“Who did you say you were?”
“I didn’t.” Standing tall, I crossed my arms over my chest and again she took a little too long to look me over.
A few minutes passed, I said nothing more and neither did she. Then the door to my left opened and a gray-haired man stepped out holding a few files in his hands.
At first he didn’t see me standing there and began to move forward.
“These are from yesterday’s—” His feet shuffled and then came to a halt as he locked eyes with me. “Hello, Mr. Grady.” It didn’t surprise me that he knew who I was. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
I’d never met the guy, but I already hated him. I wished I could say it was all because of his arrogance but that’d be a lie. This man was solely responsible for dimming my girl’s light. For years he did nothing but make her feel like a failure. He belittled her and criticized her when she deserved his praise and love. That was why I wanted nothing more than to grab this old ass fucker around the neck and slam him against the wall. My guess was that he’d piss his pants because he’d been used to being allowed to have control. Stupid prick wouldn’t know what to do with someone that had dealt with his kind before. My father was this man, those that strived to bring others down.
“You wanna have this talk right here, or should we go someplace a little more private?” He seemed surprised by my arrogance. As if him being the dean was going to make me slink back and quiver with fear.
No bitch, I wasn’t.
Holding out his arm to his side, he motioned toward his office and told the bimbo who was still staring at me to hold all his calls.
With the click of the door I waited for him to round his desk and I stood tall. He offered a seat but I shook my head and remained standing.
“How’s my daughter?”
He really was an asshole, and I knew he was goading me. He wanted me to react but again, I was used to dealing with his type. He had no idea the amount of years I’d had beneath my belt when it came to pompous dicks.
“She’s a hell of a lot better since she got away from you.” I noticed the way his cockiness faltered even if he tried to hide it. “She no longer has to watch her every move, she can finally breathe.”
“I see a bright future ahead of her, full of parties and drinking. Ruby will be knocked up by the time she’s twenty-one.”
Arrogant son of a bitch, it took everything I had not to punch him in his fucking mouth. I concentrated on my breathing, in slowly, out slowly.
“She picked a great guy to lead her down a dark path.”
I’d never been one to toss around my father’s fortune. Never used it to prove to anyone who thought I was nothing more than trash just how wrong they were. But I couldn’t resist putting this fuckwad in his place.
“Ever hear of Grady Enterprises?” Ruby’s father remained standing, staring at me, waiting for my next move. I knew already that he knows the name. I leaned closer and placed my hands against the top of his desk, staring him directly in the eyes. “I could give her a life full of more things than you could ever imagine. More things than she ever dreamed. Truth is, she doesn’t need me though, do you wanna know why?”
“Why?” Still so arrogant.
“Because Ruby is brilliant and she is amazing. She doesn’t need anyone to take care of her. She is going to prove to you that you were the only thing holding her back from being bigger and better than you ever could be.” My hands shook as I stared at her father. “While you’re here playing house with your bimbo, pretending to be some powerful man that in reality is weaker than any man I’ve ever known, she’ll be living. Ruby will be loving and laughing and she’ll be changing lives and I’ll be the one lucky enough to watch her soar.”
Bitch had nothing to say because I think he already knew I was right. He got off on making others feel weak.
“I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ve picked up the rest of her things. I’ve also taken the liberty of gathering all the items her mother left for her.”
“That’s breaking and entering.”
“No.” Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out the key that Ruby threw away in my room weeks ago and placed it on his desk. “It’s not breaking and entering when you have a key.”
I turned around and walked toward the door, grabbing the handle and giving it a little twist. Looking back over my shoulder I had to toss in one last dig at this ass. “How long do you think she’s gonna stick with you? Two months? Two years? Maybe long enough to get you to support her shopping habits while she still goes around campus screwing all the young guys she’s drooling over? I think it was just last weekend I saw her sneaking out of the Alpha house carrying her red heels in her hands doing the walk of shame. A guy like you can’t keep up with a woman like her. But your pocketbook, that’s what she’s truly after. I think we both know that no little blue pill will ever make you man enough to satisfy a hungry lady like that.”
And with that I left him glaring after me, knowing without a doubt
