House Rules(26)

Karlstad swallowed hard, eyes trained on me, braced for me to attack. “I . . . I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean to what? Come in here spouting bullshit that’s only going to get you in trouble? What you’re going to do is get up and get out of my office. And if I hear any more of this shit, I can guarantee I will make good on my promise.”

Proving just how much of an asshole he really was, Karlstad jumped up and ran from the room, the door swinging behind him.

I slammed my fist down onto the desk. How many more of my father’s clients would think they could pull this shit?

I could let Dad deal with it, but then they would only respect me because he forced them to. If I wanted to take full control, I’d have to prove that I would accept nothing less than full respect from anyone I chose to do business with. Anyone who tried to harm what we’d built would be dealt with in my own fashion.

Blood still pounded through my ears. What I really needed was to get the fuck out of there and over to the bar. Besides a naked woman beneath me, a night of liquor and half naked women dancing was just what I needed.





CHAPTER 8





Miller




Dad: Here. 30 min.



I didn’t bother responding. When Dad sent out messages like that, everyone knew you didn’t ask questions. You did what you were told, when you were told to do it. The consequences of not showing up far outweighed the benefits of staying home and relaxing. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I grabbed my keys off the dresser and left for my parents’.

Pain reverberated around my head. Shot after shot had gone down easily the night before, once I was sure everything in the back room was running smoothly. I wanted to erase another shitty day. It seemed that every day since Tess had snuck out of my bed ended in a mass of chaos. Warning bells went off in my head and I ended up drinking the night away.

I thought about calling her, getting her in my bed one more time, fuck her from my system.

Shit.

I never got her number. What was it about Tess that had me acting differently than I had with any other woman I met? Calling a woman after we’d spent the night together never usually registered with me. Hell, I’d been known to go out of my way to make sure we didn’t swap numbers.

Whatever it was that had me all twisted up, I’d worry about it later. Dad was worked up over something and I needed to deal with that first. I’d work on finding Tess’s number and getting the answers I was looking for afterward. I reasoned with myself that I was only seeking her out to find out why she’d left without a word. Women didn’t sneak out on me and I wanted to know why she had.

The elevator stopped on my parents’ floor and I walked in without knocking like I always did. I wanted to stop and say hi to Mom before sitting down and talking to Dad. Mom usually got upset with us when we came over and locked ourselves in Dad’s office to talk about business. She’d raised us to put our family first and when we couldn’t make time to say hello, we broke the golden rule.

The scent of fresh blueberry muffins drifted from the kitchen. My decision to see Mom first was definitely going to pay off. Looked like I would be able to talk business on a full stomach. I took one step toward the kitchen before the yelling started.

“Miller, if that’s you, you better get your ass in my office right now, before I drag you down here.”

Shit. This again.

Mom came bursting from the kitchen door. “What’s all the yelling about?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea. I was going to come see you first but I better get down there, otherwise he’ll end up bursting a blood vessel.” I bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She glanced down the hall and back at me. “I think you’re right. Come find me when you’re done.”

“Miller!”

With quick strides I started toward Dad’s office. The door was ajar and through the gap I saw Dad standing behind his desk, palms flat on top. I could practically see the steam rising from his head. I stepped into the room and he looked up.

“Close the door. I will not have your mother hear me killing her youngest child.” His voice was low and deadly.

I swallowed hard. Turning to shut the door, I racked my brain for what in the hell I could have done to piss my father off that badly. Had Karlstad called him after he left? No way would Dad have believed anything he said.

“Why in the ever-lovin’ fuck did I get a call a little bit ago tellin’ me you won a girl in a poker game a few nights ago?”

That would do it.

I kept as still as possible, hoping not to antagonize the pissed off man in front of me. Dad was ready to kill and I had the unfortunate luck of being his target.