Page 24 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
It was a long shot, but maybe what I said would get through to him and change the dynamic of their relationship, or at least make him rethink his ultimatum. It didn't seem like Sage had anyone that would go to bat for her and I wanted to be the one in her life who would.
Naive or not, I wasn't intimidated by a wealthy business man. I'd seen too many macho men be taken out by the strength of a simple ocean wave. We were all human, with weaknesses and limits to our strengths. Sometimes we just needed reminders of our limitations to remember what was most important to us.
* * *
I paced The Surf Shack, my state of worry interrupted periodically by customers bringing back their equipment after a fun day on the water. Doubts started to creep in. Not about Sage or this fragile start to some sort of relationship with her. That was all still rock solid on my end. My doubts came from her father.
Maybe I shouldn't have butted my nose into his business. Maybe my little visit made things worse for her. Maybe he wouldn't ever see Sage beyond the dollar signs she could be making for his company. I didn't know the man, nor how he would react to some kid coming in there and shoving his face in his failings as a father. It was a risky move meeting up with him and saying what I did, but I didn't want Sage being the only one taking risks to make this relationship work. She needed to know she had someone sticking up for her, someone on her side.
I'd hosed off the last boat that was brought in earlier, wiping it down and getting ready to call Sage. I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to check in and see how things were going with her father.
Slamming car doors stopped me in my tracks, my hand on the back door to the shop. It sounded like the car was in my lot, but I wasn't expecting any customers since it was closing time and all the equipment was accounted for. Walking quietly to the corner of the building, I strained to hear more.
"This the building that guy doesn't want to sell? Really?" Sage's father spoke, his voice dripping with disdain.
I stayed where I was, hidden behind the corner of the shop in the fading sunlight, wanting to hear what was going on before I butted in again.
"Father, we've gone over this. He's not selling because it was his father's legacy. Please respect that." Sage sticking up for me made my chest swell with pride. I'd been right to trust her, I could just feel it.
The pride quickly turned to anger when her father kept talking.
"Yeah, and good riddance. I guess that's it, huh? You want to date the boy so badly you'd turn your back on me?"
I almost charged across the lot to defend her before I heard Sage jump in, the strength of her voice like beautiful music leading to a crashing crescendo. There wasn't one tremor as she confronted her father and told him how it would be.
