“Listen to yourself,” I scoffed. “My mother would be ashamed of you. She loved Ronni like family. I will not allow you to stand here and demean her like that. You may be my father, but that doesn’t keep me from kicking your ass for being a racist old fool.”
“Your mother had her play thing, but she’s dead now,” he yelled. “And I’m not here to play babysitter to every immigrant that crosses the border.”
“Again,” I said, trying to keep my anger controlled. “I would shut your mouth if I were you. Besides, I make the business decisions here. You made sure of that when you quit, running off to hide and wither away in your office at home. You are the one who gave up on life, and I won’t let you take it out on Ronni because you can’t handle Mom’s death.”
By that point, my father and I were standing nose to nose in the office, our eyes strongly fixed on each other. How dare he come in here and talk that way about Ronni after all she had been through? How dare he act holier than thou. At that moment, I realized exactly where Nick got it from, and I was utterly disgusted. I stepped forward, challenging my father’s intentions, and I watched as a smile spread across his old, angry face. He put his finger up and shoved me in the shoulder, laughing out loud.
“You are not going to do this,” he whispered. “And if you do, I’ll have you fired and cut out of the will. See how well you will do in a city where you have been blacklisted and dumped by your own father.”
“If that’s the kind of man you’ve turned into, then I don’t want your disgusting money anyway,” I said angrily.
We stood there, staring into each other’s eyes for several moments. I didn’t even recognize the man standing in front of me. This was the same man that took a scared six-year-old little girl into his lap and hugged her tightly as the funeral procession for her parents began. This was the man that loved my mother more than anything, even this company. He had changed, and it was a damn shame he had become so hateful that he was attacking his own family. He had no right to talk about Ronni in that manner, and I wouldn’t stand for it, no matter how much I had to lose.
I had made it this far just fine, and I could do it again without his help. He shook his head and turned toward the door, freezing in his tracks at the sight of Ronni standing in the doorway, tears tugging at her eyes. She had heard everything. My father grunted and pushed past her, knocking her to the side. I watched him march out of the office, slamming doors and yelling at staff as he went. He had lost his damn mind, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
I stood there, staring down at the papers on my desk, trying to collect my thoughts. I had never had a confrontation with my father like that before, and my blood boiled knowing who set him up for this. Nick wanted to run this company into the ground, and he would do anything, including hurting his own blood to get his paws on it. It was a good thing he wasn’t here right now. Otherwise, I might throw him through the window with how angry I was. I looked up at Ronni who was standing there, looking down at the floor. I couldn’t believe that she had heard everything. It must have been so hurtful to her. She stepped forward and forced a smile, looking at me with glistening eyes.
“I, uh, I gave my two weeks,” she said, looking at her box of things. “My boss said she knew how amazing the opportunity was so she didn’t make me work those last two weeks. I was really excited so I came right over. I didn’t mean to walk in on you. I didn’t realize your father felt that way.”
“No,” I said, walking forward. “Do not apologize for anything. You have no reason to apologize. My entire family, including myself, should be the one begging for your forgiveness. We have treated you terribly. You didn’t deserve any of this, and whatever you do, don’t listen to one word my father said. He is an old fool.”
“He’s hurting,” she said, leaning into my chest. “Just like the rest of us, and I know that I am a very sore spot in his life. It’s not right, but I haven’t proven myself to be very supportive of him, either.”
“You are so sweet,” I said, shaking my head. “But he chose to push everyone away. He wouldn’t take my help or anyone else’s for that matter. All he’s done is surround himself with his rich friends and dive into his money pit like Scrooge McDuck.”
“I’m sure if I go back to my boss, she’ll let me stay on,” she said, sniffling.
“No,” I said emotionally. “I don’t care what that old tyrant says. I’m going to put you on as my paid intern and do what I promised to do. You worry about getting your head filled with knowledge, and I’ll take on the old man. I will not buckle to his pressure.”
