.
Get your head in the game, Cooper.
“It’s at eleven. ”
“Thank you. I won’t need you again until then.”
I’m grateful I have a couple of hours without having to interact with her. It’s becoming more and more difficult to remember there is a line that can’t be crossed with her. She doesn’t say a word as she leaves, but when she’s gone, I sit back in my chair and try to refocus my mind.