“Not really.”
The man had been everything that Alexander did not wish to become. He was conniving, and unkind. Using people came naturally to him, and loyalty was not a word that meant anything to do.
Noticing the scowl on his friends’ face, Oliver continued.
“You know, for all your hatred for the man,” Oliver leaned back against the ropes, “You kept his club.”
“I didn’t keep it for him,” Alexander said immediately. “I kept it because someone had to clean up the mess. And because when he was gone, I needed a place that was mine.”
Oliver was quiet.
“You’re not him,” he answered finally.
“No, I am not,” Alexander asserted and then in a quieter voice, “But every day I have to remind myself.”
As much as he hated it, it was his father’s blood that ran in his veins. He glanced down, undoing the wrap on his wrist.
“I have a daughter who doesn’t trust easily. A wife who barely knows what she’s signed up for,” Alexander said, grimacing. “I do not think I can let my guard down, even for a moment.”
“You believe you have more to lose now that you have Penelope involved?”
Alexander looked up at that. Something about the weight in his eyes confirmed it.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand you sometimes,” Oliver shook his head. “ Most men like you would’ve sent their wife and child to the country by now.”
“I’m not most men,” Alexander reminded him.
“No,” Oliver said, lowering himself onto the bench just outside the ropes. “But you do have a weakness now. And everyone knows it.”
“I’ve always had weaknesses,” Alexander replied coolly. “I’ve just never given anyone the chance to use them. I keep my daughter protected, and I shall do the same for my wife.”
“Even now?” Oliver raised a brow.
“Especially now.”
“Odette listens to you because she is very young,” Oliver remarked. “But how do you plan on taming your wife?”
Alexander did not have an immediate answer to that. He let the silence hang for a moment.
“My father had weaknesses, too. But the difference is, he flaunted his.”
“You mean the drinking,” Oliver nodded slowly. “And the gambling.”
“And the debts, the women, and the pathetic need for admiration from men who hated him,” Alexander continued , “He sold respect for the illusion of power. And when that ran out, he begged for scraps.”
“I remember,” Oliver said quietly.
“I watched him lose everything,” Alexander went on. “ And even back then, I swore I’d never be like that. Not even close.”
“You’re not. But you do realize that keeping people close is not what made your father weak.”
“No,” Alexander agreed. “But needing them to survive did.”
He threw his towel to the ground, and continued .
“There is a difference between my conduct and his. I keep my people close and I protect them. But I don’t make them mycrutch. Penelope and Odette aren’t weaknesses unless I start using them to excuse my own failures. And I won’t.”
