“I will not stay here a minute longer than I need to, daughter.”
“And I don’t want you too.”
“And I will go right back to work.”
“Nope. I’m not wasting a perfectly good plane ride back so you can get yourself into trouble again.”
“It was a mild event. Hardly happened.”
“That’s because you are too damn stubborn to let your shriveled heart boss you around. But you haven’t had a vacation in five years, and I’m putting my foot down.”
“But the business—”
“Why did you raise your only daughter in it? So someone you trust can take care of things for you.”
“Are you accusing me of creating my workforce?”
“One child hardly qualifies as that.”
“It is when it’s you,” said Tobias with a smile.
“Funny, sir. Funny.”
“He has no sense of humor,” snapped my father. “And he’s right. And I won’t let you run over me like you do the New York clients.”
“Moi?”
“Your father calls you the wrecking ball,” said Tobias.
Not liking the sound of that, my hands flew to my hips reflexively. “He did?”
“Once. When you pulled that actor, what the hell was his name?”
“Bash Hunt?”
“Yeah, that asshole. You yanked him by the scruff of the neck from that whorehouse and threw the jerk into rehab.”
“You know how short leading men are.”
“Yes. Yes. You need to sit to look them in the eye and barely a handful,” grumbled the elder Alexander.
“And he was in no condition to make any protests. I got him out via the paramedics.”
“Still. He’s been a purring pussy since then.”
“I’m good at my job. That is no reason to pin invectives on me.”
“Oh, I believe he said it with pride,” added Tobias.
“You know,” growled her father, “with friends like you—”
Tobias shrugged and smiled his charming grin that always made me melt and calmed my father. I couldn’t help but admire his rugged body, salt and pepper hair and silver fox features. Tobias’s face featured a slightly hawk nose and prominent cheekbones. Though I’d known him forever as my father’s best friend, growing up I often imagined having him as my boyfriend. It was wrong of me, but I couldn’t help it. I might have said when I was five-years-old that if I didn’t marry my daddy, I would marry him.
A nurse came in to take my father for tests and told us to come back tomorrow. She stared more at Tobias than me, so he must have put his time in here looking out for my dad.
“Sure thing,” said Tobias. “Come on, Jacy, I’ll buy you dinner.”
“That’s right. Leave me alone with this foul hospital food.”
