Flock (The Ravenhood #1)(50)

“Honey, wait up, I’ll walk with you.”

“I’m fine, see you tomorrow,” I yell over my shoulder as I lose her in the first five rows of cars. Vivica is no doubt the type to ‘cut a bitch,’ and it’s all I can do to pace myself to power walking. The minute I make it to the driver’s seat and lock my doors, I burst into tears. I hate that I feel so weak. I hate that I don’t know if I would have been able to defend myself if I was attacked. I hate the position being Roman’s daughter puts me in. Whether or not I declared I was his kid, someone would have found out, and hiding it might not have been the right call either. Did they really think I was sent to spy on them? That’s insanity.

My phone rings from my purse and I ignore it, knowing it’s Sean.

Headlights click on behind me, and I look in my rearview to see Sean sitting in his Nova, gazing back at me in the mirror. He was waiting for me, and he saw me crying.

Great.

Done with the day, I jerk my head to keep him at bay while clearing my face as he opens his car door to get to me. I shake my head, profusely denying him the chance and put my car into gear. I haul ass out of the parking lot as the humiliation subsides, and anger begins to smoke itself into my system. I’m not mad at Sean, but I don’t want to face him with these conflicting emotions. He can see my crazy when he deserves it. Tonight, he did what he had to do, but I refuse to unload on him, not with the range of emotions I’m feeling. He follows me closely, leaving me when I turn onto the lone road home. There he leaves me, and I’m grateful.

When I pull up, I’m met with an empty driveway and an empty house. My phone rings in my hand, just as I clear my bedroom door.

“I don’t want to talk now,” I sniffle back furious tears.

“I got that after mile five, but it’s not your fault.” The tenderness in his voice hurts. I do my best to rein it in, but my voice shakes anyway.

“Did you know about this?”

“I’ve been working on it since I got back.”

“So, this is the norm? He shorts their paychecks?”

“Have you ever looked at your pay stub?”

No, I haven’t. I’ve simply cashed them and assumed they were correct. More anger coils as I make a decision and hit reply on my latest email. I’m typing furiously as I speak.

“Did you fire her?”

“Yes.”

“Damnit, Sean. Why?”

“Because it’s my job, and her behavior was too severe for a write-up.”

“You know it’s wrong.”

Silence.

“This is my battle. Let me fight it.”

“I’m here if you need me.”

“I know, and I’m grateful, but you’ve got to stop taking me off the line, okay? It’s already a shitshow, and I don’t want to give them any more excuses to come after me.”

“You’ve got to know I won’t let them hurt you. I’ve got your back.”

“And I’m grateful, but you can’t. This truly is my fight and I’m…really fucking angry and I don’t want to take it out on you, okay? I have to go.” I hang up, livid about the nosedive my day has taken and intent on making the right guy pay. Vivica’s words ring like a chant in my head, with the emphasis changing on each repetition.

He’s your father. He’s your father. He’s your father.

Ten minutes later I shoot off my email, wash the night away in the shower and begin prepping for my morning meeting.





“I DON’T APPRECIATE THE TONE of your email, Cecelia,” my father starts the minute I come into view and pour my coffee. He must have gotten in late, and I know the reason for his arrival was due to the content of the email I sent last night. More often than not, he’s been staying in Charlotte, leaving me the sole occupant of this massive house.

“You put me in this position,” I counter as I take the seat next to him. “You wanted me to take my job seriously. Well, this is me, taking it seriously.” I lay my pay stubs between us. “I’ve been shorted a quarter-hour on nearly every weekly paycheck since I started and a full hour on two of them.”

“You have a supervisor to report this to.” There’s no insinuation in his tone which brings me relief that my relationship with Sean is just a factory rumor and hasn’t reached corporate ears. He’s taken no other interest in me and if he’s been monitoring the security cameras, thanks to Dominic, they’re now on an uneventful loop.

“We all answer to someone, don’t we? I’m sure a particular government agency would be interested to know that your employees have been shorted for years, sweetening your bottom line. Especially if they were tipped off by a call from the CEO’s daughter.”

His eyes flash with pure hostility as I try and muster up more courage. I’m still on the fence if this is the smartest move to make regarding my future, but I remember all those people that gathered around me, the weight of their accusation. This isn’t just about me. This is about thousands of people and the fact that they’re living their future out in that plant.

“I have no plans to do that. But I’m certain this is an ongoing issue that you need to take seriously because they’re past the point of fed up. So much so that yesterday, I was humiliated on the line for this. Is it really worth it to have your employees loathe you?”