Elliot
Moving Forward with the Plan
Exactly ten minutes after Dilynne left, I march down the hallway of the office, trying to forget the image of Dilynne stripping her bra off in front of me—the black silk bra that revealed the perfect B-cups she’s hiding under those tank tops and overalls—before knocking on my father’s door to let him know I’m there, even though the door is wide open.
Jesus Christ. Now is not the time for my dick to wake up.
“Shut the door.”
Bracing myself for this conversation, I take a deep breath and then sit in one of the chairs opposite my dad at his desk.
My father’s passive expression should alarm me, but at this point, his harsh demeanor leaves me unfazed.
Henry Thorne II has always ruled with an iron fist, which is part of the reason that even when the man makes mistakes, you’re not allowed to mention them past that point in time. Ironic, given that he uses that very reasoning against me and anyone else, like with my ex-fiancée.
“When did you plan on telling me you’re engaged again?”
“It’s new, so…”
“This isn’t the type of information you should keep from me.”
“Well, forgive me, but I never assumed you’d hire my ex to work for you, and you kept that from me, so...”
“Tori reached out to me, and I remembered how happy she made you before, so I thought...”
“Key word there is before, Dad. But did you honestly think I would take her back after what she did?”
My father arches a brow at me. “Plenty of people find forgiveness.”
I know he’s referencing my mother and the fact that she’s forgiven him for his affair, but I’m not my mom. “Yeah, well I found forgiveness for myself, not for her. So you can tell Tori that she needs to find someplace else to start over.”
My father strokes his chin. “She’s doing a good job and needs the money, so I’m not going to toss her out just yet.”
That makes me pause. “I’ve never known you to care that much about another person’s situation before.”
His eyes narrow. “She isn’t just some person, Elliot. She was about to be my daughter-in-law.”
“And she’s the one who decided against that, remember? She was also seeing her boss behind my back, in case you forgot that detail.”
“If you would talk to her, you’d realize the truth about that entire situation.”
I can’t deny that his words pique my interest, but I’m also reluctant to hear any excuse that woman has—because no matter what her truth is, my truth is that I have no interest in welcoming her back into my life.
And Dilynne is right—having her as an excuse makes that fact much easier to stand on.
“Why does it matter? It’s not going to change anything.”
He hums. “Maybe not, but at least you can move on properly.”
“I already have. I was a shell of a person eleven months ago, and now I’m thriving again. Much of that is credited to Dilynne.” The funny thing is, that’s the truth.
He nods. “Ah, yes, the grease monkey.”
Fury rushes through my veins. “Don’t fucking call her that.”
“Well, she’s certainly not a traditional woman in any sense of the word.”
No, she’s not.
She’s infuriating, witty, and my body doesn’t seem to remember that she’s a pain in my ass, as evidenced by the reaction she got out of me when her hand slipped under my fucking shirt.
God, her touch was warm, smooth, and I wanted fucking more. I wanted to feel her nails all over my fucking chest and abs, all the way down to my...
“No, she’s definitely her own person,” I say, focusing on the conversation and not my fantasies.
“But that doesn’t mean you have the right to demean her like that.
You don’t even know her.” That’s when it really hits me too—because even though I’ve known Dilynne and Henley since I was fourteen, my parents have never really made an effort to know my friends.
My father arches a brow. “And whose fault is that? You’re the one who’s been keeping this relationship from me and your mother, apparently.”
“Well, if I realized you were so hell-bent on getting me and Tori back together, I would have told you a lot sooner. Then we could have avoided these arguments altogether.”
He folds his hands together in his lap. “Forgive me for wanting to see my son happily married then.”
“I don’t need to be married to be happy.”
“But it’s something that you obviously want, right?” He waves a hand out to me. “I mean, you’re engaged to someone new only a year after your last engagement ended.”
“I know, but it’s different with Dilynne.”
He nods. “As long as you’re happy.”
Those words coming from my father instantly make me confused. “I’m sorry, but…”
“I mean, you’re getting married, and that’s all I’ve wanted for you from the beginning.”
“Why does it matter so much?”
The fake smile on my father’s lips makes me pause again as I assess him. “You’re almost thirty-three, Elliot. It’s time for you to settle down, continue the family legacy…”
“Is that all you care about? The family legacy?”
“Your grandfather started this practice sixty years ago. He’d roll over in his grave if anything were to happen to it.”
