Page 43 of Hula Girl

Leaning back into his chair, he raises his arms and puts his hands behind his head. “No, I’ll have one of the associates pull it up for me.”

“Well, you’re welcome in any case.”

I can’t help the snark. This is the first time I’ve seen him in almost a year. The first time I’ve spoken to him since I overheard him plotting ways to marginalize both me and my grandfather. As much peace as I’ve found by being away, I’m just now understanding that I’ve only buried all my anger at him, not let it go. It’s a toxic mix of my latent abandonment issues, disappointment in myself for stooping to his level, and the deep, seething frustration that’s come from finally accepting that he has no desire for a real relationship with me. It was all only ever a transactional one for him. It was about whatIcould do forhim. How I could make him look like a good father who supported my ambitions. He wasn’t up to the task of being a father twenty-seven years ago when I was born, he wasn’t capable of it when he had me move in with him when I was twelve, and he’s definitely not up to it now. It would require too much effort from him. It would require him not being a fucking narcissist.

Yeah, you could say I’m angry.

“You look …tan,” he says instead of taking my hint to thank me. “I suppose wasting your legal talents in pursuit of the next wave is worth it to you?”

“Really?” I groan. “Listen—”

He drops his arms and leans forward, elbows on his desk. “No, I wantyouto listen. You owe me that after the latitude I’ve given you this past year. I can pretty well guess that you’re done contributing to this firm. It was very clever of you to remember the lax leave of absence policy we had for shareholders. Thanks for that. As you know, I’ve corrected it.”

“Right. So, I’ll—”

“Resign and sell your shares at base level, yes, I know. And then you’ll—what? Live out your days being a beach bum? Where is your pride?”

“It’s back where it should have been before you forced me into your empty world.”

He shakes his head in frustration. “The ‘empty world’ that gave you a top-notch education and placed you in a highly esteemed law firm? That’s what you’re disparaging?”

“There’s no point in trying to get you to understand that we don’t have the same values.”

“Really?” he asks with a laugh. “Seems to me we were lockstep in pursuing wins on cases and big payouts for a while there.”

“That was my mistake. I’ll own it. And now I want out.”

“You’ll be back. You’ll eventually tire of that lazy Maui life. Your mind is too ambitious to go unchallenged.”

I grin before laughing. “You won’t ever get it.”

He lets that hang in the air for a minute before standing. “Listen, you’re about to get a very nice payout with those shares. But I need you to do something for me first.”

“Oh, boy. What are you plotting now?”

He looks at me quizzically. He never did know I heard his conversation that night I left for Maui.

“I need you to hold off on your resignation and shares sale until after the board meeting.”

Of course, his main priority wouldn’t be trying to reconcile with me. It would be trying to protect his company. I scoff and mutter, “You want me to lie to the board?”

“What I want, what Irequire, is for you to see the big picture and not rock the boat at this sensitive time. The board doesn’t need to know about your official departure at this moment. It’s about protecting the firm. That’s always my overriding concern.”

“No shit,” I mutter. I really can’t control that mouth of mine sometimes.

“Don’t be such a child about this. You’re going to make enough off those shares to allow you to waste your days surfing for quite a few years. Just play the game for a few more days.”

I make a show of thinking about this, but the request to extend my stay is exactly what I need. It will buy me time to research an idea I have for what I might do with my shares other than sell them to him.

“All right. I’ll stay, but only as long as I have to,” I say grudgingly. “Then I’m out of here for good.”

My father looks pleased with himself. He really has no vision of anything other than his own worldview.

“I’ll have Doris send you the itinerary for the board meeting,” he says. “And dust off your old office.”

“Fantastic,” I say flatly and start to turn away.

“Oh, and I’ll need you to attend the ABA event tonight. It’s important to make a show of solidarity.”

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