Page 9 of Selfless

An hour later, I’m sitting on my father’s private jet on our way back to Manhattan for him to drop me off. Once we land, he has to go on to Houston. I finally decide to just come out and ask. “What is wrong with Becca?”He sits across from me in the cream and tan leather seat, his head down and eyes on his phone as he types away. I’m guessing he’s dealing with business. “Nothing.”

I huff. “Lying to me? Really, Dad? What is going on with Becca?”

He looks up from his phone, eyes narrowed and jaw tight. “Why don’t you text your sister and ask her.” He made it sound like a question, but the arch of his brow tells me it’s a challenge. Somehow, he knows I’ve cut everyone off, and I can’t do that.

So I go a different direction. “Who was the other person you called?”

He lowers his eyes back down to his phone and answers. “Jaycent.”

I frown. That doesn’t make any sense. Becca calls him crying, and he then calls Jaycent. I mean, the two could be unrelated. Jaycent does a lot of work with us.

I open my mouth to speak to him when my phone goes off. I look down to see it’s my mother. I press ignore and look out the window of his Gulfstream G6.

“Still ignoring Ashlyn?” he asks.

“Nope,” I state and then close my mouth. He doesn’t need to know my personal life. I’ve never been one to fill him in before, so why start now? And whatever we said to one another in those thirty seconds that night she called must have been enough. ‘Cause she hasn’t tried since.

“Then who else are you ignoring?” he asks.

I look over at him. “Mother,” I say flatly.

“Ah, I see.” He nods once. “Still avoiding her after what happened on your boat.”

“What the fuck?” I snap. “How do you know everything that is going on in my life all of a sudden?” I demand.

“Come on, Ryder? You think you can embarrass Vicki on your boat and not expect your mother to call me afterward?”

I roll my eyes. “I liked it better when you all stayed out of my personal life.”

“And I liked it better when you didn’t have one,” he responds flatly, his eyes still on his phone.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I growl.

He sets his phone down on his lap and gives me his full attention. “It means when you started working for me, your personal life became my problem.” I snort. “Seriously, Ryder. You run around New York like a kid on a sugar high. You sleep with woman after woman. And that reflects badly on my company.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m sorry I’m not more like you.” I scoff.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I don’t prefer to be alone with my work all the time. It means that I don’t plan on settling and marrying a woman who I can’t stand to be around.” I look away and take a deep breath. My life is fucking falling apart, and I’m being a dick to the man for no reason. It’s true he was never really there for me and Becca, but I’m not one of those kids who looks down on him. I look up to the man who works hard for his family. I know the life he chose came with sacrifices. And we were that offering.

I look back at him, and he too is looking away from me. He takes in a long breath and then lets it out, looking back at me. “I didn’t always hate your mother,” he says softly.

I hold up my hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Dad. I under—”

“You don’t,” he interrupts me. “There’s so much you don’t know. That you didn’t see.” He pauses and swallows. “But you need to know one thing. Becca already knows, and I need you to be ready for whatever she throws at you.”

“Who? Mom?” He nods. “What could she possibly throw at me?” I ask. “So what if I threw Vicki off the boat? She knows I don’t give two shits about her. All she cares about is her reputation in this town.”

“We’re getting a divorce.”

My eyes widen, and my mouth opens slightly. “A divorce?” I manage to say the words. He nods. “When did you …?” I tilt my head to the side in confusion. Honestly, I’m not all that surprised about the divorce. I’m only surprised he has finally decided to do it.

I should feel pain at his words. You hear kids all the time discussing how their parents’ divorce ruined their lives and all that. But instead, I feel nothing. “When did this come about?” I find myself asking.

“I filed last week,” he states. “Becca overheard me talking to your mother about it on the phone up at O’Kane’s.”

I frown. “Is that why she came into my office so pissy?”

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