Page 31 of Arranged Devotion
“How’d you know that?”
“He called asking where you were.”
That gets my attention. A sliver of fear spikes into my stomach. Since when did my father bother calling anyone aboutme?
“He’s got some mysterious conversation planned.” I click my pen rapidly. “Got any clue what it’s about?”
“None whatsoever. He sounded unhappy when I told him I didn’t keep tabs on your whereabouts.” His eyes narrow and he wags a finger. “Don’t tell me you were getting into trouble.”
I laugh awkwardly. “You know me. I don’t even know how to spelltrouble.”
“Yeah, well maybe you should learn. After Kieren?—“
“I don’t want to talk about him right now.”
“I get it, but Regan, fuck that guy. I never liked him.”
“That’s not true.”
He flicks a finger against his top button. “Okay, it’s not, but still. Fuck him sideways with a rusty knife. I can have him killed, you know. Just say the word.”
There’s a real edge to Luke and I don’t like it. “Cheating isn’t punishable by death the last time I checked.”
“Not yet.”
“I appreciate the gesture but it’s fine. I wish I knew what Dad wanted to talk to me about.” I check the clock. Time’s moving agonizingly slow.
“Good luck with that.” Luke peeks at his phone. “Ah, shit, speaking of which, I’m late for a call.”
“I swear, you’re perpetually missing something.”
“It’s part of my charm. Later, kid.” He raps a knuckle on my wall and walks off.
I watch my brother go. The way he talked about killing Kieren nags at me. Sometimes it feels like he’s spiraling in a direction I don’t like and can’t ever follow. I chew my thumbnail, trying not to take what he said too literally, but I also know the company he’s been keeping lately.
Men associated with the dark side of my father’s business.
I swivel away. Luke’s twenty-four, old enough to handle himself. I want to protect him from the trouble I’m sure he’s courting, but I can only do so much. I had hoped that Kieren might be able to talk some sense into him, but now…
I’ll worry about my wayward younger brother another time.
Right now, I have my own problems. When it’s time, I psych myself up in the bathroom before marching down to Dad’s office like I’m about to attend my own hanging. His secretary waves me past, a genial older woman named Kim, and I find him seated at his desk with an annoyed glare as he taps away at his keyboard, a pair of cheaters perched on his nose.
He looks old. Not ancient and still in great shape, but old. His hair’s white and there’s a wrinkled, sagging cast to his skin. I pause before sitting, surprised at how hard it’s hitting me all ofa sudden. Since when was my father anything but the picture of vitality? He’s always been so big in my head and it really bothers me that he seems shrunken somehow, but then he turns his perpetual scowl on me and I’m cowed into submission.
“What did you want to talk about, Dad?”
He takes off the glasses and rubs his nose. “I don’t have long. This won’t be easy so I need you to listen, understand what I’m telling you, and do as I’m asking. Can you do that for me, Regan?”
I feel sick. My feet are numb. That is almost exactly what he said to me years earlier when I was applying for colleges and didn’t know what I wanted to major in.It’ll be accounting, Regan. The family firm needs someone it can trust, and that’s going to be you. Lord, I hope you have the mind for it, girl. No complaints. Fill out the paperwork tonight.
And that’s how I became a CPA.
“What’s going on?”
“Close the door.” He waits for me to shut it and sit back down. “There have been discussions recently. I had a plan for you, a plan that I felt would be beneficial for everyone involved.” His hand curls into a tight fist. “But then you went and fucked it all up, and now Kieren’s gone.”
I gape at him, distraught. I want to scream in his face.It’s not my fault Kieren fucked someone else! He banged her in our own damn bed! Don’t you get it?!But that won’t make a difference. I bite my tongue hard to keep the lump in my throat from morphing into actual tears. Crying gets me smacked. Tears are only more pain.
