Seducing My Ex's Father In Law

6

OF COURSE I called my father.

After I’d bought a nonfat latte and a spinach salad from the counter, I pulled out my phone and called his cell. It was Tuesday, and as Edward had accurately asserted, my father was more likely to be at the golf club than the office.

“What’s up, Ceeley doll?” he answered in his typical manner. The endearment didn’t have much commitment behind it. It was how he always addressed me, more a habit than anything else.

Not that I doubted his love for me. I was one of the things he’d created, and he loved all his creations. Some more enthusiastically than others, but that was to be expected, wasn’t it? His business—his empire—had produced much more notably than I had, and it naturally deserved the accolades and attention he gave it.

“Are you busy, Daddy?” I could hear the distinct call of fore in the background.

“Nope. Just getting in the cart to drive to the next hole. Is everything all right? You don’t usually call out of the blue like this.”

“Everything’s fine. I just had a question for you.” I propped the phone on my shoulder with my chin so I could open up the wrapper on my plastic fork. “What can you tell me about Edward Fasbender?”

“Edward Fasbender?” He was understandably surprised. I’d never shown much interest in Werner Media and it was unlike me to ask about people associated with the business. “Why, he’s the owner of Accelecom. That’s a company in—”

“Yes, I know what Accelecom is. I wanted to know specifically about Fasbender.” With my father mid-game, I knew his attention was limited. I didn’t want to waste the time he was willing to give me to get information I already had.

“Well, he’s a scoundrel, that one. A real devil. Ruthless, unethical, shady. Corrupt.”

Devil. That was a description I could get behind.

That wasn’t what stood out the most in my father’s answer. Perhaps it was because I’d played my own game so long, but I had a habit of zeroing in on the dirty laundry in a person’s background. “What do you mean by corrupt? I get that he’s a rival, but does he actually engage in unscrupulous behavior?”

He chortled. “I’d say. Wouldn’t trust that man as far as I could throw him. Zero credibility.”

My father said the same thing about half the business associates he talked about and every politician. “Like, has he done anything illegal? Has he broken the law?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it if he had.”

Helpful, Dad. Real helpful.

“Does that mean you don’t know of anything specific that he’s done or gotten away with?” I needed details. I needed cold hard facts. I needed a lead.

“Of course I know specifics.” He was starting to bristle, the way he did anytime someone pushed him in a direction he wasn’t interested in going. “He did that…well, for one, he was involved in that… You know what, Ceeley, it’s all complicated business stuff. Hard to explain, and you wouldn’t understand all the jargon anyway. Leave these sorts of things for the big boys. Just trust me when I say he’s not a good guy.”

It was strange how I could both feel and not feel the sting of his condescension. I knew it was there, sensed the lash of his words and what they meant, what they suggested he thought about me, but they didn’t actually hurt me anymore. Not like they once did.

There were benefits to being nothing.

More strongly, I felt the disappointment of having learned absolutely nothing. Whether my father didn’t know anything solid about Edward Fasbender or he wasn’t willing to tell me, I wasn’t sure. Either way, he wasn’t useful.

“Why are you asking about this guy?” His tone was suddenly suspicious.

“No reason. Just curious.”

“No, no. This guy’s name doesn’t come up out of nowhere. There has to be something that put him in your head.”

I speared my fork in my salad then picked it up and jabbed again. “He wanted to meet with me, is all. To discuss a design project, I think.”

“He, what?” I’d only had half his attention before, but now he was completely present. “That bastard! Have you met with him yet? Whatever he says, it’s a ruse. He’s probably trying to get intel about me from you.”

“Actually, I don’t even think he realized who I was when he called in. And no. I haven’t met with him.” Lying was my thing, but I didn’t necessarily enjoy lying to my parents. They were good enough people, and I’d already lied too much to them over the years. Lies of omission. Outright falsehoods.

So why was I doing it now?

I stabbed again at the spinach.

“Good! Don’t. Whatever you do, don’t meet with him. Do not have any further contact with him.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on it.” At least that was the truth.

“And I don’t believe that crap that he doesn’t know who you are. He knows.”

“It probably wasn’t even him who reached out. More like someone on his staff that had no idea about the connection between the Werner name and Lux Designs.” I didn’t know why I was defending the devil. He most definitely knew who I was.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, honey.” Again, his tone was subtly patronizing. “He’s very clever. And a menace. I don’t like him one bit.”

That was why Edward’s plan was flawed from the outset. My father considered him an enemy. If I tried to marry the guy, I’d likely be disowned.

Which was fine, because I wasn’t considering it.

And I wasn’t getting anything useful from my father, which meant it was time to end the call. “I’m sure you’re right, Daddy. That’s why I called you as soon as I realized who he was. I wasn’t about to get involved with one of your competitors. Like I said, I was just curious.”

“Smart girl. I’m at the next hole now. If there’s anything else you need, we can talk later.”

We hung up, but instead of diving into my lunch, I stared at it, thinking. If I were really smart, I would have told my father the truth. I would have detailed my entire encounter with Edward Fasbender, would have told him about the outrageous scheme he’d concocted and how he desperately wanted control of my father’s business.

But, for whatever reason—be it that it had ended so humiliatingly or that I didn’t want to confess that I’d met with his rival in the first place or some other motive I wasn’t ready to admit to—whatever the reason, I didn’t want my father to know.

So the lengths Edward was willing to go to get what he wanted remained a secret.