Page 56 of The Player + The Pact = I Do

I feel myself warm under his inspection, even though I know I shouldn’t care at all about his approval. “In the paper?”

I see Leo wince out of the corner of my eye. He didn’t mention we’d been in the paper, but I knew an announcement inThe Timeswas part of the plan.

“The Times. I came back into town and it caught my eye. Now I’m back for some daddy-daughter time. Thought you might give your old man a job so we can see a lot more of each other.”

My entire body relaxes. I’ve been tensing every muscle since he burst through the door, but now I understand why he’s here. He hasn’t dropped by to offer his congratulations. He doesn’t want to hang out with the daughter that he hasn’t seen in a decade. He’s here because he wants something from me.

I shake my head. “I’m only the temporary manager,” I say. My gaze flicks to Leo. I’m about to lie and I need him to back me up, no questions asked. “I don’t get to make any hiring or firing decisions. I’m not allowed. It’s in my contract.” My mom used to work in housekeeping here. She’d kill me with her bare hands if I gave my father a job in the same hotel where she worked. “And anyway, what kind of job would you want?”

He shrugs, the disappointment across his face pulling at something inside me. “I can turn my hand to most things. I like the idea of standing outside in a top hat, opening car doors and getting nice tips.”

He wants to be a doorman? The guys on the door at The Mayfair have been doing the job thirty years minimum. It’s not about opening a car door. It’s about knowing whose door you’re opening, knowing who’s a regular, remembering their kid’s birthday or their favorite restaurant. Our doormen are the first encounter a guest has at this hotel. That encounter can’t involve my dad.

I shake my head and try to find the right words. My tongue feels like carpet, my jaw heavy. I don’t know what to say. How does he think it’s okay to ask me to put my job on the line for him after everything? This can’t be happening.

“I’m just as happy helping out wherever. You tell me what you need and I’ll give it my best shot.”

WhatIneed? How about a dad who doesn’t disappear for weeks and months andyearson end?

“Thought you’d want to help out your old man,” he says, his voice a little softer. He looks out onto the city and scoops up my hand, bringing it to his chest. “You remember when we used to climb out onto the roof of that apartment in… where was it?” He glances at me.

“Jersey City.” It was the last apartment where he visited me and Mom. We only went up to the roof once. When my mom found out, she lost her mind. When Dad suggested it again—our little secret, he said—I refused, knowing my mom wouldn’t approve. Looking back, it wasn’t the best decision my father ever made from a safety perspective. There were no railings and I had to climb out of a window to get on the rooftop, but I caught a glimpse of the freaking Empire State Building. It was one of the best days of the summer for me.

“We ate beef jerky and played Fleetwood Mac until it rained,” he says.

I can’t help but smile. “I remember.”

“Not quite the views from this rooftop, but not bad.”

“I’m Leo.” Leo steps forward and holds out his hand to shake my father’s. “I’m Jules’ boss.” He dips his hand into his jacket pocket and pulls out a business card. “Why don’t you come see me and I can figure out if I have a job for you? Call that number and my assistant will set something up.”

I feel my pulse start to throb in my neck. No! He can’t give my father a job. He doesn’t understand how this will turn out. My father won’t turn up. Or will turn up and—god knows where he got the handfuls of cash he used to turn up with after a period of being gone. Did he rob banks in thattime? Steal from his employers? I won’t let him take advantage of Leo.

Dad can’t have read the announcement inThe Timesvery well, because he doesn’t put together that Leo is my fiancé. Long may it stay that way.

He reads the business card and I catch Leo’s eye. I shake my head. “Don’t do this,” I mouth.

“It’s okay,” he mouths back.

“Dad, you have to go,” I say. “I’m working.”

“Okay, okay. I know when it’s time to leave a party. Speaking of party, is there a nice cozy bar in this hotel?”

“It’s not open,” I lie. “Please, Dad, you need to go.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Leo says. “This place is a maze. Don’t want you getting lost.”

“Dollface, I’ll call you,” Dad says from halfway down the stairs. He pauses and turns back to me. I don’t have his number, and he doesn’t have mine. “We’ll go for coffee,” he says.

“Sure,” I say. That will never happen.

“I’m busy this weekend, but what about next week?”

“Maybe. Before work?” I ask, expecting the early hour will put him off.

“Sure thing, doll.”

I wasn’t expecting him to say yes to that. The next thing I know, he’s coming back up the stairs at a jog. He holds out his phone and I realize he’s asking for my number. I enter my details. What am I doing? Should I just shut him down and get Leo to throw him out?

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