Page 32 of Empire of Lust
He lost his wife and couldn’t handle the idea of losing someone else again. My face goes hot, and my stomach drops like on the way down the first hill on a roller coaster.
He can’t know about Callum and me. There is literally no way he knows about it. And somehow, my hackles have risen. I need to get a grip before answering, or else I’ll end up making him suspicious. I’ve never been a good liar, and he’s a detective for a reason.
At least I have an excuse to get off the phone quickly.
“Hey, Dad,” I say after accepting the call and turning on the speakerphone. “You caught me on my way in to sign the last of the paperwork at the firm.”
“Don’t let me keep you.” Pride resonates in his voice and echoes through the car. “I only wanted to check in and see how you’re doing and if you’re excited about the new job?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” And why not? I’ve spent the past four years preparing for this next step in my career.
“Your mom would be so proud of you,” he murmurs.
The man has a talent for knowing just what to say to make me feel like a complete piece of shit. Even if he doesn’t mean to or realize it.
“I hope she would be,” I whisper, closing my eyes before touching the back of my head to the seat. Of all times, the memory of being tied to Callum’s bed pops up.
She wouldn’t be so proud if she knew about that.
“Is everything okay with you?” Because I need to change the subject. It’s already tough enough to be the single shining star in my father’s life, feeling like there’s a spotlight on me at all times. I know I’m lucky—some people don’t have any sort of relationship with their parents, much less a loving one. It’s just that there have been more times than I can count when his love has felt more like smothering.
“Just fine.” I can almost see him at his desk, which I’d bet anything is covered in used coffee cups from the truck down the street from the station. He lives on caffeine, especially when he’s deep in the middle of a case. That would explain how tight his voice sounds.
He’s not much better at lying than I am.
“It doesn’t sound so fine. You sound tired and stressed.”
An irritable sigh tells me I’m right. “Eh, you know how it is. Sometimes you spend weeks or months on a case and get nowhere, then something breaks, and you’re fighting to keep your head above water when all the new information comes pouring in.”
“That sounds like a good problem. It means you’re on the right track.”
“Yes. Yes, it does, and I think I am.”
“Don’t let me keep you from it,” I joke, eyeing the door leading from the garage into the building. “I’d better get moving. Can’t be late before I’ve even started the job.”
“Get in there and show them what you’re made of.”
“I’m signing papers, Dad. Not actually starting.”
“Then use good penmanship.”
I’m laughing as I end the call, and even though my stomach sank at first, I’m glad his timing worked out like it did. Before I pulled into the garage, I was feeling lower than I realized. And I don’t know why. I have everything to feel happy and hopeful about.
Even the breakup, which I now realize I didn’t confess to Dad.Great.He’s going to take it the wrong way when he finds out it took days to tell him my longtime relationship ended.
Note to self: find a new apartment ASAP. When I tell him, it’ll go easier if I already have a place to live. Less chance of him trying to move me into my old bedroom.
He would never understand this temporary arrangement, so it’s best if I don’t try to explain it to him. It won’t matter to him that I live in an entirely different wing of the house. I’m staying under the roof of a man closer to his age than mine, and Tatum’s in Europe, so we don’t have a chaperone or whatever. His brain might explode if he finds out.
So he can’t. Ever.
The clock is ticking, so I hurry out of the car and into the building, pep-talking myself the entire time. Out of the elevator pours a group of people around my age, probably on their way to lunch at one of the cafes peppering the business district.
I’ll be one of them soon.
I feel nothing but boredom at the idea. No exhilaration, no eagerness to get started.Shake it off, damn it.
Once I reach the tenth floor, I step up to the desk across from the elevator doors. “I’m here to see Eric Adams. We have a twelve-thirty appointment.”