Sarah hovered behind me. She started to say something to him – hopefully gonna tell him that he was dead wrong – but then closed her mouth and looked at me with pleading eyes.
“You must be mistaken,” I told dad. “Sarah's the owner of Hazel's Curiosities shop. We were just talking business.”
“Oh, I was only joking. I know who she is, of course. How could I not? I own the land her shop sits on, after all.”
She finally gathered the courage to speak up. It must have been tough. Dad's mere presence had a way of scaring people into silence.
“You... You do?” She tilted her head and suddenly looked even more adorable. “But my grandma owned Hazel's Curiosities since she was a young woman. She passed it onto me several years ago.”
“The building, perhaps, but not the land.”
I didn't like the tone of his voice. Though he smiled at her, his words were laced with insidious intent.
“Just the same as I own your store, son, and the ground beneath it.” He glared. “I hope you remember that after these past five years.”
How could I forget? Half a decade ago, I'd dropped out of college after flunking most of my classes. I was an immature, irresponsible twenty-three-year old who'd rather party with my friends and get laid than work.
Hell, I was still that guy.
Dad got fed up with me. Said he was sick of watching me waste my life. That I was an embarrassment to the Carrington name.
So he gave me this store to run. If I could keep it going successfully, the business would legally become mine forever. I thought I'd been doing a fine job of it.
“What have you come here for, dad?” I grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a shelf. “And what's this nonsense about Sarah being my fiancee? That's a pretty crappy joke.”
She stood in the corner and frowned at her shoes. Oops, did I just hurt her feelings? No clue how I'd done that.
Still, better watch what I say here. One wrong move, and I'd kiss my chance at getting her sweet ass in my bed goodbye.
“Apologies, son. I just thought you'd be settling down by now.” He shrugged and fiddled with an RC dinosaur on display. “I've been traveling the world for business, and I had hoped to come home and find you with a bride-to-be.”
“Sorry, but marriage is not in the cards for me. I haven't even had a girlfriend in years.”
“Because you're too busy whoring yourself out to any harlot who'll have you.”
He pointed to the red lipstick mark on my white shirt. Yeah, so what if I had a good time last night? I was a grown-ass man who happened to love sex and loathe commitment. What business of his was it?
Sarah's face was about as crimson as the makeup on my collar. Obviously, dad's snide remark got to her. Damn it, if he blew my shot with her, I'd never forgive him.
“You've gone too far. I think it's time you leave. As you can see, I've got enough problems to attend to without you breathing down my neck and insulting me.”
But he carried on. Old fool never knew when to shut his mouth.
Yet another unpleasant trait I must've inherited from him.
“Your mother is very disappointed in you, Asher. She calls me crying about how much she worries for you. She's afraid you'll never find love. That you'll never give her any grandchildren.”
I laughed. “Oh, so that's what this is all about. Mom wants a woman to pop out babies for her. I know. She's practically obsessed.”
“Do you blame her? You're nearly thirty years old. If you wait any longer, all the good women will be taken.”
I glanced at Sarah. She was a good woman, that was for sure. What if she had a boyfriend already? Maybe that's why she kept shooting me down.
Nah. I'd known her for years and only ever saw her with one man. After that guy quit hanging around, nobody.
It was high time I showed her what she'd been missing for so long.
“Pay attention,” he snapped. “I haven't come here today for a friendly chat. I've come to give you an ultimatum.”
“Yeah, well, you sure picked a bad day for it.” I eyed the growing lines at the registers. “We can talk later tonight if you're intent on shaming me some more.”
He pulled a stack of papers out of his briefcase. Sarah peeked over my shoulder to see, not even attempting to hide her snooping.
Even now, with dad barking at me, I couldn't get over how freaking cute this girl was.
Bet she'd be even cuter without those clothes on.
“This is the Galleria Mall, my latest project. It's a four-story facility complete with world-class shopping, dining, and entertainment experiences. I've been building them around the country. Making quite a tidy profit.”
Yeah, I'd heard all about this from mom. She regaled me with stories of his success whenever she got me on the phone.
The mall looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Lots of glass, sparkling steel, perfectly manicured landscaping, and a parking lot stuffed with expensive cars.
“Good for you, but I don't have time to be looking at your photo album.”
“Grant City doesn't have something like this. I figured it's time to change that.”
“So you're going to build one of these malls here?” Sarah piped in. “It's beautiful, but –”
Dad interrupted her. “Yes. I could build it on the outskirts of town. There's plenty of open, unused land out there.” He fixed his icy stare on me. “But it just so happens the land we're standing on now is a far more premium piece of real estate.”
He didn't have
