Page 102 of A Ticking Time Boss

Only in stealing their assets.

“You’re out of prison,” I say. We’ve reached the coffee shop up the street, and I hold the door open for him. He steps inside and tugs off his leather gloves. How long had he waited outside my building?

“Yes,” he says. “Six months now.”

“Your wife must be glad.”

He gives me a shrewd look. “She is,” he admits, “and she isn’t. It makes divorce proceedings a bit simpler.”

We order two coffees, both black, and take a seat near the front. I don’t take off my coat and beneath the table, I keep my leg bouncing to work off the adrenaline coursing through me. The anger is hot and heavy behind it.

Dad smiles widely. “So? How have you been?”

“You know how I’ve been if you’ve been following the news.” I take a sip of the coffee. It burns. “Why did you want this meeting?”

He looks down into his cup. The edges of his mouth soften, like he’s frowning. It’s a look of contrition.

I don’t trust it one bit.

“I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. More than you know, more than I’d mention. But one of the things I hate myself most for is what I did to your mother and you.”

“Pretending to be married to her when you weren’t,” I say. “Pretending to work on holidays when you didn’t.”

He doesn’t seem surprised by the acid in my voice. “Yes. All of that. And for going to prison, for disappearing from your life. For ever doing anything illegal to begin with.”

“Mhm.” I take another deep sip of my coffee. It feels like the only thing keeping me sane.

“I’m still your father,” he says, “even if I screwed things up. And I did. But I’ll be your father until the day I die, and I want… very much, Carter, to get a chance to prove to you that I’m a changed man.”

I level him with a stare. I’m not nineteen anymore, green-eyed and naive. Not even twenty-five and hopeful. “You will never get a cent of my money,” I say. “I will never invest in one of your start-ups, I will never call a high-powered friend on your behalf. Do you understand?”

“Yes. God, yes, that’s not what I’m here for.”

“I don’t care if that’s not what you’re here for today. But one day, you’ll think that thought, if you haven’t in the past. And I need you to know that door is closed forever. It’s fucking welded shut. Got it?”

“Closed door. Got it,” he says, nodding slowly. His expression doesn’t change. “You’re right to say that to me. You’re cleverer, you know, than your siblings.”

I narrow my eyes. This isn’t the path I wanted this conversation to take. Hell, I never wanted this conversation at all.

“They visited me in prison, did you know that? All three of them. They were angry too, of course, but they let me explain. You never did.” Dad sounds almost proud of that fact, giving me a crooked grin. “We’re the same, you and I, Carter.”

“No. We are nothing alike.”

He chuckles. “Think your drive is a coincidence? You have my ambition, kid, but the smarts to do it the legal way. You got those from your mother.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to hear this.”

He looks out at the line of smartly-clad people waiting for the cashier. All ready to go to work. “Jenny just got married. Did you know that? She waited until I was out, so I could walk her down the aisle.”

Not what I want to hear. Not at all. Fury, mixed with sympathy, for that other family. How could they forgive him?

“Do they know about me? And Mom?”

Dad nods. “I told them everything a few years back. No more lies, Carter. Not to them and not to you. Never again.”

“You’re the best liar I’ve ever met.”

“I am,” he says. There’s no shame or regret on his face. “But it’s not worth it. It ruined my life, and hurt too many people I love.”

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