Page 27 of The Sounds of Her
My mind is whirring, and my heart racing as we drive across the city. Dad is on the verge of losing everything? What does that mean? His law firm is one of the most prestigious in New York.
There is a reason Roman agreed to this marriage. If my father is in as much trouble as he is making out, the help the Campbell’s are providing by marrying me, is not out of the kindness of their hearts.
But I have no clue what they will get from owning me. My lawyer’s brain kicks in because if I allow the daughter in me to question this, I’m not sure I will like how it makes me feel.
What I don’t understand is how mom ever thought I would allow this.
She doesn’t spend a lot of time with me, knows barely anything about me, but even she isn’t stupid enough to believe I would agree to this. Even if it is because dad has got himself mixed up in something.
She can’t control me. Mom is well aware broaching the subject with me will get her nowhere.
And what does Roman mean, dad made mistakes? He said poor investments and mistakes.
When we pull up, Roman gets out of the car before I do. I ask the driver to wait because I do not intend to be here long. Inside, Roman is treated like royalty and we’re taken to a table near the back. I order a bottle of their most expensive champagne as the server sets menus down.
Roman knows this is a power play, me getting him to do what I want by bringing me to an expensive restaurant.
“The champagne is fine for now,” Roman tells him and the server heads away with a nod.
“Define mistakes.”
My phone buzzes in my purse again. It’s been going off most of the drive over.
“Do you really want to talk about this?”
“Do I look like a damsel in distress to you, Roman? Someone who can’t deal with shit when it gets tough? In case you’ve forgotten, my parents are attempting to sell me.”
“Wait, wait, that isn’t what this is. No one is buying you,” he hisses.
“Then explain, because from where I’m standing, it sounds a lot like that.” I sit back as the server appears with the champagne.
He pops the cork and pours out two glasses, but I wave him off when he waits to see if we’re happy with it. I’m sure it tastes fine, considering it’s about five hundred dollars a bottle.
“Are you on board with this plan? And don’t lie, I can see a liar a mile off.”
“I thought Eloise told you about the arrangement. I’m a businessman and this is business.”
“Urgh, so you’re a douche and a coward. And a contradictory one at that.”
That irritates him, but I wait for a response.
“My dad came to me about two weeks ago and said Gerard needs help.”
“I’m sure that is exactly how he worded it.”
I’m pissing him off. Good. Hopefully, he’ll get mad and get to the fucking point. I cross my legs and sip my champagne, giving him my best salty glare.
“He put all of his money into a start-up business. I don’t have all the details and didn’t ask. All I know is they ran into some trouble, needed more money to straighten things out, but the company was never in any shape to work, and it ate up his money. That in itself wasn’t that bad.”
“Not that bad?” I swig more champagne.
Dad is an idiot. He usually runs things like this by mom. Dad might be a brilliant lawyer, but he hasn’t got a clue when it comes to money, something mom knows everything about. Mom holds the purse strings in their relationship. She runs his life, much like she is trying to run mine. To protect him.
Fucking hilarious really.
“Who owns the start-up?” I ask.
Roman takes a sip of his drink. “Her name is Penny Finley.”