Kamila blinked. So…it wasn’t estate planning? Dad was retiring? In Florida?
Dad continued. “I’m selling my HNS shares to Rohan and Zayan. And I’m giving you and Shelina the money from the sale now! Why wait until I’m dead? I want to watch my girls enjoy their life. Now you’ll have more free time. You can focus on your volunteer work or do whatever you want to do in your heart! Maybe find a job as an event planner, since you’re so good at it. Or work with animals. You can follow your dreams instead of working for mine. You can be your own Kamila.”
Did Dad really think she wasn’t being her own Kamila? That she wasn’t doing exactly what she wanted with her life?
But wait…if he was selling his HNS shares, what would happen to Emerald? Her Emerald?
Kamila would have blinked again, but instead she dropped her fork.
“But…what about Emerald?” She looked at Rohan. He’d known Dad was doing this?
“You can continue to work with your Emerald clients at HNS if you’d like,” Rohan said. “We plan to absorb all the operations into HNS and close the Emerald office. But I’ve been telling you that for a while now—you’re always welcome at HNS.”
But she wasn’t welcome. Or at least she hadn’t been when she’d worked there before. And Rohan knew that. When she’d worked at HNS, the other accountants would speak over her. She was never given any real clients. There were comments about her clothes. About her makeup. And there was that guy who used to look at her breasts instead of her face when talking to her. She’d even managed to acquire the nickname “I-Don’t-Like-Math Barbie” among the junior associates.
Dad smiled and put his hand on Kamila’s. “You don’t need to work there if you don’t want to. I know you got your accounting degree to continue in my footsteps, but your mother never worked. And your sister doesn’t, either. The house is paid for…and I’ll only be here half the year anyway. Maybe less. You could get a roommate. Maybe that lovely girl Maricel. The money from the sale will be plenty to support you until you decide what you really want to do. You can be yourself now.”
Patriarchy. That’s what this was. Because a woman who loves parties and pretty clothes shouldn’t have to be bothered with a pesky office job. In finance, no less.
Kamila loved her father, but she’d never been so betrayed by him in her life.
“So Emerald is closing. I won’t have a job.”
Rohan shook his head. “We’re not closing it. We’re keeping it as a separate division specializing in small businesses, but we’ll be operating it out of the HNS office.”
Kamila looked down at her plate, not being able to bear the look on Rohan’s face a moment longer.
So that was it. She was effectively losing Emerald and getting a trust fund instead. A third of HNS—even split with her sister, it would be a lot of money.
She looked at Dad. He was happy. Almost deliriously giddy. His stress was lower. She actually liked the idea of him retiring and spending his winters in Florida with his close friends. It would be good for him. He could watch food reality shows and play cards all day, and she’d still get to see him all summer.
For a lot of people, this bombshell would be great news. He was giving her financial security—something most millennials would kill for. A gorgeous house. Kamila wouldn’t have work stress anymore. A dream come true, right?
He didn’t see how much she loved her work at Emerald. He thought poor Kamila shouldn’t be encumbered with business details. Even as he watched her hustle to bring in new clients and work night and day for them while maintaining a demanding volunteer job and taking care of his needs, too. Not to mention this deal they had for the last month. She’d taken on Aim High so he could go part-time, and she’d even volunteered to throw a cocktail party for the client to impress them.
Dad saw all that and decided that she didn’t really care about Emerald, that she was only doing all this out of gratitude to him. And he made a major decision affecting her life without even mentioning it to her.
Dad didn’t really know her at all. He only saw the superficial person on the surface. Which was exactly all Mom saw, too. Only difference was, to Dad Kamila needed to be coddled and protected from big discussions, instead of Mom’s strategy of shame and name-calling.
Her father meant the world to her and he didn’t know her at all.
She looked at Rohan. How long had he known this?
“When did you make this decision?” she asked, more to Rohan than Dad.
“We’d been talking about it for a while, but your father solidly agreed to it that morning at the hospital.” He didn’t meet her eyes.
Hours after he’d left her bed, Rohan had made plans to take her company. Her job.
He also didn’t know her. He thought she was ridiculous. Trouble. That she should be humored and indulged to turn her office into a dollhouse and dress up her friends, but that she couldn’t play in the big leagues and be involved in big decisions. To Rohan, Kamila was just a flighty flirt who spent more energy on her dog’s fame than anything else.
She’d called him her best friend. She’d thought no one knew her like he did. But all she was to him was parties, signature drinks, matching outfits for her dog, and casual sex. Not a person to take seriously.
Kamila felt a prickle behind her eyes. She shut them quickly, not wanting Dad to see her upset. He was happy. That was what mattered. She could put on her mask.
Why did this feel like she was losing so much more than a job?
When she opened her eyes, Rohan was looking at her. Looking through her. He appeared apologetic, at least. But if he were really sorry, then he wouldn’t have kept this from her in the first place. Letting Dad effectively shut down Emerald from under her, and hiding it from her, meant he didn’t care about her as much as she cared about him.