“The practice is fine, Dad. Me getting married or not isn’t going to affect that. And there were many more aspects to his legacy than just his practice, like the community law council,” I say, making him grow more irritated. “But that doesn’t seem to be a priority for you anymore, does it?”
“Volunteering for free is a waste of time that could be spent making money,” he fires back.
“The whole point of volunteering wasn’t about money, but giving back. And you know it.”
My dad darts his gaze from mine and then moves to arrange some papers on his desk. But I don’t miss the way he’s avoiding my eyes now, or the change in topic. “So, when is Dilynne going to come over for dinner? You know your mother is going to want to talk to her about the wedding.”
My stomach twists. Shit. I knew he wasn’t going to just accept our engagement easily. “I don’t know. I’ll have to check with her. She has a huge car show coming up, so I know her time is precious right now.”
My father rolls his eyes. “Car shows? Really?”
Standing from the chair, I button my jacket and pull it down in place. “Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t make it wrong, Dad. Dilynne is talented and it wouldn’t hurt for you to get to know her.”
His eyes find mine. “Trust me. There’s a lot I don’t understand in this world, Elliot. This is small in comparison to other things.” Sighing, he says, “Let me know a date by the end of the week for dinner. Your mother will need time to prepare.”
“I can coordinate it with her.”
“No. I have a schedule to consider as well,” he commands. “You’ll arrange this with me.”
“Fine. Anything else you need from me?”
Without looking up from his desk, he says, “No, that’s it. Get back to work.”
“Gladly,” I mutter under my breath as I head back toward my office. When I get there, I slump down in my desk chair and stare off into the distance, wondering how I was stupid enough to put myself in this position again.
Another wedding? Another circus with my parents?
I mean, I know this wedding isn’t real, but in their minds it is.
Dilynne owes me so fucking much for agreeing to this. I need to come up with something epic for how she can pay me back.
Oh, don’t act like you don’t already have a few ideas, Elliot.
Fuck.
There’s no way I’m going to survive these next six weeks, especially when my dick isn’t getting the memo that this whole thing isn’t real.
And then my eyes land on Dilynne’s bra.
Yeah, this mess just got a whole lot harder, pun intended.
***
I can hear Fletcher and Henley laughing from outside of Rhonan’s house.
After Dilynne left the office today like a tornado leaving destruction in its wake, I knew it might make me late to my blackjack night with the boys.
Luckily, I’m only a few minutes behind schedule since I had to finish up several things for my day tomorrow before I could leave.
But Jesus Christ, I don’t think even I was prepared for what she planned on doing to sell our new “relationship.”
“Well, I do know the date I’m going to ask her to marry me,” Henley continues, speaking about his girlfriend, Elodie, just as I open the front door, using my adrenaline to barrel through, slamming it shut behind me.
“Fucking great. We’re talking about marriage already?” Yanking at my tie, I walk straight for the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge. The reality of what I just agreed to finally hit me on the drive over here, sending me into a tailspin.
“Are you okay?” Fletcher asks. “You seem agitated.”
“No shit.” I pop the top off the bottle and drain the entire beer in one drink, returning to the fridge for another and then emptying half of that one before finally taking a seat at the table and groaning under my breath. “Motherfucker.”
Henley taps the table. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that something is definitely bothering you.”
I glare at Henley while Fletcher and Rhonan try to fight their laughter.
“You have no idea the hell I’ve been in for the past two days.”
Fletcher drops the cards on the table. “Then start talking.”
Henley nods as he drops the playful smile and leans forward. “Dude, we’re here for you. You fucking know that.”
Rhonan jostles my shoulder. “No more holding shit in, remember?”
I glance between my three best friends before finally announcing, “Tori is back in town.”
That earns me three stunned stares and a long beat of silence.
“I…uh…Are you fucking serious?” Rhonan asks, once he can finally form words.
I huff out a laugh. “Trust me, I wish I were joking.”
Fletcher pushes a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I didn’t see that one coming.”
Lifting my beer to my mouth, I take another drink. “Me neither, especially since now she’s working at the firm.”
Henley’s jaw falls to the floor. “You’re fucking joking. Please tell me you’re fucking joking.”
I narrow my eyes at him as my irritation builds at my temples. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
Fletcher clears his throat. “What the actual fuck, man? Your dad hired her?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”