Page 33 of One Drink
She stepped around me, but not before I caught the worry etched on her face.
“What would you like to discuss?” I asked.
“Jake, I’m not going to beat around the bush.” He pressed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “My wife and I like you and we both agree you’re good for Stephanie.”
“Thank you.” I tried to mask the frustration boiling up inside me. Getting into an argument in the middle of a charity event was not desirable. “I appreciate that.”
He smiled like he’d just stared victory in the face and claimed it as his own. “You and Stephanie have known each for some time, and I know she looks up to you.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” My brows furrowed. “We have mutual respect for one another, but to say she looks up to me sounds more like a role model, not a boyfriend.”
“Semantics.” He waved his hand in the air. “But she’ll listen to you.”
I didn’t know where he was going with this, but I knew it wasn’t good. I chuckled, trying to lighten the conversation. “I’m not sure I’d agree with that, either. Yes, she respects my opinion, but she makes her own decisions.”
He shook his head and his posture stiffened. “My daughter is very strong-willed which is why I’m coming to you. Someone has to be able to get through to her. And now that you two are dating, we hoped you could talk some sense into her.”
My chest tightened and my jaw clenched. “You want me to talk some sense into her?”
“Yes, about this job of hers. Her resignation is long overdue. If she keeps working like this, we’re afraid she’s going to lose out on other opportunities.”
“Other opportunities?”
“I want to see my daughter married, and one day her mother and I would love to have grandchildren. But what man will want to marry her if she puts so much importance on her career?”
I would. I’d marry her in a heartbeat if I thought she’d say yes, but I couldn’t say that out loud. Not to him. “Having a successful career doesn’t mean Stephanie will never marry. The two are unrelated.”
“Nonsense.” He gave me an impatient sneer. “No decent man would want her.”
My temper flared and I had to turn away from him so he wouldn’t see the anger in my eyes. Her father was worse than I thought. I knew he gave her a hard time about her career, and I’d seen a few of those conversations myself, but now he was saying mean things about me. “I thought you said you liked me.”
My tone was harsh. I’d moved beyond annoyed with this man to downright pissed off. He apparently caught onto my tone because he backpedaled. “Yes, we do, and yes, you’re a good man. A fine man indeed. But surely even you don’t want a wife that spends all her time at work. Think about her. She’s lost and has no idea how much she is damaging her marriageability. All I’m asking is for you to talk to her about quitting. Just talk.”
“You want me to talk to Stephanie about quitting her job?” I didn’t know how, but I managed to keep my voice calm even though the urge to punch him in the face was strong. Not only would that probably make Stephanie mad—even though her father deserved it—a formal event was hardly the place for that kind of violence. His level of ignorance and inability to see who his daughter was and what was important to her was shameful. Was he really so oblivious to my level of support for her?
He leaned close, his hand on my shoulder again. “Yes, that would be perfect.”
I had two choices here; continue to argue with him or simply agree and end this conversation before I did something stupid. He wouldn’t find out I never talked her about it anyway. “Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to her. But you should know—”
“You’ll talk to me?” Stephanie’s voice called from behind me and the anger in her voice caused me to wince. I turned to face her, and her lips were pressed together in a tight frown. Her nostrils flared and her warm brown eyes turned cold and hard. “How dare you.”
She turned on her heel and barged out of the ballroom before I had a chance to process what happened. Thinking back through the conversation with her father and depending on when she returned, the final words exchanged could’ve ... “Shit.”
I ran after her, but when I reached the doorway, she was already halfway through the large foyer and to the building’s exit. “Stephanie, wait!”
The sound of my voice caused her to walk faster. Even in her high heels, she sped out of the building faster than I could catch up. I took off in a sprint to catch her before she hailed a cab.
“Hey!” I reached for her arm but she jerked away. Her entire body shook, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Don’t touch me.” Her face reddened and her nostrils flared.
I took a step back. In all the time I’d known Stephanie, I’d never seen her look this angry. “Why are you so mad?”
“Are you kidding me?” She stepped closer and jabbed her finger in my chest. “You just told my dad you’d talk to me about quitting my job. Why the fuck would you do that?”
I held my hands up to my side desperate to grab hold of her but didn’t. “Please calm down. Let me ex—”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do.” With every breath, her anger escalated. She pressed the palm of her hands to her eyes, and when she removed them, tears ran down her cheeks. “Don’t I feel stupid. You’re just like every other man. All you want me to do is quit my job and sit at home and look pretty. Well, fuck that.”