Page 34 of Cheap Shot
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he questions, pain evident in his voice.
“Because I knew you’d have an opinion on the fact that I applied.”
“I didn’t know it was a crime to want what is best for my children.”
“Daddy, we both know it's more than that.” I sigh, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms. Suddenly, I feel defensive, as if I’ve done something wrong, but I’m not the one at fault here.
“Then please explain it to me, Michele. Because none of this makes sense to me. You are overqualified to be a member of the athletic training team with the Timberwolves.” Dad pushes back from his desk, pacing back and forth as he ticks my credentials off on his fingers. “You graduated high school with an associate's degree in biology, got a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, passed your National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) on the first try, and managed to get a Master of Physiotherapy all before your twenty-first birthday. Why in the world would you settle for working here?”
“Because it’s all I ever wanted!” I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air.
“But you deserve—” he begins, but I cut him off.
“Stop telling me what I deserve, Daddy. I just want a chance at the job of my dreams without you interfering. I wanted to win or lose it based on my own merit and not you calling in some favor.”
He doesn’t say a word, dropping down into the chair behind his desk. His usual scowl is plastered on his face. Knowing him, he’s trying to think of some way to make this go away, to interfere just as I thought he would, but there is nothing he can do about it.
I narrow my eyes as he reaches for the phone, but I beat him to it. “Don’t even think about it, Daddy. There’s nothing you can do because I’ve already accepted the position, and I’m starting next week.”
“I don’t like this, Michele.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not because it’s happening,” I respond with conviction, suddenly finding my backbone.
“I’m disappointed in you, Michele. Not only did you lie to me, but you took a job that’s beneath you. You have so much potential…”
He continues rambling, but I tune him out. This isn’t anything I haven’t heard a million times before. How disappointed he is in me for making my own decisions about my life. I’m choosing to be happy instead of following some arbitrary plan he has imagined for me. It doesn’t matter what I say to him. He won’t hear me because, as far as Dad is concerned, he’s right and I’m wrong. It doesn’t matter to him that it's my life and that I’m an adult. If this were anything else, the lecture and proceeding guilt trip would have me caving, giving up whatever I wanted to make him happy, but not this time. I’ve worked too hard to get this position, and I’m not about to give it up because Dad doesn’t approve.
“Are you listening to me, Michele?” he growls, causing me to jump in my seat.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I try desperately to fight the urge to give him exactly what he wants. “Yes, Daddy. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not quitting, but at least we will see each other more. Now all you have to do is walk down the hall to the training room.”
“I guess there is an upside to this,” he grumbles, his lip curling into a small smile.
I push to my feet, making my way around the desk and wrapping my arms around his neck. “Forgive me?”
If there’s one thing I know about Dad, it’s that he can hold a grudge. I might have won this battle, but this for sure won’t be the last. I’m going to need to watch my back for the next few months because I wouldn't put it past him to cause me problems before my probation period is over. He may be my dad, but he still believes that he knows what is best for my life.
“I can’t stay mad at you, baby girl.” He reaches up to give my arm a squeeze before planting a kiss on the back of my hand. “Now, Parker and Helena in human resources. Those are two people I have no problem staying mad at.”
“No, you can’t. Parker didn’t know I had interviewed until after I was offered the position.”
He unwraps my arms from around his neck and spins in the chair to face me. “You told Parker before me? I’m hurt, baby girl.”
I roll my eyes. People tell me I’m dramatic, but none of them have met my dad. “No, Daddy, I told Stacey. Stacey told Parker.”
“You know as well as I do that girl can’t keep a secret to save her soul.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him she has known during the entire process. What Daddy doesn’t know can’t hurt him, right?
“Did anyone else know before me? Your stepmother or your sisters?”
“No. No one else knows.”
He stares at me for a few moments before smiling. “Good. You can tell them at family dinner on Sunday.”
“I actually can’t make dinner on Sunday, Daddy. I have plans.”
The only plans I have this weekend are catching up on the shows on my DVR and laundry, but he doesn’t need to know that. I just lost a few months of my life, stressing about telling him about my new job. I don’t have it in me for a family sparring session in the same week.
