I was stunned. Not only was my father offering me a job, he was offering me a job that I actually understood. "Dad. Wow."
He actually smiled at me. "Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?"
"It does."
"Maybe I'm not such a crap father after all." He sat back, satisfied. "You start tomorrow, Kyle. Be here at eight. I'll give you a synopsis of the app, and we can talk about branding. Then you can make arrangements to meet with the agency."
"Tomorrow? I can't. I can't come to work for you until I finish this thing with Lowell. I told you, I'm not an escort right now—I'm being a friend. She needs me. At least until she starts shooting again. Her premiere's coming up. Maybe I can still go to that with her…"
Pierce shook his head. "No, son. This stops today. I'm making you this offer based on the assumption that you're leaving your current situation behind. No more Lowell Barton. I told you before: I can't have you dating your stepsister, especially when it started out as you hooking. I have a feature in Forbes coming up. I'm launching this app in a month. You can't do this to me. Especially not with that girl." He scrubbed his hand across his face. "We're lucky the press hasn't found out about you already."
"I can't just walk away from her." I heard the stubbornness in my own voice.
"It sounds like you have feelings for her." I didn't say a word as he leaned across the desk and held my gaze. "You grew up with her. I was married to her mother. You are—were—her escort. If the press gets a hold of this, it'll be the end of her career. Don't you get that what you're doing is wrong?"
"Don't you mean the end of your career?" My eyes held his, but he didn't flinch. "Don't pretend to care about hers."
"I'm not pretending. I don't care about hers, but I'm trying to reason with you. For all the good that's ever done me."
I scrubbed my hands over my face; I suddenly felt as tired and worn-out as my father looked. "What I'm doing with her isn't wrong. And with all the bad things I've done, I should be a pretty good judge of that." I stood.
"Wait." My father stood too. "I just want you to stop seeing her. Yes, I have that profile coming up, but it's not only about that. You're my son. I don't want you… struggling. Come work for me. If you show up every morning and show me that you're responsible now, not only will I give you a competitive salary, I'll reinstate your trust."
Whoa. Of all the outcomes I'd expected from this meeting, my trust being dangled in front of me wasn't one of them. What he was offering me was enormous. A real job. My money back, my security back. I could afford to take Lowell to Hawaii, just like we'd talked about.
But I couldn't just leave her.
"I won't do that to her. I made a commitment. For once, I'd like to know what it feels like to not disappoint someone." I headed to the door. "We're here for a couple of days. If you want to have dinner or something, just text me."
Pierce snorted again. "That'd be real fun. One big happy family."
"Yeah, that'd be a first, huh?" I started to walk out.
"If you don't do what I ask, I'll make sure you regret it."
I turned toward him. "Really, Dad? You're gonna be like that?" I was exhausted again. He was like a child who wasn't getting what he wanted and was about to throw a massive, potentially dangerous temper tantrum. "I'm not saying no. I'm just saying I can't do it right now."
"If you continue on this course, you're not leaving me much choice."
I shook my head and stormed out of the office, anger coursing through me. I'm the one who doesn't have a choice, Dad. I can't leave her like that. But I could never explain why to him.
I could barely admit it to myself.
Lowell
"How did that go?" I asked once we were safely back in the car.
"It… went." He looked out the window. It seemed as though a black mood had descended on him.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He shrugged. "In some ways, it was better than I expected. He actually apologized for cutting me off."
"Wow! That's great, right?"
"Sort of."
I didn't want to pry, but I was overcome with curiosity. "Did he say he was going to the press about us?"