Page 44 of Daddy's Reckoning
“Okay, that’s one decision out of the way. See how easy that was?” His overly cheerful tone and silly smile told me he knew it hadn’t been easy at all. “Next question. The baby is due in the winter. Are you going to school in the fall?”
I shook my head. What was the point?
“Okay.” Theo nodded. “We’ve eliminated your need for rent money, and all the household bills are my problem, not yours. So what personal expenses do you have?”
“I guess… my cell phone. And insurance.” I drove the same beat-up car I’d had since I was eighteen. That would have to change eventually, because Theo already thought my car was a death trap, and there was no way he’d let me drive our child around in it.
“I’ll put you on my cell plan and that will bring your cost down to like twenty dollars a month. How much is your insurance?”
“A little over a hundred.” I hated telling him these things, hated letting him swoop in and save the day, but what choice did I have? I doubted he’d let me go out and get a job.
“You’ll get a part-time job,” he announced with a firm nod.
“I…What?” I wasn’t opposed to the idea, I just figured I’d have to work harder to convince him.
“At the club,” he finished before I could say anything else. “We need a part-time receptionist to cover things when Eve is busy. We’ve always taken turns doing it ourselves, but our lives have gotten busier recently, and we don’t have time for that. Plus, it's an easy job that doesn’t require you to spend a lot of time on your feet.”
I glared at him. I should have expected this. “I’m not taking your pity job,” I snarled. “I’m not letting you create a job just for me.”
Instead of arguing, he pulled his phone from his pocket, pushed a few buttons, and set it on the bed between us. I looked down at the screen and noticed the icon was Nyla’s smiling face.
“Hello?” Her bright chipped voice came through the line.
“Nyla,” Theo said, staring at me, his eyes fixed on mine. “What club problem were we just discussing needing a solution for?”
There was a beat of pause, then she responded with zero hesitation. “Needing to hire a second receptionist.”
“What do you think about Erin for the job? She’s decided to take a break from med school for the time being.”
“I think that’s perfect.”
“Great. We’ll come to the meeting Friday night and make it official then. Thank you.”
Before either of us could say another word, he ended the call. The smug look on his face filled me with rage.
“I’m not taking some dumb-ass pity job that was created just to ease your conscience,” I barked, glaring at him.
“You just heard Nyla?—”
“Heard Nyla what? Go along with some cockamamie scheme the two of you probably concocted five minutes before you came in here going “we need to talk” and acting like you gave two fucks about what I wanted.”
Theo looked genuinely shocked. His eyebrows raised to his hairline and his mouth set in a straight line. “You’re out of line, babygirl.”
“You’re out of line.” Glaring at him, I returned my attention to the food, which was quite delicious. “I’ll apply for jobs on my own, thank you very much. I’m sure I can find work in a diner or something.”
“Over my dead body.” He clenched, then unclenched his fists, drew a deep breath, then tried again. “You really want a job where you’re spending long hours on your feet?”
I shrugged. I didn’t, but I also didn’t want to be more beholden to Theo than I already was. “I can manage. Lots of pregnant women do it.”
“Because they don’t have a choice. You do.”
I just shrugged and took another bite of pasta.
Theo’s eyes were dark as he stood. He walked to the door and paused before exiting. “This isn’t over, babygirl.”
A shiver ran down my spine as he closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER 12