Page 115 of Play For Me

My heart rate kicks up. I don’t want my dad in my apartment. I don’t want him anywhere near my life. But I also don’t want to deal with the humiliation of having him lay into me out here in the hallway where anyone could walk by.

“Fine,” I mutter, shouldering past him to open the door. He follows me inside but I don’t move past the kitchen. I’m not going to offer him a drink or invite him to come sit in the living room. He can say what he needs to say to me and then leave.

His gaze darts around my space, taking it in. He hasn’t been here before, and neither has my mother. My parents have never shown any interest in where I’m living or what I’m doing.

Not that I ever would have invited them over in the first place.

“I have school work, Dad,” I say, trying to keep my voice neutral. “What do you want?”

“I want you to arrange a meeting for us and Cecelia Ransome’s parents.”

I have no idea what I was expecting him to say, but it was not that. I stare at him, trying to make the words make sense, until he huffs at me. “Did you hear me? We need to meet with the Ransomes.”

My stomach drops. It’s such a weird feeling. When I’m with one of my parents, I usually manage to go numb. It’s the best way to get through whatever verbal beating they want to give me. But somehow, the sound of Cecelia’s name on my father’s lips manages to break through that protective numbness.

Absolutely not.

“I’m going to need you to back up about ten steps,” I say. “Because that doesn’t make any sense.”

He sighs, like I’m disappointing him already. “Your mother saw you with the Ransome girl in San Jose,” he says. “I did some checking and found out you’ve been working with her on the soccer team this month.”

I snort. “You did some checking, huh?”

He ignores me. “That girl’s mother runs one of the state’s largest charitable foundations.”

I already don’t like where this is going. Cecelia had told me about the Ransome family’s foundation and how her mother has been running it for decades. I know the foundation means a lot to the entire family.

And that means I need to keep my father far away from it.

“What does that have to do with you?”

He glares, obviously not happy that I’m talking back. “That foundation owns a prime piece of real estate in Venice. They’re using it for some youth center.” He rolls his eyes like he can’t think of a sillier use of desirable land. “We want them to sell it to us.”

I just stare at him for a long beat. “So you want me to introduce you to my client’s parents so you can offer to buy their youth center?” He stares right back. “You realize howinsane that sounds, right? What are you planning to do with the center, anyhow? I can’t imagine you’re suddenly jumping to get involved in the non-profit sector.”

He grits his teeth. “That land is surrounded by valuable parcels. The development we’re drafting could be worth hundreds of millions.”

“So you’d be tearing down the center,” I surmise. “And replacing it with…what? Condos?” That sounds right up my dad’s alley.

“It’s a mixed-use development,” he grits out. “Retail, entertainment.” His glare sharpens. “And yes, condos.”

I shake my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“What the fuck is your problem? This is business.”

“Not for the Ransomes.”

He scoffs. “The Ransomes will take the money, just like anyone else would. Don’t live in a fantasy world.”

There’s no point in arguing with them. “I still don’t see what this has to do with me or Cecelia. You want the foundation’s land, get your lawyers to make an offer.”

He looks even more pissed off. “We’ve tried. They won’t take a meeting with us.”

“And you think they’ll change their mind if their daughter’sinternathletic trainer suggests it? Are you hearing yourself?”

“Watch your mouth,” he says, voice low. “This is what you’re going to do—you invite us to one of her games and then you introduce us to them when it’s over. Easy.”

“Dad—”