Page 92 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“A mental health day? Qué ridiculez Americana es esa?”

Of course caring for her mental health was ridiculous to him. She stood straight. “I’m going through a lot right now and needed some time to myself.”

“You haven’t come to work in a week,” he said, walking into her mom’s house without her permission much like he always walked into her office. “You have important meetings coming up next week. We don’t have time for you to be sitting in bed taking naps with a dog.”

What the hell was he talking about? She didn’t have anything coming up. She’d quit. Did he not know that? “Didn’t Malorie tell you—”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “She said you told her that you quit, but I knew better. You were just mad and needed to cool off. You wouldn’t really quit because some old guy made a pass at you. That’s not how we do things. That’s not the Rosario way.”

“Papi, I did mean it. I really quit. I—”

“You think I want to work until I die? You’re supposed to be learning how to run the company, but you always put what you want first. France, moving your abuela to Chicago, and then your friend’s wedding. Everything comes before me.”

That was it. The straw that snapped the camel straight in half, tore it into pieces, then set it on fire. Sofi stood, completely unconcerned that she was in a bralette and boy shorts. If he wanted her fully dressed he shouldn’t have just shown up like he owned the place. “Iput myself first? Are you joking? You must be joking. There’s no way you’re serious.”

“Of course I’m serious. You think I came over here to waste my time?”

“You really have the audacity to sit there and tell me that when you’re literally the most selfish person I have ever known?” She scoffed. “I don’t know why I asked that. Of course you do. I don’t think there is anyone less capable of self-reflection.”

“Now wait a minute. You can’t talk to me like that. I’m your father.”

Sofi started laughing incredulously. “Oh, now you want to call yourself a father. This is rich.”

“Iamyour father.”

Sofi shook her head. “No. Fathers care about their children. You don’t really give a shit about me. You only use me to make yourself look good.”

He looked ready to respond, but Sofi didn’t want to hear it. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? I’m fuckingbrokenbecause of you. I don’t trustanyonebecause of you. I’mmiserablewith my life because of you.”

“That’s not fair,” he said.

“I don’t give a fuck about fair. I care about truth and the truth is that I don’t believe anyone can truly love me or accept me, becauseyounever did. How can I ever think that someone would put me first, protect me, want me despite my flaws, when you didn’t? You were supposed to love me, to protect me, to be there for me when I needed you and even when I didn’t, but you couldn’t be bothered. You ripped my heart out of my chest the moment I was born and replaced it with a cracked shell of one. Every day another jagged piece of glass breaks off and digs into that wound.”

“I know I screwed up when you were young, but I’ve apologized.”

“I don’t care that you apologized, because you didn’t change. When you’re really sorry for what you’ve done you learn from it and do better, be better. You didn’t care until you needed my forgiveness to feel good about yourself, to make your parents not be ashamed of the way you treated me. That was why you apologized and even then it was lukewarm at best.” She shook her head, tears dripping from her jaw to her chest.

“Lukewarm? I helped you go to school, I put you in a position of power, I’m trying to hand this company over to you.”

“I don’t want it! I never did! You forced it on me as a condition the one and only time I ever asked you for help. Because everything with you comes with strings. You are so fucking self-centered that you can’t even help your only kid without getting something in return.”

“And you are an ungrateful brat! What do you want from me? You want me to baby you? To hold your hand? That’s not who I am. That’s not the kind of man I am. I’m never going to sit there and coddle you. I’m busy. I have things to do. To accomplish. I thought you understood that.”

“I know very well that I can’t expect that from you, even if I wanted it, which I don’t. All I’ve ever wanted from you is love and support. Why do you think I’ve stayed for as long as I have? Because I know that your love, attention, and support is conditional. I knew that if I’d told you that I never wanted to work at the company, you would’ve just brushed me off. You would’ve continued to ignore me. At least working at the company gave me some of your attention.”

“Don’t you dare try to blame me for everything! Your mother—”

Sofi cut that off before he could even finish. “Donotbring my mother into this.”

“No. Let him talk,” her mother’s voice said from behind them.

Sofi spun to see Mami and Abuela Fina standing there with bags of takeout in their hands.

Mami wasn’t looking at Sofi. She was looking at her dad. “Let him finish explaining how I’m the one to blame for any of this. I would love to see the gymnastics that will require.”

“It’ll be like watching the Olympics,” Abuela Fina added.

Her mom shot Abuela Fina a look. “Mami, por favor.”

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