Page 59 of The Grumpy Billionaire
“Here we are—turkey burger with Dijon, avocado, and pickles with a side salad for the lady,” the perky waiter sang out, oblivious to the standoff occurring at our table.
“… and Kobe beef with provolone, garlic aoli, and smoked bacon with cheddar tater tots and a chocolate chip shake for you, Governor.”
Such a Dad order—high fat, high sugar, and fried all the way.
“Thank you son,” Dad said. “Looks great.”
“Thank you,” I said tightly.
When the waiter walked away, Dad responded to my accusation.
“Mancini’s got a reputation as a hard man, Mara. A ruthless businessman. He’s not the kid you used to know. You wouldn’t take my advice or even talk to me. It was the only way I knew to watch out for you.”
“You don’tneedto watch out for me. I’m twenty-eight years old. I can take care of myself. Besides Reid would never hurt me.”
And where the hell hadthatcome from? Reid Mancini was more capable of inflicting pain on my heart than any man alive, including the one seated across from me.
“There are women in his life,” Dad warned ominously.
“And there are men in mine—lots of them,” I lied.
Fighting to maintain my composure, I quickly added, “For your information, I’ve been assigned to interview Reid. That’s the only reason we’re spending time together. He’s being a diva about the whole thing and requiring me to have several pre-interview meetings with him so he can feel ‘comfortable.’ When the interview is done, I’ll never see him again. So you can call off the hounds.”
“Sure. Sure, okay,” Dad said, clearly unconvinced. “I will, I promise. As long as you promisemesomething.”
“What?”
“You watch out for yourself. If you do still have a soft spot for the guy based on your childhood friendship, just keep in mind that people change. And from what I hear, Mancini hasn’t changed for the better.”
Said the pot to the kettle.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. And if you want a second chance for us to have any kind of relationship, you’ll mind your own business andstopmeddling in mine. I’m very serious, Dad—stayoutof it.”
He held up both hands in the surrender pose. “Fine. Fine. I won’t touch a hair on his head.”
Pointing my fork in his direction, I added, “Orthreaten his business interests in the state.”
“Or mess with his business interests,” Dad repeated in a dutiful tone. “Happy now?”
I snorted a humorless laugh. “I haven’t been happy in a long time… but I’m working on it.”
His expression caved in, his eyes filling with clouds of regret. “I really screwed up, didn’t I, Mimi? With youandyour mom.”
“Yes. You did. And the boys are pretty messed up, too. That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you today. Something has to be done. They’re out of control.”
“What did they do this time? And how much is it going to cost me?” He was smiling as if anticipating a funny story about his brilliant but wayward sons’ latest hijinks.
“It’s not a joke, Dad. They vandalized the school’s indoor pool. The headmaster threatened to call the police this time. They’re getting worse, not better. If they don’t turn it around, they’re going to make a mistake that money can’t fix. They’re going to hurt themselves or someone else.”
My father’s smile fell. For the first time in my memory, he sounded helpless. Andhumble.“Everything I’ve worked for… all my success…it’s worth nothing if my family’s not okay. What do you think I should do?”
I blinked away the moisture accumulating in my eyes and looked down at the tabletop, fiddling with the salt and pepper shakers in front of me.
“For starters, you should spend more time with them.”
“I want to. I’ve tried, but they don’t want to see me,” he said.
“I know. That’s what theysay. I felt the same way. After you… did what you did… I felt like I didn’t know you anymore. It killed me to think that someone I trusted could ever hurt me like that. I wanted to punish you.”
