Page 32 of His Rules

He had a gulp of beer in his mouth and almost spit it out. “Are you kidding me?”

For the first time since I’d been home, his eyes lit up.

“I’m serious. As a matter of fact, it’s a done deal. I just need to return to New York over the weekend, serve out the rest of my time at my old job, about a week, and make arrangements to have my stuff sent here if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay. It’s more than okay. I’m so happy. I hated you living in that godforsaken city.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

He shook his head. “Your mother and I went there for a long weekend. She made me promise we’d never have to return.”

“You never told me that.”

His expression turned darker. “I guess there’s a lot I haven’t told you about your mom. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’m okay, Dad. You were grieving.”

“Yeah, but that’s no excuse. You deserved to know your mother. She was a small-town girl. Even St. Louis was a little large for her.” His laugh was one I’d rarely heard as a kid. Deep and booming.

“I wish I remembered more about her.”

The way he looked me directly in the eyes was so pointed I was momentarily mesmerized by them. “With you moving back home, we’ll make the time to talk about her. She was my everything.”

“I know, Dad.” And she was. I’d never seen him with another woman. I’d never known of him dating. My gut told me he had a lady friend or two over the years, the kind with benefits, but had committed himself to my mother for always. Up until a few years before, he’d still worn his wedding ring.

That was true love and something I doubted I would ever find.

“We’ll have plenty of time to go down memory lane. Tell me, daughter of mine. What are you going to do for work? I dohave a couple of buddies of mine who might need help in their accounting department.”

My dad knew I had a master’s degree in business administration with a secondary diploma in marketing, yet he was so absorbed in the medical profession, he didn’t understand how close I could be to being the CFO of a major corporation. Numbers were my thing and had always been.

“I already have a job.” I took a sip of my wine, waiting for his reaction.

“You do?” His eyes opened wide. “You’ve been a busy girl while here.”

“I really wanted to get out of New York. I missed being home.”

“I missed having you here. So tell me about your new job.”

I cringed internally. I don’t know why I was so worried about telling him I’d be working with Sebastian. Other than wondering if I could hide the atrocious blip in time.

“Financial analyst for Aeronautical Enterprises.” I concentrated on taking a sip of my wine while he processed what I’d told him.

I could tell the instant he realized what I was telling him. “You’re working with Sebastian Winfield.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of knowing.

“I am. His right-hand gal.”

“Did you know this the night of the charity?”

“I had no idea. I had a blind Zoom interview while still in New York. I had no clue Mr. Winfield was part owner. I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance in hell of being asked for a real interview. Things went quickly from there.”

He took a deep breath and the longest pull on his beer I’d seen to date. When he set the bottle onto the counter, he swirled it back and forth for a few seconds. “You know Sebastian is my best friend, right?”

“Of course, Dad. At least I remembered when you introduced us the other night.” I’d soon need to keep a score card for the lies I was prepared to use and keep.

“Well, he’s a great guy for the most part. We get along very well.”

“I know that too. Why are you telling me this like it’s a warning?”

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