Page 147 of Tell Me I'm Enough

Lucky for us, my dad never knows how to read a room or keep his mouth shut for long.

“You don’t need girls distracting you from school and football, Mason,” he says flatly. “Especially ones who have you coming in my house smelling like marijuana.”

Simone stiffens beside me.

My jaw clenches, and I have to dig my nails into the palm of my hand to keep my temper controlled. I don’t respond, and he takes that as an open invitation to keep going.

“How stupid are you, Mason? You do know you can get kicked off the football team for having that in your system, right?”

“I wasn’t—”

He doesn’t let me finish; he just cuts me off, turning to Simone beside me and looking her up and down in her seat. “Howexactlydo you know my son?”

“Um, we met through a couple of Greek events,” she answers nervously. “I’m in the Delta Gamma sorority at the college.”

He huffs, and it makes me want to snatch the breath right out of his fucking lungs.

“Of course you are. Just another sorority girl looking for a come-up.”

“Don’t—” I snap.

Simone’s hand lands on my knee, silently telling me it’s okay, to stand down.

I really don’t want to. But I let her hold her own.

She straightens in her chair, and I place my hand over hers on my leg. “It’s not like that, Mr. Sinclair,” she tells him politely. “We’re not dating or hooking up, and there’s no amount of money or lack thereof that influences our friendship.”

My dad shoves a bite of food into his mouth, indifference written all over his smug face.

Then he points his fork at her. “But you enjoyed that private jet, didn’t you?”

“She didn’t even want to use it,” I defend.

I feel her squeeze my leg, and I look up to see her face soften on me.

I hate her being subjected to his shit. If I had known he had no home training around outside guests, I would never have asked her to come. As much as I love her being around, she doesn’t deserve to be talked down to.

“It’s okay,” she tells me, then turns back to my dad. “Sir, with all due respect, I’m not some money-chasing college girl looking to use your son in any capacity. I grew up lower-middle-class, and I’m currently pursuing a law degree. I plan on working very hard for everything I earn in my life.”

He just hums under his breath, focusing back on his food. “I haven’t seen you bring a girl around here since…what was her name? Jackie? Yeah…and we see how that turned out.”

Thanks for reminding me, Dad.

He just keeps going. “Do pot heads typically get hired at many reputable firms?”

“Scott,” Rose hisses from beside him.

“What? It’s a legitimate question. I don’t know any druggy lawyers, do you?”

“That’s enough,” I spit, standing up from the table. “We’re done here.”

I reach my hand out for Simone to take.

She looks up at me, hesitating, then takes it and stands with me.

“We have things to go over,” my dad says flatly, not even caring that he’s offended either of us.

“We can go over them tomorrow before I leave…or better yet, have them fucking emailed to me. This trip was pointless.”