Page 56

Devastated and angry, mostly at myself, but also furious at my father.

I have to look up his address before I go confront him because I have no idea where he lives now.

Why am I not surprised that he lives in a mansion on a golf course even after his career ended in a scandal? Now he gets to spend all his time doing what he loves.

I ring the doorbell, unsure who will answer it. Has he remarried? Does he have a butler? Who the hell knows with Davis Crawford.

But it’s him who actually opens the door, wearing his usual golfing outfit: a white polo and plaid pants. His hair is thinner than it was the last time I saw him.

“Montgomery?” he says, using my full name. “What are you doing here?”

“It can’t be something as simple as, I don’t know, that I’m your son? Am I not important enough for you to take a few minutes out of your day when I show up unannounced?”

“Well, I haven’t seen you in years. Why today? That’s what I’m asking. You don’t have to twist this around to make me look like a dick.”

A puff of laughter escapes me. “Trust me, it doesn’t take any effort to make you look like a dick. You do that just fine all on your own.”

“Why don’t you calm down and come in so we can talk this through?”

He walks into the house, and I follow him into the sitting room.

“Talk this through? You mean pretend like we’ve wiped the slate clean after you abandoned Ethan, Hayden, Genevieve, Mom, and me to screw your assistants or go play golf?”

My father sinks down on one of the brown leather chairs as he considers my insult and I take the seat across from him. Finally, he nods.

“I worked a lot when you all were young. I should’ve learned to delegate more, but I liked to handle things, every part of the company, myself. It was mine, it was thriving, and I was responsible for it and all the employees who depended on me and my success for a paycheck to take care of their families.”

“I get that because I’m doing your job now, and it cost me a fiancée.”

“You were engaged?” my father asks in surprise.

“I was, until she cheated on me. Just like you did,” I tell him. “You destroyed Mom. And for what? Some fling with your assistants that cost you your career?”

“I was young and stupid back then. I made mistakes, ones that cost me everything, yes, my business, my wife, my sons and daughter.”

“I noticed that you ranked your children third on your list behind the company.”

“So, I was proud of what I had accomplished. I didn’t grow up with an easy life getting whatever I wanted, going to the best law school in the country like you did. I had to take classes at night, work all day, while your mom was home raising you. I wanted to give you a better life than I had, not struggle and bust your ass constantly just to make ends meet.”

“When you had that last affair that got you thrown out, we were doing just fine.”

“Maybe so, but that fear of losing it all, of letting you kids and your mother down, never faded no matter how much money I made. And then when everything happened, and the company had to pay out a huge settlement to keep that woman from ruining me, well, I thought maybe you all and the company were better off without me.”

“We would’ve been better off if you hadn’t been a cheating asshole.”

“What do you want me to say, son? Do you want me to apologize? Is that why you’re here? Well, I’m sorry. But words don’t magically fix anything. You’re smart enough to know that’s true. It’s too late for me to fix it, so why are you really here?”

I sit back in the chair and run my fingers through my hair. “I-I don’t know,” I admit. I’m angry at myself because I screwed up. It’s easier to blame him for everything than blame myself and admit that I don’t know what to do to fix it.

“Do we need to get you an attorney?”

“No, I don’t need an attorney. I haven’t broken any laws. I just…well, I guess I may need an attorney if Kendall sues me for sexual harassment, which I would deserve.”

“You slept with an employee?”

With a bark of laughter, I tell him, “I did more than sleep with her. I asked her to pretend to be my fiancée when I met Mom and Richard at a resort where we planned our wedding.”

“Oh,” he says solemnly. “Your mom’s still with that guy, huh?”