by Nana Malone
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alec didn't anticipate the burning in his lungs or the pain that stabbed its way into his gut and hung around like a festering cloud. Was this what loving someone felt like? If so, it blew the big one. He watched her walk out and her father take steps to follow her.
Catching up with Pierre, he put a hand on his arm. “I don’t think she'll want to be seeing either one of us right now.”
If glares had temperatures, he had a feeling glacial would be how the man felt at the moment.
Pierre’s look was hard and flat. “You're going to tell me how to handle my daughter? You’ve been lying to her all along, Westhorpe. You think I didn’t know. I knew your father.”
Alec nodded. The truth was a bitch. Especially when people kept grabbing it by the tail and bitch-slapping you with it. “Yes, I lied to her. For my own reasons. But at the end of the day I love her and I've lost my chance. If you love her, you can't keep treating her the way you do.”
Pierre’s hazel eyes narrowed. “And what do you know about it? You’re nothing but the bastard son with a trust fund and a hotel. You don't know my daughter.”
“I know how she sounds when she laughs. I know what makes her cry, and I know she thinks you don't love her and that you favor her sister. I know she thinks you'd rather take the word of your son-in-law than hers.” He drew in a breath. “I know if you don’t take some steps to fix things with her, she'll be gone to you forever.” He left out the unspoken like I am. But Pierre’s expression grew grave and solemn.
“How can she think I favor her sister?”
Alec's eyes rolled of their own volition. “You fired her. Then made it impossible for her to get another job. What kind of father does that? I thought my dad was a harsh bastard, but you take the cake.”
Pierre's lips flattened. “As I told her, I've never stood in her way. I let Jaya go for a slew of reasons, the most important being I wanted her to strike out on her own. And less importantly, because she, and my self-important son-in-law, would have eventually killed each other. You don’t know my daughter. She has to figure things out on her own. I offered to call around and see if I could help her get another job.”
Alec shoved his hands in his pocket. “You mean after you already called and told everyone she was unemployable?”
“What would I have to gain by doing that? I don’t want her to fail. I do love her.”
Alec held his breath. Jaya had been so sure it was her father who'd made those calls, but maybe it was someone else entirely. “Maybe, sir. It's time you talked to her. And not just talked, but listened too.” He shrugged. “Maybe I should have tried that.” Before turning to leave, he added, “And sir, you might also want to think about who else had something to gain by slandering Jaya around town.”
