House Rules(16)
I tossed the keys at my favorite valet the moment I stepped out of the car at my dad’s place. For some reason, he’d asked both Ashton and I to stop by on our way into work that morning. A meeting in his home office usually meant he wanted to talk business. The kind we only discussed where we knew there could be no way for anyone else to hear our conversation.
“Thanks, Garrett. I won’t be long.”
“No problem, Mr. Hawes. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
At least it gave me something else to focus on besides the sexy as fuck brunette who snuck out of my bed. The thought of it alone pissed me off. Not a great way to go into a meeting with Dad.
I nodded and went up to my parents’ place. The elevator ride gave me a chance to get my shit together before anyone noticed my mood, otherwise they would have a million questions, especially Mom. A whizz in the kitchen, it wasn’t a surprise to find her already making breakfast.
“Hey, Mom.” I stepped into the room and placed a kiss on her cheek.
She smiled. “Dad said you and your brother were coming, so I figured I’d make you something to eat. I know your brother will get a decent meal, but I worry about you.”
I laughed. She wasn’t kidding about that. My brother inherited all my mother’s culinary talents. Me on the other hand, not so much. “Thanks. It smells delicious.”
“Dad’s in his office. Go see what he wants and when you guys are done everything will be ready.”
“Ashton here yet?”
“He got here about ten minutes ago.”
“Then I better get in there. I’ll be back.” I winked and turned in the direction of my dad’s office.
Ashton sat on the couch, a steaming cup of coffee already in his hands. He gave me a smirk. “About time.”
“Yeah, yeah. Long night. Besides, I’m on time.” I took the seat next to him.
“Long night? How many did you fuck last night?” A mischievous smiled lifted the corners of his mouth. He knew exactly who I’d taken home last night, so what was he up to? And why did it matter to him if I slept with her?
Bastard. He had a sexy piece of ass in his bed every night, one he didn’t have to worry about kicking out before he went to bed. Annoyance that my bed was empty this morning flashed through me. “Very funny, asshole. You don’t have to kick your piece of ass out of your bed at night.”
His shoulders tensed. “Don’t fucking talk about Elena like that.”
Direct hit. Ashton always seemed to forget that I planned on getting the last word, no matter what he said. It had been that way since we were kids. You’d think he’d have learned not to bite by now.
“Knock it off, you two. I have more important shit to talk about than dealing with your juvenile pissing contest.”
Dad sat across from both of us and, duly chastised, we directed our attention to whatever he’d asked us to come over for.
“I know it’s early and you both have a ton of shit to do today, but your mother and I’ve been talking and have made some decisions.”
Ashton and I looked at each other then back at Dad. “What kind of decisions?” I asked.
We knew that Mom or Dad never did anything without the other’s say so, but something about this conversation felt different. The way he sat up straight in the chair instead of hunched over his desk, the slight twitch of his leg. Dad had never been nervous a day in his life.
He drew in a breath. “Mom and I have decided it’s time for me to start to step away from the business.”
“What?” The disbelief was clear in my voice. I thought it would be years before I ever heard those words leave my father’s mouth.
Ashton’s face fell. “You want us to take over even more?”
Dad’s attention turned to Ashton at the sound of frustration in his voice. “For you, no. I expect that you’ll continue to collect debts from our loans. It’s what you’re good at. This has more to do with Miller.”
His eyes moved to mine. “Over the next few months, we’re going to work on getting you fully invested into everything going on at the dealership. I know you understand how everything works, but we need to get you invested directly with all of our clients . . . so we don’t have a repeat of before.”
Ice settled in my stomach. Dad’s nerves made more sense now. After everything I’d done for the business, he was still afraid I’d fuck the whole thing up and end up in jail. “That’s bullshit, Dad,” I snapped. “I’ve never done anything to put us in jeopardy.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “Jesus Christ, Miller. Don’t be so fuckin’ naive. Your ass was safe only because you’d made enough contacts and had favors to call in to deal with your problem.”