Page 13 of The Client
All I can do is pray for strength, pray to survive this night, and then figure out how to survive the rest of my contract once this is over.
Turning on my side, I reach for the lamp on the bedside table and turn it off, plunging the room into darkness.
I was right in the car. My only choice right now really is to spend the rest of my life trying to forget this night.
And possibly everything that comes after it.
5
RHYS
“Getthe fuck out of my house.”
I wasn’t surprised to find my father’s limo waiting outside my front door. I was enraged. And doubly so to walk into my own house and find him milling around in my living room, two fingers of scotch in one hand. He’d clearly made himself at home while waiting for me.
The back of my neck prickles when I see him. He’s looking out the side window, his back to me, but he turns as I fully enter the room. He smiles like we have a dinner date to get to. But this isn’t a social call. It never is with him.
“You were not invited into my home,” I say, my voice steely. “And you are most assuredly not welcome. So put that drink down and get.The fuck. Out of my house.”
“Oh, Rhys. That’s not how you speak to your father,” he scolds casually, then sips his drink while eyeing me over the rim of the tumbler.
“What are you doing here?”
He spreads his arms wide as if it should be obvious. “I came to see my favorite son.”
“You can leave, now.”
All I wanted was a hard drink or five in front of my fireplace. My father’s intrusion into my home has me all riled up inside now and I won’t be able to relax anytime soon. Damn him.
Tossing back the rest of his scotch, he moves to the sideboard for a refill but I skirt in front of him and block his path to the alcohol. “No. Leave. Now.”
He arches one thick brow, and the ensuing silence only pisses me off more. I don’t want to be having a standoff with my father right now. He’s wasting my time and will likely draw out whatever this is until I have no choice but to physically toss him off my front steps. It wouldn’t be the first time.
And it won’t be the last.
I reach into my jacket for my phone, but he stands and spreads his arms wide, the picture of childlike innocence.
“Let’s all just calm down, son. I really think you’ll change your tune when you see the present I left you upstairs.”
He gives me a shit-eating grin that says he’s incredibly pleased with himself, and my stomach drops.
“Whatever it is, I don’t want it. I don’t want anything from you except your exit from my home.”
Sidestepping me, he slams his glass down on the sideboard. “You know, kid, it’s been years now, and you’re still walking around with a chip on your shoulder. Playing into that victim mentality, when the truth is, I didn’t ‘steal’ Celine from you. Shechoseme!”
“Get. Out. Now.”
“You know what I say? Be a man, grow a pair, and get over it. So you got dumped. Big deal. There’s plenty of other pussy out there. Besides, I’m trying to make things right with you. Can’t you see that?”
“Just so we’re clear, you could bring me a goddamn pyramid from Luxor, and I’d still not forgive you. So whatever idiotic thing you’ve brought me, you’re going to need to take it back.”
He throws his hands up in mock surrender and backs away until he’s aligned with the exit. “Nope, can’t do that. I’m not one to let good money go to waste, so go on. Have fun with it.” He strides off and leaves me standing there, grinding my jaw to get my emotions under control. God only knows what’s waiting for me upstairs.
Phone still clutched in my fist, I walk out and head up to the second floor, taking the stairs two at a time. My adrenaline is pumping, my anger sticking to the inside of my chest like dull knives. I have no idea what my father has blown his money on, but I know it sure as hell won’t fix the bridge he burned between us.
When I shove my bedroom door open, a gasp sounds from inside the room. The lamps are off, but I hit the light switch to illuminate the overheads.
And find a woman in the center of my bed, holding the covers to her chest, arms bare. Her wide eyes clash with mine before she drops her gaze and grips the sheets in handfuls. The combination of disgust and fury makes my skin itch. Ripping off my tie, I throw it across the room. She jerks but doesn’t look at me.
