“That’s where you’re wrong. Exiled is a business, my dear. One that brings in a lot of revenue. Now my son may believe it will survive without him, but I do not. I don’t think you want to be responsible for tearing down something that those boys have worked hard to build,” he said, studying my face.
I shook my head. “This has nothing to do with me. And Exiled will be fine without Cruz. He’s still going to be writing music for them, and Lennon, Adam, and Zach are very talented.”
“Everything alright over here?” Bernie asked as he approached.
Cruz’s father looked up and stared at him, but Bernie didn’t look phased. He met Steven Winslow head-on.
“Excuse yourself if you ever want to hold down a job again. Everything is fine,” Steven raised a brow in challenge.
“I was speaking to the lady. I’m here for her, not you.”
Go, Bernie.
I had a whole new respect for the man. And he was right. Why should we be intimidated by this guy?
I, for one, was not.
“I’m fine. Give us just a minute, and I’ll be ready to go.”
And I’ll never give you attitude again, Bernie.
“Alright. I’ll be right over here. Watching.” He snarled, and I almost laughed.
Steven waved his hand at him, as if he were shooing away an annoying fly on the wall.
“This has everything to do with you, Jade. Cruz was always going to be the lead singer of Exiled, before you came along. And then after you broke up with him and left for Honduras, he stayed with the band. But you come strolling back to town, and my son is willing to toss his whole life aside for you. You can’t really be that naïve by claiming you don’t see it? He’s putting your needs before his own, and now it’s time for you to do the same. His decision affects a lot of people.”
Steven knew more about Cruz and I than I would have thought. They didn’t speak much, so Cruz’s father was definitely doing his homework. Maybe he and Dex were working together, and Dex had been following me that day as Cruz suspected.
“With all due respect, Sir. My relationship with Cruz is none of your business. I think we’re done here,” I said, reaching for my backpack and pulling it over my shoulder.
He stepped a little bit closer, invading my space. “What’s it going to take, huh? What do you think a million dollars would do for a girl like you?”
“A girl like me? What does that mean?” I hissed.
“Your father can’t make much of a living doing what he does. Sure, it’s honorable work serving the community, but I’m sure it doesn’t pay him nearly enough. What do you think a million dollars could do for a man like him? I heard he had a close call in a fire recently. Next time he might not be so lucky. But having a little nest egg like I’m offering you would allow dear old dad to take a step away from his dangerous profession, right?”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe my ears. My head spun and a little buzzing noise filled my ears. What was this?
“You’re serious?” I said, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.
“We can do this one of two ways. I can transfer this money to your account today. No questions asked. Keep it simple. Just do the right thing, Jade and walk away. My son’s worth more to me than he is to you.”
My spine was stick straight now, and I squared my shoulders. “Take your money and shove it up your ass, Mr. Winslow. Cruz is worth a hell of a lot more to me than any amount of money you could ever offer me. Now I suggest you move along before I sick Bernie on your ass.”
I raised a brow and waited for him to respond.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. You just made things very easy for me, but very difficult for yourself.”
I shook my head. “You know what? I feel sorry for you. You have this amazing family and you’ve just thrown them away. Keep your nose out of my business and my father’s business, am I making myself clear?”
He studied me, and a wide grin spread across his face. “Crystal. I welcome the challenge, Jade. Have a nice day.”
He sauntered down the hall like we’d just had a casual conversation. What the hell was wrong with this man.
Bernie moved beside me, studying my face. “Everything okay?”
“I’m sorry for being such a jerk to you. I’m glad you’re here, Bernie.” I reached out and squeezed his hand.
“Shall we give Cruz a call and let him know his father paid you a visit?” he asked.
“I’ll tell him later.”
“You have one hour,” he said as we walked to his car.
“I thought you were here for me.”
“I work for him. But I like you better.” He winked.
When I got in the car, I closed my eyes for a minute and tried to think about what I’d say to Cruz. I was still processing what just happened. How do you tell the boy you love that his father just offered you a million dollars to break up with him? And why would he offer me such a ridiculous amount of money? Was Exiled worth that much to him? And why did he bring my father into it? I would never willingly lie to Cruz about something this big but telling him the truth about his father seemed cruel.
We pulled up in front of the house. “You know you can come sit inside.”
He chuckled. “That’s not how this works. But thank you. I’m glad you’re not snarling at me anymore.”
“Thanks, Bernie.”
“You know most people call me Bernard,” he said dryly.
“I’m not most people.” I patted him on the shoulder before jumping out of the car.
“Jade,” he said before I shut the door.
“Yeah?”
“Tell him about his father’s visit. Don’t make me nark on you,” he said.
I sighed before sticking my tongue out at him. Was it mature? No. But this is why I didn’t want a security guard following me around. He didn’t know what he was asking of me. No one could begin to guess how crazy Steven Winslow could be. This was like a bad Monday night movie, all twisted and dark. But unfortunately, it was my life. And I needed to figure out how to manage this situation without devastating Cruz.
“No one likes a tattletale, Bernie.”
“I’ve been called worse,” he said with a laugh.
I waved and stepped inside just as my phone vibrated. A FaceTime call from Cruz.
Here we go.
“Hey,” I said, dropping to sit on the couch.
“Did you just get in?” His voice was gruff, and I studied his handsome features as he leaned his back against the headboard in his hotel room.