Page 27 of Seeds of Malice

"Son, I'm not asking," he asserts.

My blood pumps harder. I reluctantly release Ivy and step back. I lower my voice and claim, "You're not being fair. I can explain everything."

She stays quiet, blinking hard.

"Ivy, go into the house," John directs.

She hesitates a moment, then obeys him.

He waits until she disappears inside and then he steps in front of me. "Your father warned me about you."

My gut sinks.

I should have known.

Time to change the game. If you can't win with one strategy, you have to switch things up. If I can't win John over, I'll make him hate me. It'll drive him nuts to know I'm with his daughter.

"Yeah? What boat of lies did he tell you about me?" I snarl.

John gives me a knowing look. He replies, "Why would your father tell me lies? A father doesn't want to speak poorly of his son."

"Mine does," I claim.

"So I should feel sorry for you?" John asks.

Anger fills me. My father screws up too many things in my life. He'll do whatever he needs to in order to take me down.

"No, sir," I seethe.

John looks around us and steps closer. He lowers his voice, warning, "I'll only tell you this once. I don't like you. I'm never going to like you. So don't come near my daughter ever again. Are we clear?"

Every bit of my rage mixes with how much I love a good challenge. John just gave me the best one he could.

I step closer. "Do you think you're the first man to warn me to stay away from his daughter?"

His eyes turn to slits.

I slowly pat him on the shoulder. "You've got the wrong information about me. But I'll be clear about my intentions. I like your daughter. And I'm not going to disappear out of her life. And as long as you're working for the Carringtons, you'll deal with me. Do you know why?"

He sniffs hard and spits on the ground. It lands next to my foot. He aims his sharp disgust back on me. He snarls, "Why's that?"

There are tons of times I could tell the world about who I really am and what power I hold. But I don't. I never need to. I'm a Carrington, and that's good enough. But right now, it's a beautiful piece of information that's going to knock John on his ass.

I glance around us to make sure we're still alone. Then I drop the bomb. "You think my father's in charge, but I can assure you that he's not."

"Yeah? Why isn't he?" John snarls.

I can't contain my grin. "Because he didn't inherit all that you see from my grandfather. You know who did, John?"

The color drains from his face as I give him a moment to process.

I continue, "Ah, that's right. You work for me. My father is only a placeholder until I graduate. Then, the trust fully transfers the estate to me. So I suggest you decide if you want your cushy job here or not. This is my property. And I like your daughter. So you don't have a say about whether or not I'll see her. That'll be up to her. Understand?"

John regains his composure and steps back. He grinds his molars and then states, "Then it won't be a problem. Mydaughter has already made her decision. She wants nothing to do with you."

An uncontrollable laugh fills the air, and the more I try to stop it, the harder it rolls out of me.

"Want to tell me what's so funny?" John questions.

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