"Do you really want to have this conversation on your porch, where all of your neighbors can see us?"
"Your father won't be happy if I let you in."
"And of course, you'll always do what he says."
"He is my husband."
"And I am your daughter," I say, raising my voice.
"What's going on out here?" my father asks, appearing behind my mother at the door.
"You. How dare you show your face after what happened the last time you were here?"
"You mean when your boss thought he could force himself on me, and I broke his arm?"
Reina gasps, but I don't dare look at her. This is my fight, and I won't show any fear. I have been the perfect daughter all my life, and I don't deserve the way I've been treated. I don't deserve to banned from seeing my family. I won't back down, or cower. This may be my last chance to bridge the gap, and showing fear is not in my plan.
He grabs my arm, and pulls me inside. Reina runs in before the door closes, and pulls me away from him. That only angers him more. He's in my face, and his Spanish is rapid and angry.
"You almost cost me my job. Who would've paid for this house and our food then?"
"Me. I would've paid. I'll pay now."
"Your money is disgusting to me."
"More disgusting than his? He would've raped me if I wasn't strong enough to stop him."
"He wants to marry you. He would be an honorable choice."
"Are you even listening to yourself? A rapist is not honorable."
"So what, you'll never marry? Where is the honor in that?"
"Senor Sanchez, your daughter is one of the most honorable women I've ever met in my life. She is also a well-respected scientist. She doesn't need a husband to validate her," Reina tells him, barely controlling her anger.
"You know nothing about us."
"I was born and raised for most of my life in Mexico. I understand better than you think."
"Do you dishonor your parents, as well?"
"My parents are proud of my success. They love to tell their friends that I help people."
He looks pointedly at her hand, and the giant yellow diamond there. "You are married."
"Yes, but they were proud of me long before that."
Before anything else is said, my dad's boss walks out of the kitchen. "I thought I heard Audrey out here. I am ready for my apology."
"You won't be getting one from me."
"You risk your father's job over a little misunderstanding?"
"You slammed me into a wall, and stuck your hand down my shirt. What exactly was I misunderstanding."
He steps towards me, thinking he'll intimidate me, but he won't. I open my mouth, but Reina speaks before I can. "Senor, I believe you have a contract with Corrigan & Co."
"How do you know that, senorita?"
"Actually, it's Senora Corrigan, and I remember seeing you when you met with my husband."
His eyes widen, and he practically bows. "Of course, of course. My apologies for not recognizing you."
"You need to be apologizing for assaulting one of my employees."
"Employees? Audrey works for Corrigan & Co.?"
"I work for the Corrigan & Co. Foundation."
"Oh, of course, the Foundation. Much more suitable for a woman."
I seriously want to break more than his arm right now. I walk over, planning on leaving until I see Matt getting out of his car and walking towards me. Reina must've told him more than I thought she did, and he decided to come and give us some support.
Reina shakes her head and smiles at the asshole in front of her. "Your attitude and your behavior leave me no choice but to tell you that your contract with our company is over, effective immediately."
"You cannot do that."
"Oh yes, she can," Matt says, walking in. "My wife has full autonomy over any decisions she wishes to make."
I almost laugh out loud, thinking about how Matt wouldn't allow Reina to ban Aiden from Corrigan when we thought he let Ellie down. Right here and now, though, I know he's doing what he can to give her all the power in this room, so she can shut down my father's boss. It's the wrong move, though. That man, and my parents, will never listen to a woman over a man, not matter who she is. It's not like this with everyone in the Hispanic community as a whole, but within this more insular one, it's more common than not.
"You let your woman make such choices? You are a fool," he tells Matt, switching to English for his benefit. There's no need. Matt speaks fluent Spanish-he once told me he learned years ago so that he could honor Reina's parents, and even though I think of him like a brother, I may have swooned a little.
"I'm not the one who just lost his biggest contract, now am I?"
"You can't be serious. You have to honor our contract. I'll sue you."
"Go ahead and try. In every contract with my family's company, there are provisions regarding behavior by the parties we do business with. You have violated the ones dealing with treatment of women by what happened with Audrey. And today, you belittled my wife, who happens to be the head of our charitable foundation. You're done, and honestly, you should be lucky you're still walking."
"You're threatening me now?"
"I was talking about either of them. But you'd probably be too easy for Reina and Audrey. They like a challenge in their opponents."
"I can take a woman," he says, steeping towards me.
All of a sudden my father is in front of me. "You will not threaten my daughter in my house."
"Step out of the way before I fire you."
"I quit. Now get out."
He looks around, and realizes he has no options, so he leaves, slamming the door behind him. I look at my father, as tears pool in my eyes. "You defended me?"
"Yes. It was long overdue," he says with a sigh. "I am proud of you, but I have too much pride. I let what people think of us come before my love for you. I am so sorry. You are an amazing woman, and we should have told you that."
"Yes, you should have, but I'm glad to hear it now. If you mean it."
"I do mean it, but I understand your hesitation to believe me. I will have to show you I mean it."
"Yes. I'm sorry, but you will. I want to have a relationship with you both. I wouldn't have come back here if I didn't."
"I would like that as well. Can you stay for a little while?"
"Yes. Reina can go back with Matt."
"Are you sure, Aud?" Reina asks.
"Yeah. We'll be good."
"I'm making tamales today. You can take some to your friends later," my mother says.
"Si, por favor," he says in his fluent Spanish. "I love it when Reina's mom comes to visit and fattens me up. Tamales are my favorite."
"You could help make them," I tell him, knowing he'll accept.
"I'm totally down. Put me to work."
My mother's eyes widen, and then she takes his arm and leads him into the kitchen. I'm glad he'll be here. I want to believe my father means what he says, but his change of heart is sudden, and that makes me suspicious.
"I'll be in the kitchen making sure there's some food left for the rest of us. If you need me, just yell," Reina says, shaking her head.
"Let's sit down, Audrey. It's time we finally had a real talk," my father says, and I do as he asks. I don't know what the day will bring, but things are already going better than I'd hoped they would. Maybe they're going just as well with everyone else, and this can all be over soon. Or is that too much to hope for?
Chapter 7
Blake
It's been a long day of going over scripts, worrying about Jeanne, worrying about Audrey, and trying to figure out if my best friend could really be behind all of this. I can't imagine what Jesse would get out of kidnapping Jeanne, but if it's him, I'll help them take him down. Hell, I'll do it on my own if it's him. No one messes with my little girl.
The front door opens as I'm coming down the stairs. Matt, Reina, and Audrey walk in with bags of what smell like Heaven. "Is that dinner?"
"Oh yeah. Wait until you taste it," Matt says. "I make a mean tamale."
"You?"
"Don't ask," Reina tells me with a laugh.
"Okay. I'll grab Jeanne, if you can get your friends."
"They'll join us in a few minutes. We called them on the way here, and they said they were close to cracking the email," Audrey tells me as Matt and Reina disappear into the dining room.
"That's great news."
"Yeah. We might be gone by morning."
"Gone?"
"Once we find out who's behind this, we'll get them, and then the job will be over."
"Oh yeah, right."
It's not right, though. I don't want her to go. I don't want what's starting between us to die out. I don't know how to keep her here. There's no threat against me, but maybe she'd let me hire her anyway. No, if I hire her directly, she'd keep it totally professional. Fuck. What am I going to do? I have to do something.