I grinned. “And hopefully, you will be out of a job.”
“Never going to happen. I’m going to be the guy making this new invention you’re creating.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “I hope so.”
“If there is a chance you put me out of work, I wouldn’t be sad. I’m ready to retire.”
“Retire?” I parroted. “You’re thirty. You don’t get to retire at thirty.”
He shrugged. “My job pays well. Really well. I could retire. I’ve invested. I’m good.”
“You are not going to retire.”
“When do you think you’ll have this ready?”
“I just told you I don’t have any idea if this will work.”
“Yes, you do,” he insisted. “This is like before. Five years from now, you are going to be mega rich and getting another award.”
I groaned. “I don’t want another award.”
“Yes, you do. It’s why you do this.”
“Not even close,” I muttered.
We headed back to my car. I put the boat in the trunk and drove him back to his place. “Thanks for the free preview. I’m looking forward to seeing the final plans.”
“I’ll let you know.”
I drove back home and locked myself in my study. I had a lot of work to do. After trying it in the water, I had a better idea of what needed to change. Charlie wasn’t lying when he said I had a lot of trial and error ahead of me.
I wanted it to work. It would be nice to be able to tell my dad what I was working on. He wouldn’t care. He would think I was full of shit once again. Just like Evie’s dad.
He would laugh me right out of the room if I told him my new plan. It was more far-fetched than the first. Knowing they would not trust me made me want to work harder.
I was going to make it work.
Chapter 40
Evie
I finished my usual morning walk. I went alone. I thought about inviting Xander along, but I needed some time to think. This thing with my dad was really screwing with me.
I didn’t like us being on the outs. It made me feel icky. I couldn’t shake the heaviness of it and it was affecting my work. I had to settle things. I knew there was a chance we would never have the relationship we once did. I didn’t like the idea, but I couldn’t change his way of thinking.
Just like he couldn’t change mine. I felt we were both intelligent, responsible people and we were always going to have our own opinions. I could respect his and I needed him to respect mine. At least, that was what I was going to say to him. I had been practicing what I would say all morning.
I parked my car in the driveway and fought down the nerves that erupted in my belly at the thought of confronting him. I was nervous and apprehensive. I didn’t stand up to him. The day in his office had been a first. While it had felt good initially, it was like a wound that was slowly festering and making me septic. It was time to clear the air and heal the wound.
Instead of walking in like I usually did, I knocked on the front door. That felt very weird. When he opened the door, he scowled at me. “Why are you knocking?”
I shrugged. “Because I wasn’t sure I would be welcomed. This is your house and I didn’t want to barge in.”
He stepped back, opening the door wider. “Don’t be dramatic. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Ditto,” I said as I walked past him.
I sat down on the couch, waiting for him to take a seat in his recliner. It was clear he wasn’t thrilled to see me. I expected as much, but I was going to make him listen to me.
“What brings you by?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, to congratulate you on the achievement award you’ll be getting,” I snapped.
He flinched. “Do you care?”
“Yes, I care!”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Your behavior says otherwise.”
“I have been along on this ride with you my entire life. This award is special. I feel like I’ve been a part of your career. This is not something I would want to miss seeing you get. It’s a big deal. You’ve talked about getting something like this for as long as I can remember. Why would you try and hide that from me?”
“Because I didn’t think you would care. You have your life now. You made a choice and I have accepted your choice.”
My mouth dropped open. “You are seriously disowning me because I won’t date who you deem appropriate?”
“It’s more than that and you know it,” he snapped.
“Dad, grow up.”
“I’ll remind you I’ve been a grownup longer than you’ve been alive.”
“Then you should act like it!” I shouted.
He held up one finger. It was the universal signal for calm the fuck down. “Rein it in, young lady.”
“How can I?” I wailed. “What is wrong with you? Why wouldn’t you tell me about the award?”
“You’ve been mad at me. Why would you care?”
I closed my eyes, silently counting to three for patience. “Because I’m your daughter. You are the one who has been mad at me. You are acting childish.”
“I’m tired of arguing with you, Evie.”
“You haven’t argued. You have stated your opinion and I’m supposed to just fall in line. That isn’t fair. You are completely invalidating anything I say or feel. Can’t you respect the fact I’m a grownup now? Can’t you let me make my own choices, whether they are right or wrong in your opinion?”
“I’m your father. My job is to protect you. I’m supposed to look out for you and steer you onto the right path.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “For how long, Dad? For the rest of your life? And when you die, then what? Do you plan on outliving me? What am I going to do if I have never been able to make a single decision in my life when you are no longer around?”
He looked as if I’d slapped him. “I trust you will know better by then.”
“How do you know for sure? Is there a test I’m supposed to take? Tell me what I have to do to make you understand I’m not a little girl. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have been making decisions for a long time. I make careful decisions. For you to try and forbid me from doing something I want to do, it’s asinine. You need to check yourself.”
“Excuse me? Check myself? When you talk like that, I think you do still need my guidance.”
I growled and threw my hands in the air. “Why can’t you just let this go? Why can’t you just let me live my life the way I want?”
“Because you are my little girl and I don’t want to see you hurt!”
I saw the softness in his eyes, heard the genuine fear in his voice. I knew he loved me. He cared about me more than anything else in the world.
“Dad,” I said, softening my tone. “I’ll be okay. If I get hurt, I’ll get better. This is part of life. I need to experience all life has to offer, even the bad stuff.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to experience the bad when I can see it coming. Let me help you.”
“Can we stop this?” I asked, my voice so soft I barely heard it. “I don’t want to do this with you. I don’t want to fight with you.”