49. Tyson
FORTY-NINE
TYSON
The condo isn’t what I expected. Or maybe it is.
It’s smaller than anything my father’s ever lived in before, tucked further away from the heart of the city than I was expecting for him. It’s the kind of place no one would look twice at.
It feels temporary. Like this isn’t supposed to be his reality.
I stand in front of the front door longer than I should, just staring at it. Wondering how this is what it came to for him. It’s a reminder of everything he built—and everything he lost.
I push the thought away and take a step closer to the door. I don’t need to knock. He’s expecting me. Before I can open the door myself, he beats me to it.
My father stands there in the doorway, looking mostly the same, but not.
There’s something rougher around the edges now.
He doesn’t seem as polished or put together.
It’s the version of him I grew up with, only…
stripped down. A small figment of the man I used to know, this one more sad and desperate.
“Took you long enough,” he scolds. The words slur together, making me wonder if he’s drunk. It’d be early for that, but I can’t put anything past him at this point.
I don’t respond to him. Instead, I step inside, trying not to give him any sort of reaction. I want to get in here and get this done and get back to the hospital to be with Josie.
I glance around the condo. It smells faintly stale inside, mixed with some kind of air freshener that is far too strong, trying too hard to hide the stale scent.
There’s furniture here, but I can’t imagine him picking out any of the pieces inside.
Liquor bottles are piled on top of the cheap plastic table.
Nothing about the scene in front of me looks like the man who lives here used to command boardrooms and close million-dollar deals.
“Nice place,” I note, my tone intentionally flat.
“It’s only temporary,” he slurs again. “Will get something nicer when you give me my money.”
We move into the messy living room. He takes a seat, but I opt to stand. I don’t plan on staying long.
I pull the folder from under my arm. I have to move a few bottles out of the way before setting it down on the coffee table between us. “You asked me for money. Here’s your money.”
His eyes drop to it, his upper lip curling, before he looks back at me. “What’s this?”
“Your money. A settlement. The money you wanted, but over time, and not all at once. And with some parameters of protection in place.”
He leans forward and snatches the folder off the table before flipping through it. With every page he turns, his expression changes. It gets tighter—angrier—the more time goes by.
“This isn’t what I asked for,” he says, his voice booming, bouncing around the dirty white walls of the condo.
I swallow as I tuck my hand into my pockets, my gaze staying locked on his. “I know. But it’s what you’re getting.”
He angrily swipes his arm across the table, sending bottles flying in every direction. I don’t flinch.
My father tosses the papers to the ground as he glares across the table at me. “You think you can just buy me off like this?”
“No. But I do think I can close the door between us. Cut you off from all things that have to do with Bishop Hotels—and Winnie and me—for good.” I considered not telling Winnie and Archer about all of this, but eventually, I decided I didn’t want to make any decisions without them.
The three of us are a team, and I want to keep it that way.
While I came alone today, they’re both in full support of the plan I put in place to get our father out of our lives for good.
Silence fills the room. It’s heavy and tight and is incredibly uncomfortable, but I don’t fill it. I don’t even attempt to. I stand still, my gaze trained on his, as I wait for what his reaction may be.
“You owe me,” he spits.
It’s the same line as when he first came to me for money. But it doesn’t hit the same. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this situation with my father—and my relationship with him as a whole—and he can’t get to me the way that he used to.
“I don’t owe you a thing.” For the first time, the words feel true. I actually believe them. While he might be my father—unfortunately—my success isn’t because of him. I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at now. If anything, it’s despite him.
My father’s eyes widen slightly. His gaze runs over me like he’s trying to figure out what changed. Suddenly, he nods. “It’s that girl,” he finally gets out. “She’s the reason, isn’t she?”
I don’t answer, but I don’t have to.
His lips slowly turn into a knowing smirk. “She made you soft,” he spits. He tries to make the words sound offensive, but they’re anything but. In fact, they almost make me laugh.
Almost.
Instead, I step closer. I lean over him, looking down my nose at the man I used to respect. Now, my skin crawls just being in the same room as him.
“She didn’t make me soft,” I begin, keeping my voice calm and composed. “She just made me realize I don’t have to be like you. I can get everything I ever want—happiness, success, everything—and I can do it all being nothing like you.”
I can tell it hits him just like I want it to.
He shifts, unable to hide his irritation at my words.
Good. I have him just where I want him.
“Take the deal,” I command before lifting a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Or don’t. But either way, this ends today. You’ll be out of my life—and Winnie’s—for good. I’m not letting you scheme your way back. We’ll be done.”
