Forgotten Rules (Rules 4)

I was in heaven when my mom called to tell me I could go pick up my car from the shop early. Let’s just say I wasn’t in the mood to crash my father’s dinner by bus. When seven strikes, I get out of my car and smooth down my clothes, collecting the little courage I have left with a spoon.

Breathe, Kass. You can do it.

I march toward the entrance with my head held high. I may look confident, but on the inside, I’m barely holding myself together. My outfit earns me a full-body scan from the ginger woman at the front desk. She raises her eyebrow, clearly thinking “Are you lost?” Can’t lie, she does have a point. I am definitely not dressed for this place.

“Hi, do you have a reservation?” she asks.

“I’m here to meet someone.” I hope to hell Kendrick didn’t change his mind and decide to show up at the last minute. I want my dad alone for this. “Nicholas Mitchell?”

Her eyes light up. “Of course. Follow me.”

I do just that, my pulse thundering in my neck. I only realize what I’m about to do when the waitress tells me, “Just a little further.”

I’m going to see him.

I’m about to see my dad for the first time in months and confront him. In a few minutes, I’ll know what truly happened that day. My fears multiply when I spot him in a wide leather booth at the back of the restaurant. He’s got his eyes locked onto his phone. He hasn’t changed one bit.

I frown when a woman comes up behind him, all smiles, and slides into his booth. My jaw crashes to the ground as a scene worthy of my worst nightmares plays out in front of my eyes.

No, it can’t be.

My hand flies to my mouth when she pulls on his face, plastering her mouth to his for a long kiss.

Finally, they pull away.

And my father sees me.

Panic twists his features. But he’s not nearly as freaked-out as I am. Because the woman previously eating my father’s face is not just any woman.

It’s Jenny.

Yes, Jenny, as in my twenty-two-year-old boss. Jenny as in the girl who cried in my arms about her boyfriend who has a kid. The same Jenny who told me she couldn’t stay away and had sex with him in his wife’s bed when the family house was empty. Jenny… is the reason my parents got a divorce.

I want to puke, scream, grab a plate off a waiter’s tray, and throw it in his face Frisbee-style. I want to unhave a dad. It all goes down in less than five seconds, but it feels much longer—like an excruciating eternity. Jenny takes notice of my father’s ghostly expression and follows his stare.

To me.

If my dad’s face is worth a thousand dollars, Jenny’s is worth a million.

“Kassidy, honey, let me explain.” My dad falters.

He has no idea how bad this is. He doesn’t know Jenny is my coworker. He doesn’t know she gave me explicit details about riding him in my mother’s bed and how much the forbidden aspect of it turned her on.

I think I might be sick right here on their expensive carpet.

“What’s going on here?” Jenny questions, seeming genuinely clueless.

My dad exhales. “Jenny, this is my daughte—”

“Don’t bother,” I cut him off. “She knows my name, don’t you, Jenny?”

“You two know each other?” my dad gathers.

That’s when I snap.

“Yes, we know each other, Dad. Want to know how? She’s my fucking boss.”

My outburst is quick to capture the attention of surrounding customers. Good thing I couldn’t care less.