Page 73 of All for Love

I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. He doesn’t know about Mercedes. Thank fuck. “No, Dad. We’re not dating. We’re friends.”

Dad’s lips tilted up in the tiniest hint of a smile. “A lot of good relationships are built on the foundation of a solid friendship. You brought her as your date to the party. That must mean something.”

I shrugged, not wanting to give too much away. “It means I like her. She’s a nice girl and a loyal friend. We’ve been through a lot together and she felt like the right fit as a date.”

“You were right about that,” he said. “She is a good fit for you, but as more than a date. As a match.”

I shuddered for a moment. I’d known he felt this way after that conversation we’d had last night, but I honestly hadn’t been expecting him to be pushy about it. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Father. She’s not looking for a relationship right now. Marissa is an extremely dedicated police officer and she’s on the fast track to success, if my understanding is correct. I’d never want to get in the way of her career.”

“So don’t,” he said like it was the simplest thing in the world. “You need a woman who’s going to challenge you and force you to be better. I think Marissa is the right woman for the job. You might not think she wants a relationship, but if you pursue her and make it clear that you’re not interested in holding her back professionally, she might give you a chance.”

My lips pressed in a hard, thin line. “Better? You’re saying she needs to force me to be better?”

Heart thrumming, I stared back at him through narrowed eyes as he rolled his own. “Yes, Kody. Better. More mature. A man and not a playboy who doesn’t take anything seriously.”

Disappointment trickled like acid through my veins. I didn’t even know why I was feeling it, though. I was so used to this charade and the nonstop need to make me better that it shouldn’t have come as any surprise now.

Kaden had always been the golden boy in my dad’s eyes. More responsible. More mature. When he made mistakes, they were forgiven instantly because it’s just one mistake. If I made the same mistake, I got a prickly pear shoved up my ass without any lubrication and was lectured about being better. Doing better.

At this point, the principle had lost all meaning to me. I worked fucking hard. I got results. I was respected and well liked within the company and I was notorious for being an excellent closer. I made those sales no one thought we had a chance at making and I got handshakes on deals everyone else had given up on.

I was damn good at my job. The press loved me, and if anyone needed a sweet-talker at the charity fundraising event or even negotiations to be done with politicians, I was the one they wanted in the room.

I also worked out and ate well.

The only aspect of my life that didn’t garner approval was my attitude toward love, romance, and relationships, and despite everything else, that was why they were constantly on my ass about being better.

Apparently, I would never be good enough until I got myself a nice little trophy wife and I only ever fucked her. Why it even mattered to them who I stuck my dick into, I didn’t know. I wasn’t trashed by the press for it—again, they loved me—and it wasn’t affecting my reputation or the company’s.

Sick and tired of them getting in my face about this, I moved to the edge of my chair and met my father’s eyes. “Marissa and I are just friends. I respect her drive to be the best too much to be a distraction, and we’re just not interested in each other that way. That being said, I am seeing someone, and as a matter of fact, she does make me better. You know, since apparently I’ll never be good enough on my own.”

My father tried backtracking immediately. “That’s not what I said, Kody. All I—”

“I’m not interested in hearing it, Dad.” I stood up and set my half-drunk coffee down on the table. “It’s a good thing you had two sons, hey? At least Kaden acts like the one you always wanted. Congratulations.”

With that, I spun on my heels and left. I almost forgot about Marissa’s clutch until I heard Dorothy’s low heels click-clacking on the tiles behind me as she rushed to catch up. When I turned to look at her, she held out a satiny black clutch.

“Here it is, sir.”

“Thank you, Dorothy.” I managed to offer her a tight smile before I strode out to my car and gunned it down the long driveway, feeling like I’d been kicked in the gut.

This was all such bullshit, but it got to me. Wormed its way into my chest no matter how hard I worked to keep it out.

While I’d been planning on bringing Marissa her clutch later on, I drove straight to her place. I didn’t know if she needed it, but I wanted to get it over with. Besides, it’s not like there’s anyone waiting for me at home.

Mercedes had left when I had, so my place was empty. Impersonal. Cold.

Marissa opened her door just a few seconds after I’d banged on it, her smile immediately fading when she saw whatever look I had on my face. “Thanks for this. Do you want to come in for a bit? You look like you need to talk.”

I blew out a heavy breath but shook my head. “No. I’m all good. Thanks.”

Her intelligent eyes softened on mine. “Mercedes wouldn’t like it, huh?”

I shrugged, but it was true. I doubted she’d enjoy finding out that I’d spent hours having a deep, meaningful conversation with the woman I’d taken to the party to make her jealous. “It’s not that. I just have to be somewhere.”

She arched a disbelieving eyebrow at me but nodded her understanding. “Okay, Kody. Good luck with her. I can see you really care about her, so just, uh, make it work.”

Since I didn’t know how to respond to that, I shrugged again and then offered her a curt wave. Then I headed back to my car. I wished I could make it work with Mercedes somehow, but I just didn’t think it was possible.

Things were too complicated. It didn’t mean I was going to let her go right away. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to, but making it work in the long run was a different beast altogether. A beast I didn’t know how to tame, but for the first time in a long time, I knew I wanted to try.