Twisted Perfection (Perfection #1)(39)

My father leaned forward on his elbows that rested on his desk. “Love doesn’t make a good marriage. It isn’t forever. It leaves you. When reality sets in and times get hard the love disappears and you’re left with nothing. You marry someone who wants the same things you do. Who isn’t expecting romance but success. Angelina gets this. You don’t.”

When my grandmother was sick I had gone to visit my grandparents every chance I got. One day I had been sitting on the porch with my grandfather as he watched my grandmother paint one of her many pictures. The love and affection on his face was unmistakable. He’d turned to me that day and said, “Don’t miss out on the love of a good woman, son. No matter what that old man of yours tells you, love is real. I’d have never had the success in my life without that woman right there. She’s been my backbone. She’s been my reason for everything I’ve ever done. One day your drive to make a name for yourself will begin to drift away. It won’t be that important anymore. But when you’re doing it for someone else, someone you would move heaven and earth for then you never lose the desire to succeed. I can’t imagine this world without her in it. I don’t even want to.”

I hadn’t thought about those words again until today. The man who had raised my father was similar to him in many ways. But there was a difference. My dad did all of this for himself. His drive to succeed was selfish. There was no love in his work. My grandfather had built this business out of love for the woman he married. I’d seen that with my own eyes. I didn’t want to be my father. I wanted to be my grandfather.

“We need to agree to disagree,” I finally said knowing the mention of his parents would only infuriate him. He always thought my grandfather had made bad decisions even though he was the man who built this club.

My father smirked and shook his head. “No son, we don’t because I’m in charge here. If you’re choosing not to do what is best for this club and your future then you’re not ready to take over anything. I can’t promote you if I can’t trust you to make smart decisions. Your job at the club is safe for now but that doesn’t mean someone I can trust more to do your job won’t come along.”

Not only was he not going to give me the position I’d worked hard for he was threatening the position I currently had. I wanted to tell him to f**k himself and walk out. Before this was over I might end up doing just that. However, out of respect for the man who’d built this with the desire to hand it down to each generation of the Kerrington name, I would stay. That man I respected. The one in front of me I held no respect for. If he pushed me too far, I’d be gone. I wondered if he’d even miss me then.

Della

I changed into sweats and a tee shirt before walking back into the living room and talking to Tripp. I preferred to stay in this room and think about everything. I was still trying to figure out what happened and what I did wrong with Woods. He was giving me all kinds of mixed signals. Either he was disgusted by me and decided not to have sex with me or he had just been ready to get rid of me. I wasn’t sure. But then he’d made me wear his shirt and told me to change into baggy clothes. I wasn’t sure what to think about that.

As soon as I’d had that orgasm in his lap he’d been ready to get me the hell away from him. On the drive over here I had convinced myself that I’d screamed too loud and hurt him by pulling his hair like a crazed woman. Then maybe he was as embarrassed by the wet spot on my shorts as I was and that’s why he’d covered me up. He didn’t want Tripp to see me and know he’d been the cause of that. I reached over, picked his hoodie back up, and pulled it over my head. It smelled like Woods. I liked that. I had wanted to get to smell more of him tonight. The rejection I’d hoped to avoid was settling in.

I could talk to Tripp. I wouldn’t tell him exactly what happened but I could get his guy opinion on things.

Tripp’s eyes lifted from the book he was reading and he smiled up at me. “Already wearing Kerrington’s clothes. Damn the guy moves fast,” he teased.

I sighed and sank down on the sofa across from the chair he was sitting in. “Not what it looks like. Trust me.” The deflation in my voice had been a little more obvious than I intended.

“Uh oh. What’s wrong?” Tripp asked, setting his book down on the table beside him and sitting up straighter.

I thought about my words carefully. I didn’t want to tell him too much but I did want his opinion. “Woods broke things off with Angelina and we went to talk about that,” I began. Tripp nodded. He already knew this much but I was still scrambling on what to say to him. “We had lunch together and he explained that he wasn’t happy with her. He doesn’t want to be told who to marry. Then we went back to his place. He wanted to show me his house and I loved it.” I paused and chewed on my bottom lip a moment to think about my next words.

“He never takes girls to that house. It was his grandparents’ so it’s his off limits place. I’ve only been there a handful of times.”

That caught my attention. “His grandmother’s paintings are still all over the walls. They’re beautiful.”

Tripp’s eyebrows shot up. “He told you about her?”

I nodded and Tripp crossed his hands over his chest as he grinned. “Damn girl what have you done to Kerrington?”

Well, that was what I was wondering too. “I think he may have decided taking me there was a mistake. I… we… things got a little heated on the porch and then he stopped it and brought me back here. He said he had things to do. Just like that. No other explanation. It was weird.”