“I knew this day was inevitable the night I saw you two at dinner together at our house.”
So did I.I’d seen the sidelong glances Elliott tossed our way, concern etched on his face. Even after I’d discovered the truth about him and my mother, I knew that wasn’t his only concern.
“As did I,” I finally said.
His eyelids rose a fraction of an inch.
“You were always perceptive. Great instincts,” he added. “What’re your instincts telling you now?” He sat up, hands tented as they rested on his desk, his complete attention on me.
“They’re telling me you don’t trust me. Not with your daughter, which is odd, since you’ve never been anything but a mentor to me in the past.”
He nodded, lips slightly poked out, contemplative. “You’re right; I haven’t. I’d always had great respect and even love for you, Xavier. I saw how you hustled as youngster and how loyal a friend you were to my son. All qualities any man of my position would admire. But I also saw how you were with women. It reminded me of—”
“You?”
Unreservedly, Elliott nodded. At least he wasn’t going to deny it.
“Yeah, me. Not as bad as me, per se, but still. You can see why that’s a problem for me, right?”
“Not really. It doesn’t seem as if you’ve had too much interest in your daughter over the years. Why would my dating her now be of any concern?” It was a bold question to ask a man in his office—especially a man like Elliott Combs. And considering he was also the father of my best friend and a business mentor, it made my statements even bolder but I held firm. Since I was there, nothing was off-limits. I saw the hurt in Chanel’s eyes whenever her father was brought up, and as I sat in that chair across from the man who’d caused that hurt, I realized it pissed me off. I knew I had no right to step in between the relationship between a man and his daughter, but shit, Chanel was under my skin. Each day she grew more and more mine, and the thought of anyone hurting her didn’t sit well with me. At all.
Elliott’s eyes flared. His face had tightened before the unbothered mask attempted to make its reappearance, but his eyes still gave away his anger. “That’s a fair question,” he conceded, to my surprise. He remained quiet for a long while, analyzing me.
I sat back in the chair, folding my leg over my knee.
“I was a terrible husband to my first wife. I’m sure you know that.” His voice was somber, laced with regret. “But I was an even worse father to Chanel. With Jay, it was easy, my fatherly instincts and love came naturally.” He paused. “With Chanel, it was different.
“I haven’t done right by her in the past. And I...I just want to make sure you’re going to do right by her. However this thing between you two turns out.”
I didn’t know why his words caused my temper to spike. My nostrils flared and I tented my fingers in front of me, studying him for a long moment. Despite my anger, I could tell it was hard for him to admit the type of father he’d been to Chanel.
“You’re asking how serious I am about her?”
He nodded.
“And I want to know how seriousyouare about her?” This time I uncrossed my legs. “I’m very serious about Chanel and have no intentions of hurting her, now or ever. Can you say the same?”
He sat back in his chair, eyes on me, lips pulled in.
He nodded. “Touché. But I’m not the same man I was while Chanel was growing up.”
It was my turn to stare. I knew Elliott’s ho-like proclivities had seemed to fall by the wayside in recent years, since he’d gotten with Marjorie.
“I’ve been making an effort to get to know her, asking Marjorie to make sure she comes to our monthly family dinners. Getting Jason to pressure her about joining the firm.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Have you tried, you know, actually talkingtoher? I hear that works wonders.” I’d tried to stem the sarcasm in my voice, but failed.
He gave a humorless chuckle. “Youngin’s got jokes.”
I smirked.
“I’m working on it.”
“My advice?” I stood, ready to leave. “Don’t let your pride get in the way of knowing your daughter. In my experience, she uh, can be a little prickly in the beginning, but she’s worth it.”
Elliott stood, giving me a look. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
I held out my hand for his to shake. He paused and gave me a look when I held onto his hand, squeezing when he tried to remove it.
