Page 95 of Craig

“I wanted to make it up to them. I did go and visit every now and then.”

He pleaded for understanding with his eyes. “I want her forgiveness and am hoping you would persuade her to give me another chance.”

“Sit.” Craig pointed to a chair.

Douglas eyed him warily but did as he was told. Mimi came and sat next to him, her hands folded in her lap.

Craig went to lean on the desk; his arms folded on his chest.

“You hurt her.”

“I never laid a hand on her.” Sweat started to pool under his armpits.

“And if she said otherwise, then she’s lying.”

“You hurt her.” Craig’s expression had turned to stone.

“After not giving her the attention she deserves as your offspring and treating her like shit, you have the nerve to come here, asking for a handout. What the hell kind of man are you?”

His contemptuous gaze sliced over the man, cutting him to strips.

“She’s my daughter!”

“She’s the woman you created with her mother. You’ve never been a father to her. You hurt her.”

Craig’s voice turned ominous, as cold as winter frost.

“I don’t allow anyone to do so. No one. How much do you owe?”

“I don’t-”

“How much?”

The voice was like a whiplash that had Douglas jolting. “A hundred grand.”

“You told my wife fifty.”

“Yes, well, I-” Douglas swallowed and felt fear icing his spine. “I was going to ask my son for the rest.”

“How considerate of you.” Reaching behind him, Craig picked up the checkbook and the document he had drafted himself.

He wrote the check and filled in the numbers.

“Here’s a hundred and fifty grand. And you’re going to sign this document. It states that I’m offering this one-time payment. On acceptance of said payment, you will go back to whatever hole you crawled from and never return. If you contact my wife or her brother again asking for money, you will be in breach of this contract, which will end with you becoming entangled with my lawyers.

“It so happens that I’m one myself and quite brilliant. On top of that, I have resources, more than enough to make your life a living hell. You will not contact my wife again or come within fifty feet of her. If you do, you will be in breach of this document. Am I making myself clear?”

Douglas had gone as stiff as a board. Fear had the sweat pearling down his back.

“She’s my daughter-”

“We’ve established that’s not the case. You might have been instrumental in the production stage, but that’s all, which is your bloody loss. In spite or because of your lack of involvement, she turned out to be a wonderful woman. Now-” He rose, indicating that the meeting was over.

“You’ll need to sign the document.”

“And if I don’t?” Douglas felt the need to try to take a stand.

Craig’s expression did not change.