I straighten before running my hands down the front of my shirt.
“After today, I’m not giving you any more money than what’s agreed upon here.
I won’t clean up anything else for you. And you won’t touch the company again.
” I enunciate every single word, making sure he knows I mean it.
My words are final. “You’re done. Just accept it and get the fuck out of our lives. ”
The room goes still.
My father stares back at me, and for the first time in my life, I don’t care about the way he looks at me.
I don’t wish for his acceptance. No amount of blood we share can make me care about him.
I’ve found a way to get him paid, keep him quiet, and make sure he can never touch what we’ve built with Bishop-Moore Hotels.
It works out for him too. He gets some money.
He just also has to disappear and keep his mouth shut.
It shouldn’t be a problem for him. He’ll have the money to go wherever he wants.
And it’ll come in increments, so he can’t blow it all at once.
There was once a time in my life when I would’ve given anything to get into his head in this moment. I would’ve died to know what he thought when he looked at me. I wanted to know he was proud of me. Now…well, now I just want out of this condo and to never have to see his face again.
I don’t need him to be proud of me because I’m finally proud of myself, and I’ve learned that’s all that matters. I don’t need anything from him except for him to never come near me—or my family—again.
He rips his gaze from mine before reaching for the pen.
I’m a little surprised that he signs. Part of me expected more of a fight from him.
But then again, I don’t think he was expecting me to come in so firm with him.
He can tell something has changed in me, and I think he still has enough of a brain to understand the settlement is the best he’s going to get out of me.
The scratch of the pen against the paper feels much louder than it is. It almost feels like it echoes across the room. It sounds like something final just happened.
“This isn’t over,” he says, his voice quiet and not holding the same confidence it used to.
I laugh before meeting his gaze. “It is for me.”
I mean it in a way I never have before. I pick up the folder and turn toward the door. I don’t hesitate as I make my way to it. I don’t look back. I have no desire to. I don’t need any final thoughts from him or any kind of goodbye. I just need to be done with my father once and for all.
I step outside, the air hitting me right in the face. It feels different as I let out a sigh of relief. When I breathe in the air, it feels cleaner, lighter, like something deep inside me has finally been cut free.
I pause by my car, the folder still in my hand, and for a moment, I just stand there.
It hits me that it should feel bigger than this.
I just ended something that’s defined most of my life.
All I ever wanted to do was make my father proud of me.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but cutting things off with him once and for all doesn’t feel as big or dramatic as I thought it’d be.
It just feels done.
I look back at the condo, taking it in one last time.
This is what everything led to.
Every late night trying to prove something to him.
Every deal I thought would make him proud.
Every decision I made trying to prove my worth to my own father.
All the times I was trying to be enough—for him.
All of that for a man who was never going to see me as anything other than a pawn. I was never going to be enough for him. He was always going to push harder, take more.
I worked harder. I stayed focused. I threw myself into my job because that was the only place where things made sense. You put something in, you got something out. It wasn’t complicated. People weren’t like that, so I didn’t let anyone in.
I didn’t need them. Even after betraying my father, I didn’t open up to anyone. I didn’t have any intention of focusing on anything—anyone—but work.
Until this summer.
Until her.
I open the door to my car and slide in, dropping the folder into the passenger seat.
I met Josie, and for the first time, I couldn’t predict what was going to happen, and I was okay with that. I was okay with losing control because it was with her. For the first time in my life, not having control over everything felt right.
I turn the car on and think about her waiting for me at the hospital.
I think about the way she held on to her grandfather like she could keep him here just by refusing to let go.
I think about the way she looked at me when I was there for her through one of her hardest moments.
The way she looked at me like I didn’t have to prove anything, like it was enough for me to just be there for her—like I was enough.
She’s never once made me feel like I had to be anyone but myself. It’s the best feeling in the world because I’ve spent my entire life trying to become something for someone else.
And now that she’s with me, it changes everything. For the first time in my life, I don’t want to hide behind work and the control it gives me.
I want her—all of it.
One step at a time, just like I’ve told her.
The uncertainty, the risk, the way she quickly got under my skin and has stayed there ever since.
For the rest of our lives, I want to be the person she reaches for when things fall apart. I want to be a constant in her life. The person who chooses to stay, because she’s worth it.
She’s it for me.
The realization settles deep in my chest, the feeling completely undeniable.
For the first time, it doesn’t feel like I’m chasing something I’ll never reach. I’m not chasing anything; I’ve already found it.
I found her.
I found love with her.
Not only that, I found what I hope is forever with her.