Page 25 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
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Sage
"Yes, I want to 'date the boy' as you put it. But even more than that, I want to do what's right. Forcing someone to sell when they don't want to is bad business and bad juju. I don't know why you insist on testing me and making me jump through hoops to be someone I'm not. I don't want to do business like you do. I'm sorry that makes you ashamed of me and willing to disown me, but I will not change who I am for you. I tried, and I didn't like what that made me."
"Sage--"
My hand slashed across the space between us. "I'm not done. You may not know it, but I'm not an idiot, even though I won't fall in line. To prove it to you once and for all, I've made alternative plans for your restaurant. If these plans don't suit you then I'll walk away happy, knowing I've done everything I could to make you accept me. Inheritance or not. That's your choice, not mine. Do as you like."
I raised my head high, standing unwavering before my tyrant father, still a young girl in his eyes with my long, blonde hair down and free, my signature small braids running down the length of it like a Viking of old. The long skirt blew in the wind, tangling around my legs and taunting my father like a red flag to a charging bull. My father hated my hippie clothes, and I used to try to conform around him, favoring suits and sweater sets in his presence.
No more.
Who I was would be good enough for him. Or it wouldn't. But I couldn't keep letting his approval affect me. I was turning thirty next year and more than an inheritance, I needed to find who I was. Without his oversight and influence. I needed to stand on my own two feet and own this life I was living.
Maybe it was all the fresh air or the magic of the salty water, but it seemed so crystal clear all of a sudden. One week at the beach and I was seeing my life from a completely different viewpoint. I couldn't keep going the way I had been, afraid to move forward because the only path I saw was the one my father had placed in front of me. So instead of moving forward, I'd stayed stuck, too scared to make a change and too scared to move forward. That was no way to live.
Before my eyes, as I grew taller in my confidence, my father's face dropped, his whole body aging in a matter of a few silent seconds. Roles were reversed and when he opened his mouth, I knew that he felt it as well.
His lips turned down at the corners, eyebrows heavy over his tired eyes. "I have never, ever been ashamed of you, Sage." His booming voice was barely above a whisper, a range I didn't know was possible from him. "I only wanted the best for you. I wanted to push you to be all that you could be. I can see greatness in you, if only you'd apply yourself."
He shook his head, looking down at the ground. I tensed, feeling like he was winding up, getting ready to trod out the same boring speech we'd had for years.
I cut him off before he could gain steam. "You mean apply myself to whatyouwant me to do? Not what's in the best interest for me? Do you see how egotistical that is?" I was pleading for him to finally understand, before it was too late.
His head flew up and he looked shocked. "I just want my daughter to succeed in life. What's so wrong with that?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong is forcing your life plan on your daughter when she's told you over and over again that it's not what she wants! It's stifling. It's disrespectful. It's condescending." I let out a whoosh of breath, trying to calm down, refusing to pick up the sword yet again to fight this same battle. "I'm just letting you know that I will not do your bidding if it doesn't align with who I am and what I want. And trying to buy this property out from under Jax when he's made it clear he doesn't want to sell doesn't sit well with me. I won't do it."
My father's eyes searched my face, his silence stretching out into the night. For once, I wasn't nervous. I knew what I was doing was the right thing. Knew it down to my very bones. I wasn't choosing an easy road, but I wasn't afraid of hard work. I was afraid of living my life according to his whims and losing myself entirely.
I felt a warm presence behind me a moment before a hand landed on my lower back. The scent of Irish Spring floated up to my nose and I knew Jax had my back, literally and figuratively.
My father's gaze shifted to Jax, hopefully taking in the united force that we were together. His body language perked back up, his chest puffing up and shoulders back, like he needed to present an alpha male presence with another male in the mix. I'd never dated anyone for more than a couple dates, so I hadn't seen how my father would react to another male in my life.
"Mr. Vanderman." Jax greeted my father, showing a level of respect I wasn't sure my father deserved.
I spun toward Jax, wanting to formally introduce them, twenty-nine years of strict etiquette not disappearing overnight.
"Jax, this is my father--"
"We've met, Sage." My father interrupted, his words shocking me.
"You've met?" I looked at my father, then Jax. His gaze hadn't left my father's face, ignoring my attempt to introduce them, which set off a trickle of anger up my spine. This wasn't a pissing match between two males over a helpless female.
Time to get to the real reason we were all here tonight. "When ya'll are done with the pissing contest, come next door and check out my new property."
With that bomb dropped I stepped away from Jax' warm hand and walked across the parking lot to the abandoned building next to The Surf Shack. I rapped my knuckles on the words ‘sold' on top of the realtor's sign in the front window.
"Sage?" Jax' voice called out to me, but I didn't stop. I pulled a key out of my bra like it was the most natural thing in the world, which it was for me. Bras were made for holding more than boobs. I slotted it into the front door and marched right in to what was formerly a small flower shop. The surrounding property was where they used to sell larger plants and shrubs. They'd gone out of business over a year ago due to the rising rental costs in the area. The lot was abandoned and perfect for a rebuild.
Footsteps echoed behind me and I assumed Jax and my father were finally following me, realizing that I hadn't rolled over and played dead. I was still going to open up the most beautiful restaurant north Huntington Beach had seen in recent years. But I was doing it on my own terms, just like I wanted.
I spun around, a huge smile on my face. My head was clear, my heart was soaring, and I felt a buzz of energy in my body. The buzz was similar to how I'd felt out on my board the other day after I'd ridden my first wave.
I felt alive.
"What is this place, Sage?" My father's head was darting about, trying to take in what was going on. God bless him, he was a savvy business man, but he wasn't used to not getting his way. His disbelief slowed down his ability to comprehend what was happening.
