“Hello. Can I come in?”
The usually confident man looks awkward and unsure, tone subdued and feet shuffling restlessly.
“Um...sure. Yeah.” I back up a few feet and let Dad in.
He enters the condo and takes in the scene. My housekeeper comes once a month, and usually that’s enough since I spend most of my time at work anyway. It looks a little different when I’m home all the time. A little messier.
We sit down at the table and stare at each other. I’m not offering him some chai and Parle-G biscuits after what he’s done to me.
Leo squirms in my arms and I let him down to investigate the new person. “Who’s this?” Dad reaches down to pat the curious bulldog on the head, and then starts in surprise when Leo sneezes on him.
“Leonardo Dog Vinci. He was a present.”
“How long have you had him?”
“Just a few days.” But it could have been longer and he wouldn’t have known. I don’t remember the last time we talked about anything other than work.
This relationship wasn’t great before he threw me under the bus.
“I thought you quit. Why are you reading art world magazines?” He indicates the magazines and newspapers spread out on my coffee table.
“I quit Loot, not the industry,” I reply flatly. “I’ve been offered jobs at a few different houses, so I just need to choose one and then I’ll be back in the auction world saddle.”
I decide not to tell him one of the offers is from Gavin.
Dad winces. “This is ridiculous. Come back to Loot. Your work is piling up.”
“I don’t have any work to pile up, since I quit.”
Dad sighs. “Sonia’s been helping, but it’s too much on top of her regular work, so we have three late deliveries, and two clients are thinking of backing out of sales because they haven’t heard from you. I sent Ajay to talk to them and then I dealt with complaints for days after. And I don’t know where any of the contracts are.”
“That sounds like an inconvenience. But you’re the CEO, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.’
“But you can do it better. You’ve created quite the department at Loot, and your influence extends beyond it. We all need you.”
He’s never said that before. And they’re the words I’ve wanted to hear from him for a long time, but I think they might be too late because they don’t cause any of the relief or happiness that I expected they would.
“Thanks, but we both know you prefer Ajay, so now you can focus on him.” The anger might be gone, but apparently the bitterness is still there, if my tone is anything to go by.
“Your mom told me that you think I prefer Ajay, but it’s not true,” he says gruffly, looking out of the window like it’s a valid method of escape from this conversation.
I’m sixty-five floors up...so that’s not going to happen.
I raise my eyebrows. “I’ve lived my life so I think I know how you feel about me.”
“It’s not true.” He sees the disbelief on my face and rushes to elaborate. “Yes, I did spend more time with Ajay when you were younger. I was taught that men worked and earned, and women took care of the home. So I brought Ajay to the company and left you at home. And... I didn’t know how to relate to a daughter like I did a son.”
“Thanks for continuing tens of thousands of years of misogyny.” I feel the twisting in my stomach at the verbal reminder that he doesn’t want me anywhere near the company, when that’s where I want to be.
“But I’m glad you showed me I was wrong. I’m glad you came to the office and kept coming. You are better at this than Ajay and I’m so proud over everything you do.” Dad still looks deeply uncomfortable, which makes sense, considering I haven’t seen him discuss his emotions in...ever.
“But you always gave Ajay the best of everything. Job positions, shows, contacts. Everything.” I say what’s been bothering me for years, needing an answer even if it’s one I don’t think I’ll like. I need him to say it and maybe I can move on.
Dad looks down to Leo, petting the puppy again, probably to avoid looking at me. “Your mother told me that was how you saw it. Yelled at me, more like.” He mumbles the last part under his breath, and I can imagine Mom tearing into him about the subject. She was pretty fired up when she came to see me the first time. “I thought I was helping Ajay. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s not the most dedicated worker.”
As someone who Ajay shoves his work at every time he gets hit by painting inspiration, I give Dad an incredulous look. He doesn’t see because he’s still avoiding meeting my eyes.
“I wanted to help him, encourage him to work harder. And I hoped he’d rise to the occasion. You never needed my help. I gave you a position with flexibility so you could do whatever you wanted. And you’ve succeeded beyond anything I thought possible.” He looks up then, slight smile on his face. And I do think I might see pride in his eyes.
