Page 38 of Worth the Trouble

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to scoop her into his arms and kiss her one last time to reassure them both that everything would be okay. But that wasn’t going to happen with her father standing mere feet away.

“Goodnight, Jason,” she whispered.

He nodded again then turned on his heel and headed for the elevator.

Meeting her father hadn’t been in the plans for tonight, but it could have gone worse. At least the man didn’t make security march him off the premises.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Cecelia kept her eyes on Jason until he turned the corner and was out of sight. Then she waited an eternity for her father to speak. They were both standing in the hallway, silent.

Normally, her father didn’t get involved in her dating life.

Granted, she hadn’t had one since she’d graduated from college and started working for him. She put in too many hours and the easiest place to meet people was at work. That was a major problem when the boss was her father.

Cecelia didn’t have time to date, and her father wasn’t interested in pushing her to find a relationship. They were both married to their jobs and that was just fine.

Until it wasn’t.

She turned toward her father, not surprised in the slightest to find his eyes on her with a look she couldn’t describe. He might have been trying to put pieces of an expert-level puzzle together and failing. He didn’t want to show weakness. He never did. And that was probably her saving grace at the moment.

Because what was weaker than a father who hadn’t even known she was interested in seeing anyone, let alone someone who lived here.

“Dad—”

“You like this boy?”

She blinked, surprised by the question. He’d never asked her anything like that when she’d been on dates in the past. And it wasn’t like she had been spending an enormous amount of time with Jason. Thankfully, she didn’t have to think hard at all when she answered, “I really do. He’s a good man.”

Her father grunted.

Cecelia expected him to interrogate her further. To ask probing questions, like what she really knew about him and what she’d told him about herself. But he didn’t. He shoved his hands into his slacks pockets and rocked on his heels. Then he blew out a long breath.

“The town council will be putting the rezoning to another vote.”

She nodded. “I know. Kyle said he’d put it on the schedule. It’s coming up.”

“I don’t want the town to hear about it.”

Of course, she knew this was his plan. He’d said as much already. With a sigh of her own, she rubbed her temples. “Dad, we can’t⁠—”

“All you have to do is make sure that they don’t send out mailers or post flyers around town. Make sure that Kyle fellow keeps the information to the usual places in City Hall itself. If the folks around here are so worried, then they’ll be subscribed to newsletters and they’ll actually pay attention to when the council meets.”

She could argue with him about this all night, about the legal ramifications, about the PR nightmare this would become, about so much, but she knew better. Politics on every level had some degree of corruption. Money greased far too many palms these days, and she knew better than anyone that what her father was asking wasn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things. It wasn’t like he was trying to throw the vote.

That would have been a hard limit if she ever found out he’d gone that far.

“Just stop by City Hall tomorrow and make sure it happens. The fewer people who know, the better.”

All she could do was nod. Then she turned toward her door, but he stopped her.

“Cecelia?”

She paused, her keycard raised, but she didn’t turn around to face him. What had started out as a wonderful night had been soured somewhat. Sure, she’d had the best time with Jason. That kiss? It had been out of this world good. And how Jason had stood up for her? She was still weak in the knees from that whole interaction.

But then reality came crashing down.

Her father was cold and cutting. “I’ve never intervened when it came to the men you chose to spend your time with. But I don’t want you to get distracted by some guy who’s probably only getting close to you to gain information.”