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“That’s all you fucking care about, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice narrow.
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t care that someone could have died today. Your ownsoncould have died today. You don’t care that people got hurt. You don’t care about any of it, so long as your image stays pristine. Well, I’m sorry that I tarnished your image by caring about someone more than I care about myself. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? You don’t even care about your own wife.”
“Watch it, boy,” said my father, stopping in his tracks and shooting me a look.
“You think I didn’t see you at the restaurant? At the strip club? You’re a disgusting excuse for a husband. An even worse father. If you’re so worried about your reputation, maybe you should start acting dignified yourself.”
“How dare you!” seethed my father.
“No, how dareyou!” I said, standing from my desk. “I can’t believe I used to look up to you. I can’t believe I chose the same path as you just because I thought it would make you proud, but nothing will ever please you. I see that now.”
“Oh, boo-hoo.” He put on a sarcastic pout that I wanted to slap off his face. “I’m sorry that billions of dollars doesn’t make you happy.”
“It doesn’t. None of this does,” I said, looking around my office.
“Oh, and I supposed your assistant makes you happy?” He laughed.
“She does, actually. And I almost lost her today. Not that you care.”
“If you are, in fact, involved with her, then that is the last straw. You’re fired. You’re done. I warned you, Troy.” My father pointed a finger at me, the smug look on his face now pulled into a frown.
“No need to fire me because I quit.”
“Think carefully about what you’re saying, Troy…” he warned.
“I have thought about it. I quit. I hate this job. I have no interest in making the rich richer, and I have no interest in working under you. I’m nearly forty years old, yet you treat me like a child.”
“Then don’t act like one. You think screwing your assistant is wise?”
“I don’t know. I could ask you the same thing about Kathy.”
“Watch it, boy,” he repeated
“And I’m not just screwing my assistant. I’m in love with her.”
My dad scoffed.
“In fact, we’re having a baby.”
It was the first time I had said it out loud, making it even more real. I wished the first person I told wasn’t my father, but it seemed to knock the air out of him temporarily. For a moment, I thought he would see that I really meant what I said. That I was happy with her. That it was real. That he was going to be a grandfather. I should have known it was wishful thinking.
“How stupid can you be?” he asked finally, his voice almost a whisper. “You let her trap you. She doesn’t love you. She loves the money.”
“That’s not true,” I said, taking a step toward him.
“Yes, it is. That’s exactly what whores like her do.”
His words bit into me like poison and filled me with rage. I pulled my arm back and punched him straight in the face. I watched as he fell to the floor, almost in slow motion, his eyes following me as he met the ground. I felt no remorse, just satisfaction.
“How dare you!” he spat, blood falling from his mouth.
I stood over him and pointed at him. “Don’t youevertalk about her like that again. You will not disrespect her. Or me. Ever again.”
I stepped over him and walked out the door of my office, down the dimly lit hallway, and into the elevator. I knew my father wouldn’t hesitate to call security on me. I needed to get out of here as fast as possible. Away from him and the evil man he had proven himself to be. I had known it all along, but was too scared to cut ties because, at the end of the day, he was my father. But he wasn’t a good person. I saw that clearly now.
I walked out of the building, feeling free of it and the job that tied me to it. Feeling free of my father who sat bleeding in my office. My hand throbbed from where my fist met his mouth. I shook it out as I hailed a cab.