“Let's be honest. There was no way you'd find yourself a decent wife within the month, and certainly we couldn't have you hooking up with some harlot out of desperation.” He didn't try to hide his disgust as he spat the words. “And of course, like always, you'd try and pull some trickery. All we did was give you a bit of a nudge.”
Dad was a clever bastard, I'd give him that. Somehow he'd managed to out-scheme even me. But it wasn't much of a surprise. No one got as rich and entitled as he did by being a moron.
Macy approached us, gawking at Rosa all the while. She looked more nervous than I'd ever seen her.
“Dad, uh, how do you know Rosa? She's in my math class. That's a funny coincidence.”
“It's not a coincidence at all.”
Rosa herself strutted over, beaming with pride like she'd just won some kind of medal.
“My father and Mr. Carrington go way back. Daddy always told me if you were single by a certain age, that one day I'd marry you.” Her gaze fell. “He said you might not be very happy about it at first. That's why we had to trick you. I hope you can forgive me.”
“So let me get this straight. You got yourself into Macy's class, sold her that sob story about the green card – all because the contract said I had to get hitched. I was getting desperate, and there you were to make it all too easy.”
“It did see a bit oddly convenient,” Macy muttered. “Honestly, I couldn't believe our luck. And here I thought I was so clever.”
Rosa whittled off some meaningless apology to her, but I was too angry to hear the words. Dad seriously orchestrated all of this? The level of planning, duplicity, not to mention coercion behind it was something I had thought beyond even him.
Evidently, dad was more an asshole that I'd given him credit for.
“But your plan didn't work out. I fell in love with Sarah.”
I enjoyed making him wince. That had been a lie the first time I said it, but not anymore.
“Yes, I believe that you did,” he said softly, and for once I detected sincerity in his voice. “But that's too bad. You and Rosa will be married in three days. The wedding will go on as planned.”
“Like hell it will!”
I slammed my fist down on the table where some geezers were eating, sending their champagne glasses flying. Booze soaked into an old woman's dress. She cursed at me, but I couldn't give less of a shit.
Everyone was staring, even Carol, Hazel, and Cole. Wasn't sure what they'd heard of our conversation. What did it matter anymore? Couldn't keep trying to hide this forever.
And I'd blown my shot with Sarah, regardless. If I couldn't have her, then screw everyone else.
“I'm not marrying her, simple as that. I don't care if you already spent thousands on this wedding. Don't care if all the family is flying in to see it. You can explain to everybody why the groom never showed.”
Mom put her hand on her chest, looked like she might throw up, and hurried away to hide at the bar. Rosa had tears in her eyes; maybe I upset her, but that's the least of what she deserved for going along with this.
Dad, however, remained steadfast. I could practically see steam shooting out of his ears in anger at me, his black-sheep son who refused to follow the life plan he'd made for me.
“You will not ruin this family's reputation, Asher.”
Oh, yeah? I knew something that would really ruin it, and was tempted to say so.
“I will do whatever I damn well please. I'm an adult, even if you often like to think I'm not.”
Suddenly he was back to his calm, smarmy self. He laughed, but it was a laugh filled with malicious intent that made me shiver with fear.
It meant he had an ace up his sleeve that could cut very deep indeed.
“I figured you'd protest. That's why I'll make you an offer you'd be stupid to refuse.”
“Had about enough of offers from you. Somehow they always end up biting me in the ass.”
“The Galleria mall,” he said flatly. “You'll marry Rosa or kiss your forty-percent ownership goodbye.”
“I don't care.”
“There never was any contract signed protecting you on that, you know. All we had was a gentleman's agreement.”
“Said I don't care.”
And I meant it. No amount of money was worth hitching myself to this dumpster-fire sham of a marriage.
“I'll still be bulldozing Slicker Image into rubble after the New Year. Whatever will you do then, hmm?”
“Suppose I'll find another store to manage. Maybe I'll start my own business, who knows.”
He scoffed. “You were handed that store on a platter and told exactly how to run it. That was easy enough. A true man makes his own success.”
“That's what I plan to do. Can't have you coddling me forever.”
He really did still think of me as some helpless little boy, didn't he? No matter what I did, no matter how successful Slicker Image was, it would fail to impress him. That, I should have realized long ago.
The only thing that mattered to him was me falling in line and acting just how he wanted, like a trained puppy chained down by a shock collar. If I barked too much, he'd let me know who was in charge.
“This isn't like you, son. Resigning yourself to defeat so easily.” He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you'd do whatever it took to keep your store.”
“Within reason.” I gestured to Rosa, who was trying to dance with a bewildered old man. “This
