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23
Elise
The backseatof my father’s private car feels like a prison. Sitting next to him as we make our way to the headquarters, I can't shake off the nervous feeling, knowing that the interview with Andries and Roxanne will be aired on TV in a few hours. Dan had messaged me before I even woke up, telling me that the interview has been recorded and what time it will air. I appreciate that he’s keeping me in the loop, but I really wish that I had just been able to stay in the dark and be just as surprised by it as everyone else. No such luck, though, so now I’m trapped in this small space with the man who has raised me, my father, who I’m about to betray, just to help my brother.
What a mess.
My heart races as I think about the consequences this interview will have on my family and the reputation of my father. Andries and Roxanne have already done a number on Dad’s ego, and even though they hadn’t been in the news cycle for a while before the Bar Rouge scandal, Dad has never been able to forget that his son was getting ready to marry a former escort. I’m utterly unbothered by the way their engagement reflects back on me, being Andries’s sister and all, but it’s not so easy for Mom and Dad. For them, seeing as they are both old-fashioned children from old money, reputation is everything. Andries has irreparably tarnished theirs. Mom might be coming around, but Dad… not so much. He will torch his relationship with his oldest child to the ground to avoid being embarrassed, apparently.
I try to stay calm, but I can feel my palms sweating and my stomach in knots.
My dad has no idea that in just 90 mins the bombshell of the year will be aired on TV and that his secret plan to split Andries and Roxanne will be exposed to the general public. Any empathy he might have gained from being the patient father of a son gone rogue in the eye of the public will be destroyed with this interview. He doesn’t want to admit it, but the idea of sex work is not nearly as scandalous as it once was, and if he and Karl had just left well enough alone, the drama behind Andries marrying Roxanne would have fizzled out. Now, though, his dark side is about to be laid bare to anyone and everyone. No one will side with a man who would try to destroy not just the business of an innocent woman, Roxanne, but his own son’s marriage. Other old money families might understand, but the general public will not be nearly as kind.
My dad sits next to me quietly, staring out the window, completely unaware of the storm that's about to hit. I feel a mix of emotions… I’m angry with him for his actions but I also have this unmatched sense of loyalty towards him as his daughter. The dichotomy is dizzying. I’ve spent so much of my life planning to be the one to take over Van den Bosch industries that it feels surreal to be part of something that will hurt Dad and the company so much. But I have to do what's right, even if it’s awful.
“Are you okay, Elise?" my dad asks, noticing my anxiety. “Nervous about going back to work?”
“Uh… yeah, I am, sort of,” I tell him lamely, stumbling over my words before I get my bearings again. “I guess I just need to shake myself out of the vacation mindset.” I pull my water bottle out of my bag and take a shaky sip of water, trying to tame my nerves, but it does little to help.
My dad notices how anxious I am and asks me again, “Are you sure you’re alright? I don’t think you were even this nervous on your first day.”
“I didn’t eat breakfast,” I lie, hoping that it will explain my shaking hands.
“I'm sure it'll be fine. Just shake it off," my father says, patting my shoulder. I smile stiffly, and turn my attention back out the window, ending the conversation before I can dig myself into an even deeper hole.
As we arrive at the office, my dad hugs me and wishes me a good day, and my immediate reaction is to hug him back and take comfort in his embrace. How many times have hugs like this calmed me after getting skinned knees falling from my pony as a girl, or when I had trouble making friends at camp? I feel like a fraud and guilty as he releases me for hiding so much from him, especially when he behaves like the affectionate father I grew up with, not the petty man that he has proven he can be.
Once we split off and go our separate ways, him to his top floor office and me to the open concept intern floor, I can't help but wonder how he’ll react when he hears the interview. Will he be angry or will he try to deny it? I hope that he can learn from it and change his ways, but I know that it's not going to be easy. Still, this is the first step in making him see the error of his ways, and while I know he’s going to be undeniably pissed off at first, maybe he’ll come to realize how much he’s hurt all of us with his actions.
Throwing myself into work is easier said than done, but I manage to sink into it all, considering how many days I’ve been out of the office, and push the upcoming interview from my mind. I am sitting at my desk, fingernails clicking on the keyboard, when my phone dings with a text message from Dan.
My heart sinks as I read his message.Have you seen the interview? Lol, your dad is gonna have a meltdown.He includes a link to it. I feel a knot form in my stomach as I click it, unsure of what I'm about to see.
I look around the open layout of my office and notice that my colleagues are all whispering and standing up to watch a computer screen of a colleague who's playing the interview. Suddenly, they all turn and stare at me, given that I’m Sebastian's daughter. Blood drains from my face, and I shakily lower myself back into my chair, realizing that the chaos is about to start, whether I am ready for it or not.
It’s only been minutes, but that means I’m running out of time before Dad sees the interview and calls me into his office. Having the sudden urge to be the one to break the news to him, I pick up the office phone and dial his office. No one answers, which tells me that I’m too late. I feel guilty for not warning him about it, but at the same time, I know that there's nothing I could have done to stop it.
As the minutes tick by, the tension in the office becomes palpable. It’s barely any time before Dad’s assistant shows up and tells me that he wants to see me in his office. As I leave, every person in the room follows me with their eyes. It’s almost obscene how heavy their gazes are.
The walk isn’t long, but it feels like it takes forever, almost like I’m walking to my execution. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I consider bolting and leaving the office altogether, dealing with Dad’s disappointment later over the phone. But we are only steps from his office, and it’s too late now.
Inside, Karl, the PR director, and my father are all waiting for me. Dad is seated while the other two stand, but all eyes are on me. My heart is pounding in my chest as my dad glares at me, his eyes filled with an angry, unreadable look.
“Did you know?” he grits out, tapping his pen on his desk.
“I-well…” I stutter, wishing I had prepared better for this inevitable moment.
“You don’t have to bluff, I already know the answer,” he scoffs, throwing the pen down and crossing his arms. “I take it that this means you’re no longer on our side and are working with your brother and his little whore now?”
My mouth goes dry at his words, a fizzle of indignation in my stomach. “I’m not siding with anyone. I’m just doing what’s right.”
“Stop lying to me, El. Did you know about this interview, yes or no?” he demands, his voice low and menacing.
I glance nervously at Karl and the PR director, both of whom are standing nearby, and my dad notices. “Don’t look at them. No one is going to save you from what you’ve done to yourself,” Dad says before he dismisses them from the room, and once we are alone, I try to explain.
“I tried to talk to you about it, but you wouldn’t listen,” I begin, my voice trembling.
“You never told me they were about to expose me on TV!" he explodes, his face turning red, features twisting. “That trip to Capri messed with your head. And here I thought you were my smarter child. Turns out you’re just as naive and impulsive as your brother.”