She s
queezed me tightly around the waist, and I kissed the top of her head, looking out my office window at the workers putting together her desk. I couldn’t believe what this all turned into. When we started the day, I was on cloud nine knowing I would have Ronni close to me, knowing that I would be helping her follow her dreams, and knowing that everything was going to be calming down really soon. Instead, I got my father bursting through the door, acting like a complete stranger, and having Ronni hear every hateful word coming out of his mouth. And still, even after all of that, she had the biggest heart. She sees through the hatred and anger and just tries to make me feel better. I couldn’t think of a better woman in this world than Ronni, and I knew I had to do everything I could to protect her. I wasn’t afraid of my father, nor was I afraid of going out on my own and making my own fortune. His will meant nothing to me since it would take him dying to receive anything from it, something my brother didn’t think about at all.
It was going to be a bumpy ride for the next few days, but I was determined to ride it out with Ronni by my side, whatever choice we decided to make.
Chapter Fourteen
Ronni
I could still remember the day my parents were killed. Nathan had caught me before I fell to the floor, and his mother and father had pulled me into their laps and comforted me. I could still remember that for weeks after the accident, Mr. Landers would come into my room when he heard me crying and cradle me in his arms, rocking me back to sleep.
They had all insisted that I consider myself part of their family for the rest of my life. It was what helped me get through being alone in the world. They had made me believe that they would never turn their backs on me for any reason. When Mrs. Landers died, I tried to repay the love and be there for Mr. Landers, bringing him breakfast and lunch every day, checking in on him every evening, even when I was at school and all I could do was call. Most days, he didn’t answer, but he knew I was there if he needed me. Slowly over time, he started emerging from the darkness of their bedroom, but when he did, I could see he had changed. There was an all too familiar hole in his heart that Mrs. Landers used to fill. Mr. Landers had always been strict. but he had never been cruel. That was, until I came back from college and began making a life for myself. In reality, Mr. Landers knew better than anyone, even Nathan, that I was capable of doing the job. He had seen my grades in college, read my papers, had discussions with my professors, not realizing that I would find out. But now, there was nothing but hatred in his heart.
I felt completely betrayed by everyone except Nathan. Nick had not only done what he did on our date, but he had used me as a pawn in his game to gain control of the company. He had said horrible things about me and painted a picture in his father’s mind of a woman that I was not. The things that Mr. Landers said were uncalled for and cruel, and I could feel my whole body shaking with the pain and sadness I was feeling. And now, even after all of that, Nathan showed his loyalty to me by offering to fight for my right at the company, going as far as to offer to give up everything for me. Sure, he was a billionaire in his own right, something his father couldn’t take away. So, he wasn’t worried about the job and money, but I couldn’t help but think about his family and how they would be ripped apart, all because of me. I couldn’t allow myself to be the wedge that drove them apart, especially knowing that one day, Nathan would look at me and realize I had been the cause of all his loss.
“I will fight this, Ronni,” he whispered. “I will give everything up for you. I don’t care.”
“Don’ be silly,” I cooed, taking a deep breath. “Me working for you is not worth the fight that is brewing, nor is it worth you losing your relationship with your father.”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing his jacket and phone. “Let’s get out of here. Regardless of what you say, you are worth all of that, if not more. None of this means anything to me anymore without having you by my side.”
As we moved out of the office and down into the streets of San Diego, Nathan stopped and looked around. He checked his phone, stuck his hands in his pockets, and then stood there as if he were lost. Nathan was used to working all day, every day, with no time to do other things. He was out of his element, having left the office shortly after arriving. I giggled to myself, finding the scene actually kind of adorable. He was completely baffled by what to do next so I walked over to him, kissed his cheek, grabbed his hand, and led him to my car parked in the garage next door.
“Why don’t we take this time to relax,” I said, smiling. “We can run by my house, grab a suit, and go out on the beach for a swim. It’ll be a little chilly, but it will be really relaxing. Just the sound of the waves has a way of soothing the soul.”
“I like that idea,” he said, nodding. “I don’t have a suit, though.”
“Not a problem,” I said, smiling. “Maria was doing some test lines for men’s swimwear so you can wear one of those.”