Page 14 of Between Commitment and Betrayal
“I wasn’t always there, but I’m still your dad, Evie, and I have a lot of experience behind me.” His voice sounded pained.
How could I tell him that he’d gained all that experience without me though? That my childhood had been filled with nights spent hoping I’d get one phone call that wasn’t on the holiday. What I would have given for one visit from him for no reason other than he wanted to see me.
I scanned my watch into the system so I could get to the employee login quickly, trying not to dwell. “I know you do, even with Melinda by your side.”
He sighed and laughed a little. The man loved acting like his wife was a bit of a burden, and I knew it would ease some of the tension between us. “You’re good, Everly. Such a good kid. I only want what’s best for you. You understand? And I’m telling you, even if it’s the last thing I’ll ever do, I’m going to make sure a Cobra isn’t in your life. Have you thought about those Hardy brothers? Because—”
“No.” I cut him off. He was not going to meddle that hard.
Thankfully, the revolving glass door began to move, and an older woman waltzed in, immediately smiling at my father. I dropped my hand from my hip and tried to shake off his words.
I patted his shoulder one last time and whispered it would all be okay. Carl needed reassurance more than I needed a father now. I’d lived long enough without one to know that I’d survive. Unfortunately, Carl had probably been reassured his whole life. My father came from old money, knew he’d be provided whatever he wanted for the whole of his life.
As the woman spoke to me across the front desk, my father murmured he was going to the sauna. I waved him away and continued to check-in Mrs. Johnson, a nice woman who frequented the gym daily with a vigor I could only hope to possess at her age.
“I’m so thankful to be a part of this gym, Everly.” She winked her extra-long black eyelashes at me. “Your dad is doing so well by all of us.”
I didn’t know about that. I’d been there for three months, working at the most luxurious, beautiful gym on the planet. It had also been the most ludicrous three months too. The technology, the swag, the events they came up with to justify the membership price tag were insane. It was like the adult version of Disney.
“I see you don’t have your watch with you today.” I held out the fingerprint scanner and she offered her print as if it was normal. “Would you like another HEAT watch for tracking today?”
Her answer should have been “No, I don’t need a freaking heart monitor that’s the equivalent of a smart watch but engraved with HEAT on it like I was suddenly somebody worthy.”
Yet, people truly believed it was a status symbol. They all wanted to be a part of HEAT. She nodded vigorously and then scanned the kiosk next to our marble counter. “Give me a pin, too, would you, dear?”
She grabbed for the gold-and-sapphire emblem withHEATmolded there and pinned it to her white collar immediately with a smile on her face. “Now, don’t sell Lucy one when she comes in. I want to have more HEAT gear than her today.” She chuckled at her own joke. “I’ll be at the tennis courts if you want to tell Carl to stop by and say hi. I need to give him a bit of hell again for having me on a wait list for two years even after Declan took over before he accepted me.”
There it was. The underlying truth of why everyone wanted to be a part of HEAT Health and Fitness. They thought Declan might grace them with his presence, like he was a god here amongst mere men.
The sad part of it all was I was starting to want his presence around too.
He hadn’t lingered by the front desk, hadn’t texted me, hadn’t really looked my way since our locker room encounter. He’d stopped by a self-defense class for the kids and even lingered to throw a few balls with them. Yet, he’d only nodded at me like I was any another employee.
Which I was. Which was what I wanted to be. It was for the best.
“Give him all the hell you want, Mrs. Johnson.” I smiled at her.
She chuckled. “Oh, you know I never would. Carl and that goy, Declan, have done so much for all of us. You know Declan had every opportunity right out of college, right?”
I nodded. I was well aware of his story considering my father would drone on and on about how America loved Declan, about how he played both defense and offense in college, how he was first-round draft pick his senior year, how he played for a total of twelve years and could have kept playing.
“Declan made a name for himself, and then, well, you know your father wasn’t doing too hot with everything. I’m his lawyer, you know?” She preened at mentioning that. “I always tell Carl that stamping Declan’s face and last name on everything when he let Declan invest in the business years ago was the smartest move he made, even if he had to dole out some of the shares to Declan’s brothers. Those Hardy brothers are a dream.”
She sighed and I ground my teeth together trying not to think about the man who’d kissed me senseless in the locker room and then had avoided me ever since. He’d been at the gym since seven this morning and had greeted everyone with a hello except me. The only remnant of him in my life now seemed to be that a car still idled in front of my apartment daily and followed me to work, although I tried not to pay any attention.
“You’d know better than me, Mrs. Johnson,” I said because the woman had known my dad for years.
“Oh, right. Right.” She patted my hand with a smile on her face. “But you’re all getting along fine, it seems? I know your father loves you so much, and Declan’s wonderful with everyone right?”
The woman was as nosy as she was gossipy so I stayed quiet.
“Well, even if you’ve only come to live here just recently, you’ll be one of us in no time. Which reminds me, can you go grab him, actually? I need to tell him all the changes he made last week are worked out.”
“Okay.” I tried not to sigh as I waved Juna over so that I could go bring my father back out to the front desk but just as I was rounding the corner, an alarm on my HEAT watch went off.
I took off at a sprint toward the sauna.
6
