"No. No. No." There she went again. Why couldn't she just go speechless at times like this?
She pointed a finger at him. "Don't for one minute think I will ever sleep with you, fake engagement or not. Besides the fact that I find you totally deplorable, I refuse to pretend to be your fiancée, because I know there is no way in he—" She sucked in a sharp breath to keep herself from swearing. "I know you will never stop sleeping around. And I won't allow you to humiliate me like that."
"Eden!" Her dad's voice was full of censure. "Nobody is sleeping with anybody. That's what this is all about. Tristan is trying to change his ways."
The eye roll Tristan shot her dad told Eden he had no intention of making those kinds of changes.
Dad put a hand on her arm. "Think of the good of the company, honey."
Heat filled Eden's chest, and every muscle in her body tensed. Her blood pumped hard, creating a drumming sound at the base of her skull.
The good of the company?
When had the company come to mean more to him than she did?
He didn't care at all about her feelings, about what a fake engagement to Tristan would do toherreputation. Everyone would think she was as big of a hussy and money grubber as the women who threw themselves at him. Her father didn't care about the humiliation she would suffer when the tabloids sported photos of Tristan slinking around with other women despite being engaged to her.
She looked at her dad. "I'm sorry. I can't— No, Iwon'tdo it." She stood and raced from the room. She was halfway up the stairs, headed to her old bedroom, before she remembered she didn't live here anymore. Turning back, she hurried out the front door.
She'd just opened her car door when her father's voice reached her. "Eden, wait!" Authority and censure filled his voice as he hurried out of the house. "Why are you doing this?"
She folded her arms and glared at him. "I could ask you the same question. Have you thought about the effect Tristan's reputation could have onourcompany? His own father doesn't even trust him in his company, yet you're pushing him on your daughter?"
He scoffed. "He won't technically be involved with our company. But honey, think about what exclusivity with all these companies could do for us? This will make us rich."
"You're already rich, Dad!"
"Alright, yes, we live quite comfortably, but I'm talking about millions!"
Tears stung her eyes as she looked up at the row of windows in the massive house where she was raised. She'd grown up in the lap of luxury. Yes, she'd enjoyed having anything a girl could want, but these empty halls hadn't rung with laughter like her friend Kennedy's much smaller, more modest home had.
Her dad let out a sigh. "I know you've never liked Tristan, and I can't say I blame you, but I'm doing this for you, honey."
"For me? Like how you insisted I go to business school when I wanted to study interior design? Like how you gave me a job as an assistant to your secretary even though I should have worked my way up in the company?" She blinked away the tears that always came when she faced conflict.
How many times had she heard her father sayI'm doing this for your own good?
And she'd let him run her life. Because every time she thought about standing up to him, she remembered her mother's final words to her. "Promise me you'll be a good girl for your daddy."
Tearfully, she'd promised her mom she would be a good girl. And she'd done everything her father ever asked because she thought that's what it meant to be a good daughter.
But this is too much.
She'd only ever truly stood up to him once before—when he'd insisted the daughter of a mechanic wasn't a suitable friend for someone of her social standing. But as motherless ten-year-olds, she and Kennedy had shared a bond that few people understood. They couldn't be more different from one another, but Kennedy was the sister Eden never had.
She had refused to stop being friends with Kennedy when she was eleven years old, and she'd refuse to bend to his will tonight. "I'm sorry, Dad. I won't be a pawn in the game you're playing. I won't pretend to be engaged to Tristan. Not for the good of the company, not for your sake, and certainly not for mine."
She climbed into her BMW, but her dad prevented her from closing the door. "Why don't you take some time and think about it?"
"I don't need time because I'm not going to change my mind. And oh, by the way, I quit."
A stunned expression covered his face, and he fell back a step. Eden used that opportunity to close the door. With her breaths coming in rapid succession, and her heart racing, she started her car and drove down the long driveway.
Holy cow! Did I really just quit my job?
A burst of adrenaline shot through her, followed quickly by a sinking feeling. Yes, she'd always hated her job, but how was she supposed to support herself now?
With a shaky hand, she grabbed her phone from her purse and called Kennedy.
